The Friends of El Dorado Trail vision is a hiking , biking and equestrian trail extending across El Dorado County from El Dorado Hills to South Lake Tahoe. We are actively increasing support for trail development and have engaged hundreds of El Dorado County residents, through facebook and our web-sight, eldoradotrail.com. We are enthusiastically pursuing the connection of the existing trails in Placerville, to Folsom and eventually to Lake Tahoe. This would be a trail of National significance, and would complete the Cross-California Bike Trail. The Economic Success derived, from many trails around the country, dictates the critical need to have a regional trail and to make a connection with Folsom and the American River parkway.
Friends of the El Dorado Trail are taking over for Trailsnow, and many trail advocates that have been incredibly successful here in Placerville. The El Dorado Board of Supervisors, of years past, and this current board have been very supportive of trail development. They all need to be applauded for the wonderful trail we see from Camino, through Placerville and down to Missouri Flat Road. We want to continue this success and work with this board to 'connect' to Folsom and Lake Tahoe.

We have recently sent emails, to the El Dorado Board of Supervisors, expressing our desire for a Class I bike trail that connects our impressive trail here in Placerville, to both Folsom and Lake Tahoe. We felt the need to communicate with the Board directly, because we have not received a satisfactory response from the SPTC-JPA.

We have requested the JPA, to estimate the cost of trail development, adjacent to the rail line. We have asked for a low-cost estimate, a ‘Thirty- Thousand, foot look at the issue’, which could be done by the JPA staff, who are more than qualified to generate some general numbers, at very minimal cost. The JPA uses staff time to actively support the exploration of a future Excursion Rail, we believe the staff could also address our concerns. The JPA has refused to use their staff in this manner. So we presented numbers made available from credible sources.

The cost to build a Class I bike trail adjacent to the track (because the track are being used for excursion trains) is approximately 1 to 2 million more per mile (according the Rails to Trails Conservancy).

A company is available today, to pull up all the track and ties on the 28 mile corridor for free. It would cost approximately 10 to 12 million to pave a Class I bike trail, on the rail bed (no excursion trains).

The cost could go to $60 million to develop and build a trail bed and pave a trail adjacent to the rail line (the tracks remain in place and excursion trains are used on the entire 28 mile corridor).
The residents of El Dorado County need to know the true cost of an Excursion Train. This is the cost to build a Class I bike trail adjacent to the rail line, because the Excursion Train occupies the rail bed. This would give us all the ability to make an informed decision on how much track we want to give to an Excursion Train, if any, or how much track we want to pull for Class I bike Trail development. We asked the Board to direct our JPA representative to use the JPA staff to give us a low cost, general overview off the additional cost to build a Class I Bike trail, off the rail bed, from Folsom to Latrobe.

We will periodically share information with the Board of supervisors. Some topics in the future will be:

The county does have the right to pull up the tracks under the National Trails System Act "rails-to-trails provision"

There is money right now for the development of Trails. TigerI

There is a no cost alternative to pull up track and ties to connect with Folsom and ARP now. This would leave a improved gravel trail, and could be done for free.

The economic success of the American River Parkway, and how a connection to Folsom could bring Millions of dollars into EDC. These are numbers an Excursion Train can not compete with.

Mike Kenison
Friends of the El Dorado Trail