Placer Land Trust Trails
Building for Future Access
Since we started protecting land in 1991, one of the public benefits we have sought to protect is lands with recreational value. Many of the properties we have protected are open to the public every day including
Miners Ravine Preserve, Auburn School Park Preserve, Cisco Grove Gould Park, and Codfish Falls Trail Preserve.
However, many more of our properties were protected with the vision of opening them to the public as we developed the means. For years we have hosted the spring Treasured Landscapes Hike Series. We began opening Harvego Bear River Preserve for monthly docent-led hikes in 2011, and this year added a monthly hike on our Big Hill Preserves.
In 2012 we will be moving further along this path of creating more access to new recreational opportunities. Check out some progress updates in the articles below.
Big Hill Preserve
The 160-acre Kotomyan Big Hill Preserve was protected in 2007 following the protection of 642 contiguous acres in and around Big Hill and Coon Creek.
Trailbuilding at Kotomyan
In the spring of 2011 thanks to generous in-kind support from
Trailscape we were able to lay in a mile of trail beginning by Coon Creek on Taylor Ranch Preserve, winding up through the oak woodlands that characterize the foothills, and leading to a high vista point on Kotomyan affording incredible views of the Sierra. This trail has been featured on our Big Hill docent-led hikes every other month since January this year. Last month - thanks again to generous in-kind support from Trailscape and numerous volunteers - we added another mile of trail on the Kotomyan Preserve. We still have some work left to finish the trail, so keep your eyes open for volunteer opportunities in this spring if you want to be among the first to see this project in action.
The finished loop trail will be included in future
docent-led hikes on Big Hill, so even if you don't want to wield any heavy hand tools, you will still be able to check it out this spring!
Canyon View Preserve
Placer Land Trust protected this 50-acre roadside property in 2003. Since then it has seen a significant effort to enhance its conservation value. A major riparian restoration effort has transformed Sierra Canyon Creek, changing its historical muddy runoff to clear channels feeding the North Fork American River. Major fuel load reduction efforts have improved habitat for wildlife and the neighborhood around it. Finally invasive weed management is helping bring back native plant and animal species.
Public recreation was part of the vision for this property too. The California Conservation Corps is constructing the long planned 1.5-mile interpretive loop trail. The interpretive component of the trail will showcase the riparian restoration, invasive plant management and fuel load reduction projects that have taken place on the Preserve, and it will also provide general information about the North Fork American River watershed and wildlife in the area.
Most of the trail should be finished by June in time for a preview at the
June 23 Treasured Landscape Hike. We anticipate that this property will be open to the public 24/7 by next spring.
Stagecoach Preserve
This neighborhood park preserve helps protect wetland and oak woodland habitat located near the popular Stagecoach Trail head. Since its protection in 1999 we have conducted significant restoration of the riparian area along Foresthill Avenue, but Placer Land Trust has long planned to build a trial along the creek upstream of the road to expand neighborhood recreational opportunities. Now the time has come.
We will work with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members later this spring to construct the Wilson Memorial Trail on the Stagecoach Preserve. The trail will run up the creek and past a small pond that lies at the heart of this part of the property. We will organize volunteer work days to help with the trail construction this spring: contact
Janet Voris to be notified of opportunities. The trail should be open to the public this fall.
