Hiking trails near Placerville, California

197 official trails lie within 25 miles of Placerville — 717 miles in total, 105 rated easy and 32 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.

The biggest climb nearby gains 4,438 ft; the median trail gains 325 ft.

Open the map on Placerville

24 trails worth the drive

Trail	Miles	Climb	Difficulty	Drive from town
Pony Express National Historic Trail	38.2	4,438 ft	Expert	25 min · 18 mi
Western States Trl	11.8	1,445 ft	Expert	44 min · 21 mi
Rock Creek Loop	27.8	2,539 ft	Expert	50 min · 24 mi
Slate Canyon	12.0	1,213 ft	Expert	33 min · 14 mi
Caldor Loop	22.5	1,610 ft	Expert	1 h 30 min · 32 mi
Nevada Point	5.6	2,599 ft	Expert	2 h 35 min · 56 mi
Crosier Run	11.2	1,255 ft	Expert	33 min · 14 mi
Gold Rush	16.9	834 ft	Expert	1 h 24 min · 34 mi
Tillotson	4.7	2,115 ft	Expert	3 h 12 min · 65 mi
Plummer Ridge Loop	20.6	1,546 ft	Expert	1 h 16 min · 25 mi
Big Mtn. Loop	14.2	634 ft	Expert	1 h 30 min · 32 mi
South Fork American River Trail	9.6	398 ft	Expert	35 min · 21 mi
Pioneer Express Trl	11.9	140 ft	Expert	45 min · 30 mi
Belix	6.6	918 ft	Hard	2 h 08 min · 50 mi
Foresthill Divide Loop Trl	9.1	340 ft	Hard	51 min · 29 mi
Browns Ravine Trail	11.4	124 ft	Hard	36 min · 24 mi
Mar Det	5.8	854 ft	Hard	45 min · 23 mi
Sugarpine Point	2.9	1,803 ft	Hard	1 h 25 min · 31 mi
El Dorado Trail	14.3	684 ft	Hard	27 min · 20 mi
Roanoak	3.2	1,757 ft	Hard	1 h 32 min · 35 mi
Al Brass	7.1	372 ft	Hard	1 h 02 min · 21 mi
Donaldson	1.6	2,241 ft	Hard	58 min · 27 mi
Fleming Meadow Loop	7.0	585 ft	Hard	32 min · 20 mi
Nevada Point Trail	2.3	1,876 ft	Moderate	1 h 02 min · 28 mi

Quick picks near Placerville

Easy and short: Stagecoach Trl — 1.8 mi, rated easy, 19 mi from town
Biggest climb: Pony Express National Historic Trail — 4,438 ft over 38.2 mi, 16 mi from town
Longest: Pony Express National Historic Trail — 38.2 mi, 16 mi from town

What the trails reach

Waterfalls: Darrington Trail to Salmon Falls (historical); Codfish Falls Trl to Codfish Falls

Summits: Roanoak to Cock Robin Point; Bald Mountain to Bald Mountain; West Bald Mountain to Bald Mountain; French Hill Trail to French Hill

Lakes: Plummer Ridge Loop to Leoni Fire Tank; Pioneer Express Trl to Averys Pond; Sugarpine Point to Camino Reservoir; American River Bike Path to Hunkle Reservoir

Viewpoints: American River Bike Path to Tsuchiya-Folsom Lookout Point; Middle Ridge Trl to Pinckney Viewpoint; South Lake Natoma Multi-Use Trl to Lake Natoma Access Point; Snowberry Creek Trl to Ishiyama Bird View Point

Rock formations: Pointed Rocks Fbt to Pointed Rocks

Springs: Buckeye Flat to Zero Spring

Trail guides near Placerville

NST - Pacific Crest — 142.9 mi, 2,748 ft climb · 37 mi away

Nearby towns: Rocklin (25 mi) · Ione (27 mi) · Grass Valley (36 mi) · Sacramento (38 mi)

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