Hiking Cronan Ranch Trails In Pilot Hill, CA

The foothills of California in the springtime are absolutely gorgeous! Green rolling hills, flowers blooming everywhere, and weather just right for hiking! I am always on the hunt for new hiking trails and I found one. It just so happened to be Earth day as well :). If you’re an avid hiker, or just a beginner, this trail will accommodate every level. It is so beautiful that I feel it would be appreciated by everyone! Plus there is a old movie set still on the property!

A little info about the trails

Overall there is approximately 12 miles of trails here. All vary in elevation of climb and decent. You have many options of taking shorter hikes or longer ones depending on what experience you want on that day. There is a nice parking lot here and there are no fees to park. There are also restrooms available. The trails are open from sunrise to sunset all year long.

There isn’t a lot of shade on the trails so sunscreen and a hat would be a good idea :). I also wore my hydration pack.

You will most likely see people riding horses, mountain bikers, moms with jogging strollers and hikers of all ages. Dogs are also welcome but must be on a leash due to the sheep, livestock dogs and electric fencing.

The trails were moderately trafficked while we were there. It was nice to have hikers on the trail but not so many that your not enjoying the quiet of your surroundings. It was perfect!

Heading out on the trail

It was a gorgeous sunny day, clear blue skies, and just a slight cool breeze. The temperature was perfect for a casual hike. I gathered some of my family members to join me on this new adventure and off we went :). We drove to the location and parked. We got out grabbed our back packs and were ready to explore this unfamiliar territory!

From the parking lot you will head out on a main trial. This trail is called “Cronan Ranch Road”. From there you can venture off to several other trails, depending on what type of difficulty you want. We decided to stay on Cronan Ranch Road all the way to the river.

When you first start out on the trail you will notice how open it is! Miles of green fields and beautiful oak trees. It feels like you’re out in the middle of no where because it is so quiet and peaceful. Well except for the sheep you hear ‘baaing’ off in the distance lol! Literally there are big herds of sheep! Its so cute. I took a moment to just stand on the trail and take in the miles of rolling hills. I love to just take a moment sometimes and “Breathe” and “Listen”. It centers me, then I am good to go for the rest of the day or week lol :).

Cronan Road trail is very flat and wide and pretty even except for the occasional washed out areas from the flowing streams. This trail is perfect for you mom’s out there with your jogging strollers! Just another reminder –  make sure to bring a hat and wear sunscreen on this hike!

The trail will wind back and forth as you hike along. As we were walking on this trail I was so mesmerized by all of its lush green beautiful scenery. This won’t last long as Summer time will bring on the golden colors of the grasses.

As your walking along the trail you are actually descending a little. It doesn’t really feel like it but your slowly making a decent down as you get closer to the river.

About 3/4 of the way on the trail you come across this beautiful old ranch house! This ranch house and the chicken coupe off to the left are part of an old movie set! Yep I said movie set lol. Michael J Landon Jr’s movie “The Love Comes Softly” was filmed here. It was a hallmark series that was released in 2003.

If your wanting to have a picnic or just a little rest, there are picnic tables just on the other side of the building. It is such a beautiful area to stop and just sit and “Be”.

As you go past the buildings the trail starts to narrow a little and starts to get steeper in decent. You can hear the water rushing off in a distance, so you know your getting close. As you get closer to the river watch your footing, there are big rocks and areas that the dirt is a little looser.

We hiked down to the river bank and ate our lunch. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Fruit and granola bars yum! It was soooo nice and quiet.

I put my feet in the water as I do on every hike I take lol. I don’t know what it is but I literally have to do it or even jump in and swim! Although I didn’t here because it was very chilly! I just simply like to take my shoes off and relax a bit and enjoy the reason I hiked out to the location. My husband on the other hand has to have water at 80 degrees or higher before he will get in, so he usually watches me from the bank ha!

Sitting here with my feet in the water and just chatting with my family and taking in the scenery was truly a serene moment! The water was very cold, but very clear. I could see where this would be a great swimming hole in the summer months!

There are multiple beach accesses from other trails as well as the one we took. There are also other locations that have picnic tables and restrooms.

After eating our lunch we decided to head back. We took a different trail this time :). This one looked a little flatter and not much of a elevation gain for the way back… or so we thought lol! It was flat for quite awhile and then at the very end of the trail it started to climb pretty fast. It wasn’t bad though, I would say easy to moderate. On this trail there was a creek off to the right and a lot of newly planted trees.

Below is the map posted at the beginning of the main trail. It gives you a good example of all of the trails available. You can see that there are many options here. If you keep going on the trail to the bottom left of the picture you actually will make it to a part of Folsom lake.

Directions

Heading North on Highway 49 from highway 50 you’ll come to a town called Coloma. This is where gold was discovered in California! It’s a very cool little area to check out and explore. This will be in an upcoming blog as well lol :). Go through the town of Coloma and head across the American river. Notice the brand new bridge here! When you come to the stop sign on highway 49 and Marshall road you will go straight 4.8 miles and then make a left turn onto Pedro Hill road, the parking lot will be on the left.

I highly suggest this trail! It is absolutely beautiful and very quiet and peaceful. If you want to see the lush green grasses I would go in the spring. Anytime of year would be great on this hike though. Swimming would be great in the summer :).

Have you hiked on this trail before? What was your favorite trail?

Chat Soon!

Trudy