ARP near Lake Natoma finally reopens

After a three-year closure, much to the disgruntlement of local recreationalists, California State Parks officially reopened the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail, popularly known as the American River Bike Trail on the north side of Lake Natoma this past weekend. The cleared section of the trail was a welcome site to cyclists, walkers and runners throughout much of the weekend that have been patiently waiting for one of the area's most scenic trails to be operational again. "It is so nice to be back on this section of the trail again and not having to hike around the blockage," said Amar Singh, who was cycling the trail on Sunday with friends and stopped to observe the cleared area. "This took far too long than it ever should have though. I get how there were many moving parts to the project, but it just seemed like forever. At the same time, the long wait makes us appreciate what we have even more." The American River Bike Trail is part of Folsom Lake State Recreation Area's 19,500 acres. The park has 95 miles of trails for hikers, bicyclists, runners and horseback riders. A paved, mostly accessible bicycle trail loops around Lake Natoma, linking Beals Point and the American River Bike Trail. A large landslide covered portions of the trail, located between Nimbus Dam and the Negro Bar recreation area of Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, during the winter storms of January and February of 2017. Heavy equipment was used to remove the fallen debris from the trail. Additional loose material was also removed from the bluffs, directly above the trail. The blockage and repair delays have been a much-discussed topic and study for State Parks and the community alike throughout the last three years. While reviewing the task at hand and performing the initial economic impact study, a pair of bald eagles returned to make their area home, forcing work to be delayed until they departed after a season of nesting. "One of the biggest reasons is just the environmental review processes we have to go through for both state and federal," said State Parks Superintendent Rich Preston. "And then, of course, we had the nesting eagles just down from the site that slowed things down for us a little bit." The troubled area began at American River Call Box #28, approximately 3.25 miles upstream of Hazel Avenue and continues to the southern end of Negro Bar. People using the bike trail access points located at the Hazel Avenue overpass, Sunset Avenue and Main Avenue intersection, the Mississippi Bar area, and the Negro Bar area, were prohibited traveling through the closure area, however, over the last three years, many daringly detoured around the road blocks and hiked over the massive piles of debris when park rangers were not present. Back in August of 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with State Parks, initiated repairs by removing the debris that covered the trail. The second phase of the project utilized a geotechnical contractor to scale a portion of the bluff to remove loose rock from the face of the bluff directly above the trail. Following the scaling, crews removed the additional debris and repaved the damaged sections of the trail, which still remains a "no stopping area," as designated with signage. Cement barriers have also been installed to assist with debris and runoff impeded this section of the trail during the wet weather times. As with any outdoor activity, State Parks encourages its visitors to practice safe and environmentally-sound practices such as staying on designated trails, leaving no trace, controlling your speed and always wearing a helmet. Detailed information on Folsom Lake State Recreation Area can be found online at parks.ca.gov/FolsomLakeSRA.