I hiked the lakeside trail to the North, on the West side of Folsom Lake in mid-June, 2025.

I parked at Granite Beach and turned left, away from the distant dam to the south, and toward Oak Point, Doton’s Pt and Beek’s Bight.

From my house in central Roseville it takes me 20 minutes in normal traffic to reach the parking lot. The entire walk took just over two hours in great weather.

The day use/parking fee remains $12, payable to the ranger at the entrance gates.

Sadly, the lakeside road is closed north of Granite Beach for repairs, so I could drive no further.

So, it’s no longer possible to drive past Granite Beach, Oak Point and Doton’s Pt, to park at Beek’s Bight to start hiking.

The Bight, two coves over, is a more scenic stretch of lake front than here just North of Granite Beach.

Though it’s hardly ugly scenery here either except for the occasional trash and broken flip-flop.

The people thin out rapidly at any walk beyond easy cooler and beach chair carrying distance, as the pics show.

The lake is high right now as well, so each small indent or cove is flooded or is a mud marsh. It’s pretty but forces long detours not seen in low water conditions.

And care is needed walking on slippery driftwood when crossing the reedy mudflats if you don’t want a mud bath.

So my two hour hike only took me only as far north as Oak Point and beach, normally only the first of many view points when hiking North toward Beek’s Bight from Granite Beach.

I was raised a beachcomber so I always keep my eyes peeled. Found this like new LA Dodgers baseball cap covered in sand, but it cleaned up real nice.

Not my style or team, good as the champions are. Maybe I’ll trade it on Craigslist.

Hiking was on course sand (DG–decomposed granite), dirt, and rock.

The sand and dirt being easier on my arthritis and peripheral neuropathy but more tiring.

The rocks being more interesting to look at.

The usual lake wild fowl were there: snowy (or cattle?) egret, black phoebes, gulls, turkey vultures, Canada geese floating in flocks in most coves, LGBs (Little Gray Birds) all over.

Because it’s early in the season there was a happy absence of jet skies–except for one.

And no hydroplanes or powerful bass boats racing each other to the fish. Just one scenic sailboat, drifting more than sailing in the small breeze.

The driftwood teepee shade shelters were up in force again this year, for those imprudent enough to forget an umbrella.

The glare of the white DG sand is blinding even on relatively cool days.

I walked about an hour and only got to deserted Oak Beach, the closest cove to Granite Beach and probably a half hour easy walk at low water in September, the way the crow flies.

No way in now except by walking or by boat with the road closed, so there were zero other visitors here at Oak Point, where I found the hat.

So I sat in the paltry shade and ate the melty Swiss cheese and sourdough bread I’d brought, drank some canteen water, and rested my always aching dogs on a log. I took fewer pics on the way back.

The water level is about as high as it’s allowed to get and the flooded trees still look strange, like last year on my last kayak paddle.

It’s more pleasant to paddle north from the entrance parking lot than to hike it with bad feet.

So next trip I’ll borrow my pal’s Old Town Pack single seat canoe, and save my deteriorating feet.

See if I can make it all the way to the big cove, Beek’s Bight, shown below just south of Lower Blue Pipe.

Unless noted, all text, images, video and audio by todgermanica.com.