Sos, needed a park for the kiddos and found this little park…read more Not a lot of parking spots but enough and there is places to park outside the park. Bathrooms are pretty clean. Kiddos can run jump in play in a field or on a play structure. Yes homeless people might sleep in their cars in the park but they don't disturb you!

The best park a small town can offer. Conveniently located off Mother Lode Dr directly across from…read morethe Train Station Coffee Shop. Its easy to drive past this park without even noticing it. However when you actually pull i to the parking lot you realize what a gem this place is. Its small enough so that you don't have to walk a mile to reach the playground yet large enough to host a football/soccer field and a huge playground even by adult standards. Grab yourself an ice cold drink and decompress under the shade as you let your kids tire themselves out. Or throw grab some buds and relax with a good old bbq.

My family and I trekked up the mountain to meet our friends at Gold Bug Park yesterday in…read morePlacerville. It was the first visit for all 7 of us and we had a great time! Our first stop was the mine cave that was very cold inside and educational - they give you a phone that plays audio with all of the historical facts while walking through the mine. It's about 15 minutes and we really enjoyed ourselves. The staff member who handles the cave tour was great with getting the 7 of us situated and explaining the rules. We also checked out the Blacksmith and the Stamping Mill - both were also very entertaining and educational. My daughter got to hammer a square nail into a tree truck - cool way to leave a little mark on the place. Gold Bug Park also offers Gem Panning which would did not check out, but we saw a couple of kids having fun while doing it. Entrance to the park is free, but the mine cave tour is $12 per adult, $8 per kid - 5 and under are free! Overall, we had a lot of fun! So many cool artifacts and history to explore. I thought every single staff member was knowledgeable, friendly and did a great job keeping our kids engaged! We would definitely come back to Gold Bug Park next time we are in Placerville!

Gold Bug Mine is such a cool experience! It was amazing to walk through an actual mine and listen…read moreto all the historical facts during the tour. This place makes for a great educational field trip -- fun and informative. We even got to see a blacksmith in action and learned a lot about the craft during a live demonstration. Everyone who works here is super knowledgeable and really helps complete the whole authentic vibe. It truly felt like a blast to the past! The kiddos especially loved panning for natural gems. Highly recommend for families, history buffs, or anyone looking for a fun day out!

This park is in downtown Placerville, CA. It's one of the prettiest neighborhood parks that I've…read moreever seen. Gorgeous aspen (or pine, one of those) trees surround the park. In its four acres is a lighted little league baseball field (home to the Hangtown League) complete with an electronic scoreboard and snack shack, play ground, picnic tables with bbq pits, and restrooms. The park is on Clark Street which is a narrow neighborhood gravel road. Drive cautiously because the street turns into hybrid part parking lot and street. On game days, the parking lot fills up quickly. When that happens, parking on Clark Street is scarce and the best bet is to park on Pacific Street and hike in. There are some handicapped parking spots located at the far end of the parking lot behind the little snack shack. From that end, there is a walking ramp that leads to all areas of the park including the walking path around the back field. So if you have folks in your group that would benefit from using the ADA ramps, it's best to unload from back there. Besides that access point, there are stairs, with hand rails, in the front parking lot. The parking lot has only one entrance and exit point. A big shout out to the Placerville Rotary Club for creating this park and helping to maintain it. Great community partnership.

Lions Park in Placerville, CA, is quite a gem. She's a beaut! The park was dedicated in 1968 by the…read morePlacerville Lion's Club. 24 acre park with two tennis courts, four pickle ball courts, two softball fields, frisbee disc golf course, children's play area, restroom, walking trail, and picnic tables and bbqs. The courts are locked though. City residents can purchase a key from the City's Parks and Recreation Office to access the courts. The park was extremely clean and well maintained. On my weekend visit, I was surprised to see a groundskeeper working on a weekend afternoon. He was no slacker. No wonder this place was so neat and tidy.

Great park. We came…read morefor a really good friend's baby shower. It's $50 to rent to the gazebo great price. Tennis court Park Baseball field Frisbee golf Two bathrooms Charcoal bbq ((should be scraped down once a month or something)) Lots of shaded area to sit. Pretty far out but great park Lots of parking available for your group

It was hot and we were visiting the area. My husband used his mapping skills and found this area by…read morethe water. When we arrived I was stunned it was so empty! Not a huge fan of trying to relax amidst a ton of people. There is a 6 dollar per car entrance fee. There were butterflies everywhere. It is a put it here for the rafters. It is located at the south fork of the American river which I have rafted many times but never from here. If you haven't rafted the American river I absolutely recommend! Back to the park, there is a grassy area to lay down a towel and have a picnic. I didn't see Bbqs or bathrooms but I didn't look all that hard. The beach area is rocky. Beautiful rocks, most smooth. Perfect for skipping! The water is Cold but that didn't stop us. My daughter in law is very pregnant and her poor feet appreciated the frigid water. The guys, they just jumped in. I edited real quick to add, if you get in know that the water is moving fast. Be aware. Next time we come I will bring some chairs. You can also pan for gold here if you desire. Pet friendly! Wonderful spot to cool off and listen to the water I tell ya!

What a cool park!! My son and his family live near here and…read morestumbled on this track walking the trail. So when we visited this last time my husband brought his bike and the boys hit the track. We had a delightful conversation with a county employee there, he explained how they built it ALL by hand! We had it to ourselves for a long while, then the kids started piling in. It's a big space. Clean bathrooms. Picnic tables. My husband's bike will travel with us now when we visit.

Track is fun. However, there are people throwing birthday parties for kids who don't have enough…read moreexperience riding a bike let alone being on a pump track. The parents of those kids don't watch them and I've seen multiple kids get seriously injured. Parks and Rec need to come up with some standard rules and etiquette for the park.

I love the quote "time is like a river, you never touch the same water twice"…read more This is yet another spot on the American river I visited for the first time on land. We were in the area and wanted to picnic on the water. The parking lot is large and there are baseball fields and other park stuff but if you venture down the rocky somewhat steep hill there are little areas on the shoreline. We spent the entire day listening to the water and swimming and stacking rocks. We watched all the rafters go by but they couldn't see us. I saw 3 people go down the rapids on paddle boards standing!! That was impressive! I was absolutely content watching them from the shore in the shade eating my lunch with my legs in the water.. great day!

The main park sits along the South Fork of the American River in Lotus, CA (FYI - The Gold Rush…read morestarted a few miles down the road). On the main park side, there are two parking lots. Between the lots are natural grass soccer fields. There are several mobile soccer goals free to use. Around the lawn and park perimeters is a paved walking trail, the full loop is .4 miles. Easy, flat ADA path. I enjoy walking it. Near the boat launch are public toilets. The boat launch area is for rafts and kayaks. Don't expect to launch anything bigger than that. Right now, in December, the river is swift and fast with rapids. The current conditions are only for highly skilled pro kayakers. In the summer, the water's edge is calm enough for folks to dip their toes in but it's wall to wall folks here especially on the weekends. There are more park facilities across the street. There are lighted baseball fields (Field A for little league and kiddo play and Field B for adults), children's playground, parking lot ($10 parking fee), and trail access to the Gam Saan (Chinese translation Gold Mountain) trail that connects to the Monroe Ridge Trail in Marshall Gold Discovery State Park. The trail just opened last February. If you paid for parking across the street, you don't need to pay again. There is a pedestrian crosswalk. But please do be careful, majority of cars don't stop and rumble on through regardless if folks are in the crosswalk. The speed limit is 25 mph in front of the park but not a lot of drivers adhere to that. The parking fee increased to $10 from $5 since this past summer. 100% increase... ouch. Parking is self pay and cash only. You have to take an envelope from the pay station box and fill it out with your vehicle info. (I know... I can hear ya' all saying who carries exact cash or even a pen... where the app). Anyhoo, the slip goes on your car dashboard and the envelop with the $10 into the locked bin. The penalty for non payment is a $25 fine. Also the light for the ball fields are not free and only takes tokens. Tokens are sold from the El Dorado County Parks & Rec Department. You have to call the Department to set up an appointment at the offices to purchase the tokens. The times I've been here, I notice a lot of folks aren't paying the parking fee and I don't see enforcement of it. Hmm so does increasing the parking fee increase compliance?

The Eldorado National Forest consist of nearly 600,000 acres with lakes, streams, and rivers;…read moremeadows and mountains; and campsites and picnic areas. There are over 400 hiking trails that pass through various terrains ranging in technical difficulty. The terrain ranges from meadow, oak foothills, to the 10,000 foot Sierra Nevada. Some hiking trails require reservations for day use permits. There are also campgrounds. Some areas, such as the areas affected by the recent fires, are off limits. For up to date information, It is advised to check out the fs.usda.gov website. The area is beautiful. Gorgeous alpine backcountry. Old growth forest. Pristine streams. There are access roads that will drive into the area. But most of the access roads are ruff, not paved, and could be hard to maneuver without a SUV.

Where do I start?! I absolutely love hiking here. It's a long drive for us, but it is so worth it!…read moreIf you love Yosemite, then you will love it here as well. We hiked Horsetail Falls Trail, and I can't even explain how magnificent this place is. It is a 4 mile hike surrounded by mini waterfalls and rock formation throughout the hike. Your reward is getting underneath the main waterfall at the top of the hike. You will do a lot of rock climbing the further you hike, and it gets really steep. There are absolutely breathtaking views at the top. I love it! I recommend this hike to everyone. My tip for this hike is to bring lots of water because you will need it. Come early to snag a parking spot because it fills up fast and there is a $10 fee for parking. ENJOY!

Had a pretty good time here with my mom. Was able to go the museum there. The museum was pretty…read morenice. There are some trails there as well. There are signs that are by the structures that has information. It's a pretty outing if you're looking for something to do for the day.

This is a great little state park with lots of things to explore. It's the home of Sutter's Mill…read morewhere gold was first discovered, and it's really close to the American River. There are lots of little trails and structures to explore. We hiked up to the John Marshall monument, not too far from the base. We didn't get a chance to see the museum but I'd love to come back again sometime. Definitely worth the $10 state park parking fee.