Avery Pond at Folsom Lake

Avery's Pond at Folsom Lake

Distance: 2.4 miles, Out and Back
Difficulty: Easy

Springtime is a splendid opportunity for hiking amidst the wildflowers, butterflies and turtles at Avery's Pond, located about 1.2 miles north of the Rattlesnake Bar Equestrian Assembly Area, at Milepost 47.5 of the historic Pioneer Express Trail. Hikers will enjoy scenic views of the full reservoir of Folsom Lake along the North Fork of the American River.

Description:
This trail bed is generally in good condition. The trail starts out a double track and then turns into a single track. This trail is about 90% stroller friendly. There are a couple areas you can lift it over a step. Dogs are allowed on a leash.

Leave the horse-assembly area at the signed trailhead at the northeast end of the parking lot. Your trail starts out as a dirt path that becomes a double-track in short order. When the wide track veers right, stay on the single path that leads left. The double-track will rejoin your path shortly. A sign ahead proclaims that you on the Pioneer Express Trail and indicates the distance to Avery’s Pond and Auburn.

After you head generally east for about 10 minutes, the trail turns north to meander through live oak and toy on. After 0.25 miles, you will start descending a bit along a deeply rutted section of trail. As you reach a sunny hillside, look to the opposite shore of the lake wither the “bathtub rings” in the dirt bespeak the various levels lake levels over the years.
Walk along in the cool shade of black oak, live oak, and more Manzanita until you come to an easy but steep downhill stretch. A large outcrop to your left leans out over the trail. Well protected by poison oak, these are not the rocks one would be enthusiastic about bouldering. The trail is crossed with smaller boulders that serve as stairs to help you clamber down the trail. Your path is now sand and pea gravel and contours along beside the lake about 50 feet above the shoreline. The trail runs right up next to a steep drop to the rocks below just as you see the first signs of the North Fork Ditch.

Cross a small drainage just before you come upon a large patch of blackberries at about the 1-mile point. The ditch is plainly visible for the next mile encrusted with blackberries, the ditch runs to your right.

Walk another 175 feet to cross another bridge, which signals your arrival at the pond. Turn right and head toward the lake. Be careful: the bank surrounding the pond is steep, and the pond is not suitable for swimming or wading. The trail will then goes around the lake and returns you to the bridge.

History of Avery's Pond
The historic pond was constructed in the 1880's by Ira Avery, a pioneer rancher with extensive orchards in this area. The coordinates are 38.8302°North and 121.0915°West, with an approximate elevation of the pond surface at 530 feet, about 20 feet above the high-water shoreline of Folsom Lake. The pond was constructed probably by mule-drawn scrapers with a east berm (above the river), and the west side is excavated into natural alluvium. The historic 1854 North Fork Ditch also traverses along the west side of the American River, and small diversion ditch provided water into Avery's Pond. A number of seasonal floods eroded both the ditch and the pond, which were then repaired by earth-scrapers and buckets of alluvium from the river. There were no bulldozers and dump-trucks 130 years ago! The pond is lined with fine-grained alluvium (silt, clay, and fine sand), but it evidently leaked considerably.

Ira Avery came to the goldfields as a 15-year old boy from Maine. In 1874, he married the daughter of a local rancher, Seney Boles Avery, and they raised three children. Mrs. Avery was an educated pioneer lady and taught public school for 12 years. Ira Avery had a diverse career as a supplier to the gold mines of the Mother Lode (principally lumber and fruit, with some sheep ranching). Avery's ranch consisted of about 117 acres, of which 40 acres had 1,500 fruit trees (pears, persimmons, cherries).

Directions:
Drive 15 miles east on I-80 to Loomis, and exit at Horseshoe Bar Road. Turn left at the end of the ramp onto Horseshoe Bar Road; bear left and then take the next left turn onto Horseshoe Bar Road. Continue 3.4 miles to Auburn-Folsom Road. Turn left and drive 2.3 miles to Newcastle Road, where you will turn right and go 1 mile to Rattlesnake Road. Turn right again and follow the road another mile until the pavement ends. Stop and pay $10.00 at the entry kiosk. Drive 0.2 miles to the sign for the horse-assembly area and boat launch. Turn left and drive 0.4 miles to the sign for the horse-assembly area, then turn left again, into the gravel parking lot. The signed trailhead is at the northeast end of the lot, in the grass. If you don’t want to pay the $10, you can park the before the gate at the kiosk and walk to the trail head. The walk is only 0.6 miles. Just follow the above directions and allow 30 minutes.

Park Fee:
$10