The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (or American River Bike Trail) is a paved multi-use pathway that runs between the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...

with the

American River The American River is a List of rivers of California, river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. Via the Sacramento River, it ...

, just north of downtown

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, and Beal's Point at Folsom Lake, north of

Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jers ...

. The trail is long, and is used as a major recreational destination, as well as a

commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

artery for cyclists. The trail is considered one of the longest paved purpose-built bike trails in the country. The trail is maintained by the County of Sacramento and is painted with mile markers placed at every half-mile increment.

History

In the early 19th century, the famous

fur trapper A fur is a Softness, soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching t ...

Jedediah Smith Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was an American clerk, transcontinental pioneer, frontiersman, hunter, trapper, author, cartography, cartographer, mountain man and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the Western Unit ...

explored the area east of Sacramento, between the settlement at the confluence now known as Old Sacramento, and Folsom. The area follows the course of the American River, and is rich in a diversity of

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

. In the late 19th century, the trail was marked out by a prototype cycling organization, The Capital City Wheelmen, but was soon abandoned as a viable commuter artery with the onset of automobiles in the early 20th century. The trail fell into disrepair until it was reexamined as a transportation route by cyclists in the 1970s, when the pathway was paved. A section of the trail was later added that runs along the south side of Lake Natoma and into downtown Folsom. The trail is used by approximately 5 million people annually.

Notable landmarks and attractions

The trail passes several places of interest between Sacramento and Folsom. The recreational areas of Discovery Park, Sutter's Landing Park (the point at which

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Switzerland, Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter ...

, founder of Sacramento and notable area entrepreneur, first arrived), the Guy West Bridge (a scaled down reproduction of San Francisco's

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

(or, more commonly, Sacramento State), William B. Pond Recreation Area, River Bend Park, the Fair Oaks walking bridge, the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, Lake Natoma and Folsom Lake. The trail runs through various parks and untouched areas, inhabited by a variety of animals. Throughout the trail, animals such as deer, western rattlesnakes, and woodpeckers can be found amongst others. As of 2020, coyotes are becoming more common along the trail, and are increasingly acclimated to the presence of people.

References

External links

*
Google map showing the trail
*http://www.arpf.org/ *http://railstotrails.us/ca-american-river-bike-trail.html *http://activities.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?areaid=CASAJS&cu_id=157 *https://web.archive.org/web/20060901151326/http://www.saccycle.com/bikewaymaps/map6.htm {{coord, 38, 36, 25, N, 121, 30, 06, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Bike paths in California Hiking trails in California American River (California) Protected areas of Sacramento County, California Transportation in Sacramento County, California National Recreation Trails in California