Flagstaff Hill is located right in the middle of Folsom Lake. It is on the peninsula between the South fork and the North/Middle fork of the lake. Flagstaff Hill commands a view of most of the lake, the Sacramento Valley and the Crystal Range up near Lake Tahoe.

There is a network of trails on the peninsula that are popular with mountain bikers, so please be aware: Sometimes they sneak up on you on the narrow twisty trails.

The highpoint of the ridge that is Flagstaff Hill proper is a bit of a letdown for two reasons. The views at the highpoint are obscured to some extent by manzanita; the views along the ridge are of better quality. Also, the highpoint is a garbage dump. There is a lot of broken glass, shotgun cartridges, and piles of refuse. However, the blight is only at the exact summit, not anywhere else along the trail. The other 13.99 miles are in great shape and quite scenic.

If you do this hike in the summer (bring lots of water!) take your swimsuit and go for a swim.

Getting There

From Route 50, exit on El Dorado Hills Boulevard and head north.
The road name will change to Salmon Falls Road-- stay on it.

Right before the big steel bridge where Salmon Falls Road crosses the South Fork of the American River, there is a wide gravel shoulder on the left where it is free to park. There are paved lots on either side of the river, but you have to self-register and pay some amount of money (5 dollars?).

In the paved lot on the south side of the bridge, there are pit toilets. In the winter, these toilets are not often used and in pretty good shape. In the summer, this lot is where South Fork rafting trips end. The restrooms are not good that time of year.

The trail starts from the parking lot on the Northwest side of the river.

parking areas and trailhead for Flagstaff Hill

The Trail

The 14ish mile roundtrip trail follows the shoreline of the lake for the first 4, then climbs up to and follows along the ridge for the last 3 (approximately). The trail is smooth, not particularly rocky, and the climb to the ridge is very mellow. It's a fun and easy hike (or mountain bike).

There are several inconsequential forks in the trail that rejoin later.

However, there are two critical forks.
After you walk through "the picnic area" (a region of wide open fields dotted with occasional trees), the trail will retreat inland around an inlet and you will cross a small stream. Immediately after the stream is a critical fork. The left fork has a small sign that says "trail". The right fork looks more heavily traveled. Take the right fork.

The very next fork you get to, take the hard right onto a wider trail that looks like an overgrown fire road. Follow this up to the ridge, then turn left at the ridge to get to the highpoint.

There probably is a very short way to get up this hill from Ratlesnake Bar Road on the West side utilizing only fireroads. I haven't explored that area.

Red Tape

Free to park on the shoulder.
5 or so dollars to park in the lot.

A few years ago there were A LOT of break-ins to cars parked around this trailhead. They caught the idiots responsible, but you should still make sure valuables in your car are out of sight.

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