Over the summer I’d heard about a new trail system, just south of Cool on Highway 49, called Cronan Ranch. This weekend we finally had a chance to explore the trails there. Fiona and I met my brother and we headed up there this weekend.
The trailhead for Cronan Ranch is almost on highway 49 and the trails drop down to the river from there. Expect mostly fast buffed singletrack through meadows with some light tree cover. With all the exposure summer riding is bound to be hot plus there is a lot of thistle and foxtail growing in the park so now is a great time to get out there before it gets too hot and dry. Of particular note was the West Ridge trail. It’s a fun fast section of singletrack that follows along a ridgeline. You can easily put together some 10-15 mile rides at this park with lots of single and doubletrack. What you won’t find at Cronan ranch is any technical MTB riding.
This park system is slated to be expanded and the plan is to eventually connect these trails up to the Salmon Falls bridge and Sweetwater/ Salmon Falls. Kevin and I explored some of the trails which will likely connect these two systems and it looks like there will be plenty of great views and good riding along the American River.
Hopefully I’ll get the chance to return there and put together some nice routes. I have some pictures but none came out very well, I might post them a little later on. For now here is a Map of Cronan Ranch from the Coloma Valley Recreation Page for Cronan Ranch.