Granite Bay - Feb. '25 

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On a mid-week day in early February, five of us drove to the Granite Bay area to walk the Pioneer Express Trail, on the west side of Folsom Lake. We parked in a neighborhood near Horseshoe Bar.

This general area is where the north fork of the American River meets Folsom Lake. The walking trail was usually 50 - 100 ft. above the Lake's high water mark, and mostly in the woods.   

Lake elevation is normal, with spare capacity for spring and summer snow-melt and runoff, which varies a lot; in the Sacramento area, great rain years and extended drought years alternate, and have for a very long time.

note - on a pc or laptop you can zoom in & and out, but not on a smartphone.    

	Folsom Lake		Soap plant
		Toyon berries		Granite Bay in winter light
	Jean				Dave & soap plants
		dropping to lake level		impressive palms, see note
			lunch view

note - I'd surmise there was a house here, years ago, with palms in the front yard and a great lake view. 

The women hikers found a perfect beach-like setting for lunch, with big boulders. 

	high water mark		lunch spot		heading back
		Dave
	poison oak		almost back

This was an enjoyable walk, about four miles total, with many grade changes & a variety of landscapes.

It was a perfect mid-winter's day, with little wind and our walking pace kept us warm.  

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