ASRA and Folsom Lake SRA quietly adds electric motorized bikes (e-bikes) to over 40 dirt trails and roads

With no fanfare, announcement or CEQA-required public comment, electric motorized bikes are now allowed on many dirt non-motorized trails in Auburn and Folsom Lake SRAs because of a new order by the Superintendent (see below for their contact information).

Because of public concern over trail safety and environmental issues, the controversial decision of adding electric motorized bikes on non-motorized trails on public lands have prompted successful lawsuits by PEER, BCHA, Wilderness Society and other groups. CLICK HERE to see information about the e-bike lawsuit against Tahoe National Forest. CLICK HERE to see the five lawsuits against e-bikes in National Parks.
CLICK HERE to see the new trails added and the policy change.

The trails where you will now find e-bikes in Auburn SRA:
Bridgeview Trail, Clementine Trail, Confluence Trail, Culvert Trail, Flood Road Trail, Foresthill Divide Loop Trail, Fuel Break Trail, Lake Clementine Access Trail, Long Point Fuel Break Trail, Manzanita Trail, McKeon-Ponderosa Trail, Mossy Rock Trail, Stagecoach Trail  Olmstead Loop Trail, PG&E Road, Quarry Trail, Robie Point Fuel Break Trail, PCWA Road, Pleasant Avenue Road, Salt Creek Road, Knickerbocker Haul Road, Ponderosa Road, Upper Lake Clementine Road  

The trails where you will now find e-bikes in Folsom Lake SRA:
South Lake Natoma Multi-use Trail (dirt), South Lake Natoma Bike Path (paved), Parkshore Bike Path Connector Trail (paved), American River Bike Path-Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (paved), Main Avenue Bike Path Connector Trail (paved), Mississippi Bar Service Road (dirt), Service Road-Beals Point to Granite Bay Across Dikes 4-6 (dirt), Dike 4-6 Multiuse Trail (dirt), Granite Bay Multi-use Trail-South (dirt), Granite Bay Multi-use Trail-North (dirt), Center Trail (dirt), Doton's Point Multi-use Trail (dirt), Darrington Trail (dirt), South Fork America River Trail (dirt), Sweetwater Trail (dirt), Mormon Island Cove to Brown's Ravine (dirt) Dike 8 to Mormon Island Cove-Across MIAD (dirt), Leidsdorff Trail (paved) 

The new State Parks policy went into effect on August 27, 2021, and is as follows:
E-bike use on trails and nonpublic, controlled-access [ii] roads shall be allowed only where designated by Superintendent’s Order in the following park unit classifications:

• State recreation area
• State vehicular recreation area
• E-bike use in park units:
  • State recreation areas:
    • Except for public roadways, only class 1 e-bikes shall be allowed by Superintendent’s Order on controlled-access roads and trails.
    • Except for public roadways, class 2 or 3 e-bikes are not allowed.
    • Class 1 e-bikes may be designated for use only on trails and controlled-access roads that already allow traditional (non-electric) bicycles.
  • State vehicular recreation areas:
    • Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes may be allowed by Superintendent’s Order for use on trails and controlled-access roads.
  • All other park unit classifications:
    • Class 1 e-bikes may be temporarily allowed by Superintendent’s Order for use on trails and nonpublic, controlled-access roads for research and demonstration purposes.
    • Except for public roadways, class 2 or 3 e-bikes are not allowed.                                                   
      

You may wish to contact the responsible Superintendent of either of these parks for further information:

Auburn State Recreation Area
Superintendent Mike Howard 
Email: <Mike.Howard@parks.ca.gov>
(530) 885-4527

Folsom Lake State Recreational Area
Superintendent Rich Preston
Email: <Rich.Preston@parks.ca.gov>
(916) 988-0205

Both of these State Recreation Area belong to:
Gold Fields District
7755 Folsom Auburn Road
Folsom, CA 95630-6634
(916) 988-0205

If you have further questions regarding e-bike use in the California State Park System, please email trails@parks.ca.gov.