Lake Natoma — Attraction in Folsom

Could be the best place for water rec in the area... almost. The good: perfect place to paddleboard, kayak, fish or swim. Huge floating area that can easily accommodate lots of people without feeling too crowded. Lots of inlets to explore and nature (deer, bald eagles, etc.) to see. Hardly any current and (usually) no boat wake so it's easy enough that kids can have a blast. And friendly rangers and lifeguards on beaches. Now the disappointing: I have yet to go when there is not a handful of people that bring speakers and blast music from their boards. I'm fine if people want to listen to music just for your small board radius, but the volume they set seems to be for the benefit of the whole lake. And unfortunately it's often the people with the most sketchy taste in music that seem to crank it the loudest. The level of explicit lyrics and zero shame even when kids are nearby is pretty sad. Nobody wakes up and hauls all their gear out onto the water to hear somebody else's music. If they did, they wouldn't bring a speaker, they'd just enjoy their fellow boaters broadcasts. And there is quite a bit of beer etc being consumed so it's possible some people are too faded to realize how loud they have it? But noise carries extremely well over still water unlike the ocean so less is seriously more in this case. So if you go and you're actually there to enjoy nature, maybe pack some earplugs. And a last heads up for swimmers, there is supposedly a no wake or low speed boat rule but twice now I've seen boats flying down the channel and almost hit a swimmer in the water. I had to quickly paddle in front of a swimmer so the boat would change course, and the guy had just been staring at his phone. He also was blasting music so wouldn't have heard anyone warning him anyways. Definitely use the neon floats for distance swimming and hopefully they'll start patroling the boat traffic before someone gets...

This place is great for a quick day trip for the family.

$10 entry for parking. There is a season pass option for around $150, we go often, but it never seems like we will go enough to make it worth the whole year.

There is plenty of shady picnic tables available, some with charcoal grills for barbecuing.

The water is fun for kids to play, the shore isn’t sand, but sort of a gritty dirt. Still fun for kids to dig and play with.

You can feed the ducks and geese, float and read on the water

There are bathrooms with drinking fountains.

Hiking and bike trails take you all the way up the river.

You can bring your own floatation and float out onto the lake, but make sure you bring a paddle as a strong breeze will push you pretty far and you’ll be...

As a new addict of Paddle Boarding I love this place. I'm a native Sacramentan, been here all my life (over 50 years) and have never explored this place until asked to be a guest to Paddle Board. Such a wonderful family safe environment for just swimming, taking whatever floating (non-gas powered) mode of travel you fancy or even BBQ with fam and friends, better yet, do it all.

I've now spread the joy, introducing several friends to join me at Lake Natoma and they all live it too.

Lots of parking, lots of trails for walking, hiking, running, biking and plenty of bathrooms, loaner life vests available and sometimes a Life Guard on duty. Don't get me started on the Sac State Aquatic Center either.

See it for...