Folsom Ranch Now Has Its Own Trails, but the Link to the Rest of Folsom Won't Arrive Until 2028

The president of Friends of Folsom Parkways took office in January and decided to walk every mile of the city's trail system. The Adopt-a-Trail program splits the system into 47 sections of about a mile each, so he expected to cover roughly 47 miles. He ended up walking well over 55. The extra distance came from Empire Ranch, from new trails completed in the Folsom Plan Area, and from sections still under construction. He told the story in a July commentary for the Folsom Times.

His walk also turned up something every household south of Highway 50 runs into eventually. The new trails there are good, and more are coming, but they don't connect to the Humbug-Willow Creek Trail, the lake trails, or anything else north of the freeway. The City of Folsom's project schedules show that changing in late 2028, and not before. Until then, Folsom Ranch's trails are their own system, with their own crossings, their own gaps, and one finished park at the center.

What You Can Walk Today

Most of the paved, off-street mileage south of 50 sits in two neighboring pieces, split by East Bidwell Street.

• Mangini Ranch trails. These are about three miles of Class I trail in the area bounded by Alder Creek Parkway, Savannah Parkway, East Bidwell Street and White Rock Road. The city's project page says the contractor, Consolidated Engineering, has finished construction and the city's landscape contractor is installing post-and-cable fencing along the trails. The listed opening date is September 2026.
• Regency trails. The city lists about three more miles of completed Class I trail in the area bounded by Mangini Parkway, East Bidwell Street, Oak Avenue and White Rock Road.
• Horseshoe Trail and White Rock Trail. These are the trail names the Friends of Folsom Parkways president lists for the city's new south end.

That's about six miles of trail on the two named projects, all on the south side of the freeway. For a sense of scale, the longest road-free stretch the parkways president found anywhere in Folsom is the Humbug/Willow Creek Trail from Folsom Boulevard to Oak Avenue. It runs about five miles, using three underpasses and one overpass to stay clear of traffic. The south end already has a comparable amount of trail. It just doesn't have that kind of unbroken route yet.

Prospector Park Is the One Finished Anchor

Since the trails don't yet lead anywhere north, the most useful spot south of 50 is the one park that's actually open. Prospector Park, at 4578 Sparrow Drive beside Mangini Ranch Elementary, is the first neighborhood park in Folsom Ranch, according to the city. It opened in December 2024 and covers 11.8 acres.

The city's opening announcement and facility listing together include:

• A playground with ziplines
• Lighted sports fields
• Basketball, tennis and volleyball courts
• A picnic shelter and picnic tables
• Restrooms
• Separate dog areas for large and small dogs

The list has no spray pad and no pickleball courts. Those are on the plans for parks that aren't built yet, which comes up again below. For now, Prospector is the only south-of-50 park in the city's listings with restrooms and a fenced dog area, so a dog walk or a bike loop with kids will likely start or end there.

Where the Trails Stop

Gaps inside the south-end system can be as frustrating as the missing link to the north.

The new trail along Mangini Parkway runs right into East Bidwell Street and picks up again on the far side as the Regency trail. In his Folsom Times commentary, the parkways president points out that there's no safe crossing at that spot. Traffic is heavy, and the landscaped median makes it clear that crossing there isn't allowed. Trail users have to detour to a signalized intersection and then double back to the trail. He compares it to the older Oak Avenue crossing near Blue Ravine Road, where Humbug Creek Trail users also have to walk up to the signal, cross, and walk back.

He also flags parking on the Regency side. He calls that section a wonderful trail, especially in spring when the grasslands turn green. But he writes that most of it runs through a private gated community, the main roads beside it have no designated parking, and there were no completed parks, schools or shopping nearby as of his July commentary. If you're driving in from elsewhere in Folsom Ranch, check access before you go.

The city's parks page lists two fixes. The first segment of the Southeast Connector Trail on White Rock Road would start where the existing trail ends east of East Bidwell Street and connect to an existing trail west of Savannah Parkway. A second segment would run from Empire Ranch Road to Stonebriar Drive in El Dorado County. Caltrans has authorized construction. The city lists a September 2026 construction start and an October 2027 opening. Mayor Justin Raithel's State of the City coverage in January had said this trail would open in fall 2026. The city's project page has since moved the date to October 2027.

The Highway 50 Gap

The city's project page says plainly that "there is no Class I trail facility under Highway 50."

The planned connection runs along the Sacramento Placerville Transportation Corridor railroad tracks, and it takes two projects working together.

The Folsom-Placerville Rail Trail is a proposed 1.25-mile Class I trail on the east side of East Bidwell Street. It would run from Iron Point Road north to the existing Humbug-Willow Creek Trail, about half a mile north of Oak Avenue Parkway. The city calls it the only Class I trail connection to the Folsom Plan Area. Its budget is $3,233,838, mostly from state and regional Active Transportation Program grants. Construction is scheduled for June 2027 through March 2028.

The Highway 50 Class I Trail Undercrossing covers the last stretch. It would connect the existing trail that runs from Iron Point Road to just short of the freeway with the trail along Old Placerville Road on the south side. Today, the trail beside the tracks starts about 175 feet east of the East Bidwell and Iron Point crosswalks, so cyclists and walkers have to use a narrow sidewalk to reach it. The project adds a new trail link to the path behind the In-N-Out and widens the waiting area at that intersection. Design runs through December 2026 and construction runs September 2027 through August 2028. The city lists a September 2028 opening.

Neither project gives you a continuous off-street route north without the other. So on the current schedules, the earliest you could ride from Folsom Ranch to the Humbug-Willow Creek Trail without leaving a Class I path is fall 2028.

A third project would add another crossing over East Bidwell. The proposed pedestrian overcrossing between Via Sol and Iron Point Road is in design from January 2026 through March 2028. Construction and opening dates are still open because the project is waiting on grant funding. The city held a public workshop on it on October 1 at 330 Palladio Parkway.

The Schedule, in Order

The city's project page doesn't show a publication date, and every date above is a forecast. The White Rock Road trail has already slipped once.

The Parks Still on Paper

The spray pad and pickleball courts missing at Prospector Park show up in plans for parks that haven't been built. Community Park West is planned to have a spray park, a dog park, sports fields, courts, a skate park, a playground and a picnic pavilion. The city says the site is a contaminated former Aerojet property that hasn't been transferred to city ownership yet, and its milestone dates are listed as TBD.

Jackrabbit Hill Park on Empire Ranch Road had its master plan approved by the City Council on May 26, 2026, and is listed for July 2028. The next date to watch is closer. Neighborhood Park #2 is a planned 5.65-acre park at Savannah Parkway and Westwood Drive, and the City Council is scheduled to consider a design-services agreement for it on October 27, 2026. That meeting is the first step toward a second neighborhood park south of the freeway, though the city hasn't set an opening date.

Shopping south of 50 is on a similar timeline. Alder Creek Marketplace, at Alder Creek Parkway and East Bidwell Street, is planned around a 55,000-square-foot Safeway. The Folsom Times reported in April that its first tenants are expected in the first half of 2027.

Folsom Ranch is changing fast, and a trail opening or a Council vote can change how a street works within a single season. Sac Platinum Realty keeps up with these project schedules across Folsom and the neighborhoods south of 50, whether you're settling into your first year there or figuring out what the next few years of building will mean for your block. If you'd like to talk through any of it, Let's Talk.