New York Creek Nature Trail

The New York Creek Nature Trail is a modest trail tracing the edge of a creek in the El Dorado Hills area.With its uphill endpoint at the El Dorado Hills Community Park and its downhill endpoint beside Jackson Elementary School which offers additional open parking on evenings and weekends, the path is a nice place to get away from the city while remaining near the heart of the area. The trail is gravel, with its more well-traveled portions nearer to the Community Park area being wider and graded. This section is good for families with children, as with the exception of a couple residential road crossings, the path is mostly on a mild grade and sits alongside some of the soccer fields of the community park.Interpretive signs describe the riparian ecosystem that the creek is a part of lying in the center of an otherwise arid and often hot hillside.As the trail proceeds, it crosses a perpendicular cycling path before dropping back down toward the creek in an area that is much more narrow and rocky. This lower section of New York Creek runs behind some larger homes, with the back fences taking away from the feeling of the city being distant. Here the path weaves over and around knobby oak roots and sharp rocks beneath the dirt. Keep an eye out for mountain bikes here as they tend to speed down the downhill grade but visibility doesn't extend far due to the windy path and dense trees.A foot bridge crosses the creek leading to the lower parking area. Hikers can turn around here and retrace their route back uphill toward the trailhead.Parking is available at the El Dorado Hills Community Park. The trail can be accessed by crossing the small bridge to the right of the community teen center building entrance, and immediately turning left onto a narrow dirt single track that traces the creek's edge. The Community Park parking area is open daily from 7am to 10pm.