A little over a week ago, I finally went to check out this very low-profile state park located along Green Valley Road in Folsom. There are no interpretive signs or even an obvious entrance.

Entrance to the park on Shadowfax Lane

I can never resist a bridge!

I’m still not sure of the exact boundaries of the park; I followed a rather muddy trail that paralleled Green Valley Road for quite a ways, skirting a thickly wooded, swampy area guarded by masses of poison oak.

No trail here — just water, mud, and plenty of poison oak

A pair of redtail hawks

Vernal pool

El Dorado Hills neighborhood to the east

The trail eventually took me to the top of a hill where I could survey the landscape. I was visiting on a Wednesday morning and had the place completely to myself, except for a woman doing sprints up and down the backside of the hill accompanied by her German Shepherd.

Top of the hill, with Green Valley Road and Folsom Lake in the background on the left