Great tour. Folsom was the first prison with electricity. Excellent tour guide. Plan on about an hour for the tour. The tour is free, but parking will cost you. read more

The park trail was relaxing and the view of the lake was absolutely stunning! There were many seagulls on the other side of the lake. I also went to the Powerhouse and it looked very interesting, A person was there who showed me how the turbines made electricity and powered the lights in the town to be blinding bright! Overall, 10/10 Would recommend to a friend will come again! read more

Folsom Powerhouse State Historical Park - This is a Picture I took of the powerhouse. - Hiking Near Me - Folsom, California

We've lived in this area for a long time and have ridden our bikes by the powerhouse plenty of times. But we never stopped in until today and I don't think I had ever noticed the museum. The museum has a lot of great information about the history of the powerhouse and the family that built it. There are also some fun educational exhibits about how electricity works and how the plant created the power and sent it down to Sacramento. Then you can go inside the powerhouse itself which is amazing. So much of the old equipment is still there and you can see the turbines and the generators. The volunteer knew a lot about it and answered all of our questions. All the staff were really nice and we'd definitely recommend a visit here. For history lovers, engineers, and kids. Plus there are really nice clean bathrooms! If you drive there's a fee to park in the lot. We walked in after lunch in Old Folsom and there was no charge to visit. read more

Folsom Powerhouse State Historical Park - Hiking Near Me - Folsom, California

We had a wonderful visit thanks to Trisha. She is so fun, warm and friendly. We wish every guide was as enthusiastic as her! Stephanie was also so warm, friendly and kind. Thank you both so much for sharing the history of this place with us. Our children were not entertained as there were few things to see but my husband and I were excited to see, learn, and imagine what it would have been like to be there when it was in operation. read more

Folsom Powerhouse State Historical Park - Hiking Near Me - Folsom, California

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On October 6th, 2022, I took a trip to the Folsom Powerhouse State Historical Park. Located in the City of Folsom and bordering Lake Natoma (American River), I had the opportunity to be led on a tour of the decommissioned facility by senior volunteer, Paul Money. Paul has been a tour volunteer since 2001 and has a wealth of knowledge. Paul took us around and showed us what he had worked on back in the day. The Powerhouse is rich in Sacramento, California history. Did you know that it was prisoner's from Folsom Prison that worked on building the damn for the powerhouse. All that hard labor for about 50 cents per day. What's crazy is that I would SUP on the American River right behind the Power station and always wondered what was that back there..... read more

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Stellar facilities and information! The museum is really well-maintained, informative, and interactive. Seeing the powerhouse was really something - the pipes that the water rushed through and the size of the generators were UNREAL. The highlight, though, was all the information that docent Jeff Bowers imparted about the building, equipment, and history of the place. His knowledge about electrical engineering and enthusiasm for the space, and its role in history, really shine through. Wild to think about how electricity was created and delivered in the 1890s. I was very impressed and awed by my visit. Definitely worth the 2-3 hours I spent walking around. read more

Folsom Powerhouse State Historical Park - Hiking Near Me - Folsom, California

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We were on a walk and decided to check out the powerhouse. We were immediately greeted by Daryl, who showed the kiddos how electricity was made. He took his time, and really showed them how much he knew about the facility. Thank you Daryl for being such a nice man! read more

Folsom Powerhouse State Historical Park - Hiking Near Me - Folsom, California

This park is on the edge of the beautiful Lake Natoma on the American River. We stopped late in the day and the power station was not open. I was disappointed I could not tour the historic power plant buildings. I still enjoyed the park. There are several trails leading down to the lake. The one I wandered down had a large native grinding stone at the edge of the lake. I watched people fish and other people in kayaks slowly cruising around. There were no water-skiers in sight. It was a very peaceful place. I am planning on going back to explore old Folsom and the power plant. It is only open for guided tours. I am fascinated by the history of the Sacramento area read more

This place is only worth visiting when you can access the full facility. The Folsom Powerhouse Station Museum is the preserved power plant that once provided electricity to downtown Sacramento using the American River before being dammed. The museum is next to downtown Folsom with limited parking. When fully open, the docents love to show off the impressive technical parts of the facility. This power plant used natural gravity to create electricity from falling water and transformed it to high voltage for transmission to Sacramento 22 miles away. What is now common was revolutionary at the time powering light bulbs, streetcars, and a new world. The two powerhouses have water turbines connected to generators. The upper house has a cool control panel system with original voltage and blade switches straight out of a horror film. The use of a rope pulley system on the lower house to avoid flooding is just innovative. How California! Hidden in plain sight is the overall natural feel of the park. It is nestled along the river with great views of both Folsom bridges and either sunbathers or kayakers depending on the hour. There is a native grinding rock at the end of the trail which is pretty cool too. If you time your visit right, you can better appreciate the Folsom Powerhouse Station Museum. Keep an eye out for special days and school field trips where the whole facility is available. read more

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Loved the museum. The volunteers gave a great and informative tour. We enjoyed the displays and view also.

Super interesting. Was greeted by really friendly docents at the visitor center who gave us a really informative tour. I love history so this is up my alley. The powerhouse itself is beautiful, industrial and architecturally interesting. The grounds gave picnicking areas too. Just a nice place to be. Highly recommended. read more

Built in 1895, Folsom Powerhouse is one of the first alternating current (AC) hydroelectric power station in the United States. For 57 years, the power station continuously generated electricity until 1952 when the original Folsom Dam across the American River was demolished during construction of a new, much larger Folsom Dam. Tours of this historic power station are available during the hours the visitor center is open; however, park hours are slightly limited, open noon to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday. Otherwise, it is worth a quick stop to snap some photos of the building, which is what I did when I stopped by. read more

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What a beautiful little slice of history! I've driven past this area for years and never knew it was there. I've seen the sign but had no clue the original buildings were still standing tall. I stumbled or rather I road into this park on accident while exploring folsom in search for Rainbow Bridge. Love how the city of Folsom has kept up the old buildings as a historical landmark. My picture of the old PowerHouse doesn't do it justice. This magnificent building stands proud and looks as though it has been well maintained and loved. The landscape around the building is beautifully kept. This park offers plenty of picnic tables, restrooms, and amazing views of our American River. Great place to take your kids or even a first date. read more

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For history, check out their site: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=501 My husband and I were searching for spots to take pictures with our son. We've noticed several of my friends who have done their photo-shoot here. Anyways, we decided for fun to come and check out this place. This is a great historical site, perfect place for picnic, bring your kids out and show them how electricity is generated. You'll need to pay $10 parking fee when the spaces are available. And they have a very interesting museum/visitor center. read more

Folsom Powerhouse SHP we went to since we were in the area already. It's on Riley at Scott Street. Parking is $5, so we decided to park at the Folsom Historic Shopping Center which is FREE and walked less than a block away. The Folsom Powerhouse was the first source of high voltage power in the nation to light up a city (Sacramento). It was the largest hydro-electric plant west of Mississippi that operated from 1885-1952. You can see the power plant, generators, switch plate, & giant turbines. Cool to look at & take pics. Then we walked a bit to see Folsom Historic Truss Bridge; Rainbow Bridge; & Lake Natoma. It's on the State Parks Closure list so go now if you're interested: http://northerncaliforniahikingtrails.com/blog/2009/05/30/california-state-parks-closure-list-are-your-favorites-here/ read more

This place is a magnificent piece of industrial history surrounded by beautiful scenery. I would like to thank lovely, knowledgeable and very welcoming people that work there, they really made my day! read more

A piece of history open to the public. In the late 1800's into the early 1900's, Sacramento ran on hydroelectric power from this very place. It was new technology then and one of the first in the world. You can start in the visitor center where they have a little museum that gives a little history of the Powerhouse and some education about electricity. You can go into and view the Powerhouse (upper and I'm told the lower powerhouse isn't always open) where volunteers are at each site to tell you more about it. ..maybe you'll get to see a beaver. It's well kept and has a few picnic benches on the grounds. There are restrooms in the visitor center and outside between the visitor center and the Powerhouse. It's a State Park so parking will cost you in their parking lot. Small price to help out the parks department but if you have a distrust for that and want to avoid paying for parking, there are other places to park nearby/a short walk away. read more

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Very friendly staff(volunteer) at the actual powerhouse. The man knew a lot about the powerhouse and answered all questions in great detail. The staff at the visitor center were slightly less friendly, however. The visitor center also lacked content and certainly left more to be desired This is not a large monument, but very neat and important historically. Would recommend stopping by if you have an hour or two to spend walking around. read more

Lee gave us a wonderful tour and we learned some history today! There is rainbow bridge next to this. read more

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My husband & I got married here over 20 yrs ago. My dad "dedicated" both of our daughters here & our youngest daughter had her graduation party here! Beautiful location & fabulous place to have any event held!!We had live music as well as a dj @ each event as well as all events catered & even a horse & carriage for our "Tombstone" themed wedding,that was the 1st & only for this location!Very impressed also w/ City of FOLSOM & how easy they make the reservation & planning event process!OUTSTANDING ALL AROUND! read more

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I have seen the signs for this place so many times and learned about it in California History at Sac State. We planned on heading to the outlets, and as my husband and I are both history teachers, we stopped by. It was amazing. The mechanism inside are huge. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. The picnic area could really use some work but the trails down to the river was nice. To quick for a class trip, but a nice place to stop on the bike trail. read more

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Check the open hours before you go !! Open for public only Wednesday through Sunday 12 noon to 6 pm. read more

We visited here doing a photo session for one of our engaged couples. We were really surprised how cool a location this is. There were picnic tables, lots of areas to explore, and lots of unique backgrounds for photographers. We will definitely come back here to take photos again! read more

We came here before going out to dinner to kill some time. What we encountered was a beautiful trail, a peaceful bench, just wonderful scenery. Unfortunately, we didn't get to really explore much, because we had to go to dinner after and were running late, but we shall be back, and I'll update my review once I've visited this place again. read more

Perfect place to visit if you're passing through or visiting town. You can also grab a bite to eat in downtown Folsom or just walk around. Great piece of California history. read more

Had a great family hike here yesterday. We were pleased to see both Powerhouses open and there were park employees giving tours and info about the plants. The grass area was inviting and made us which we had packed a lunch. We took our pup with us and he was treated friendly by the other patrons and the employees. Excited to come back and stay a while and enjoy the benches, the clean bathrooms, and the beautiful landscape. read more

fun and free great place to learn about Folsom history. the kids loved it. tons of trees for shade too since they took them out of old Folsom great nature spot love to take photos around this area it's amazing. read more

I did a photo shoot here with a model the trails make for a great out door setting and having Rainbow bridge as a back drop makes for a fun shoot. the actual power house turbine room was cool to see that they had used that power plant up until the nineteen fifties. it would be a nice place to go on a picnic. read more

Love this place. Really nice people. Super well maintained. New visitor center. If you are a teacher take your class here. They are very willing to adapt their program to meet student / teacher needs. read more