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This is Folsom Dam

folsom dam tour

The Heart of Folsom, CA

Perhaps one of the most interesting and overlooked parts of Folsom is the Folsom Dam. If it weren’t for this great structure, we wouldn’t have the wonderful benefits of Folsom Lake, as well as much-needed flood control throughout the Sacramento Valley!

About Folsom Dam

The call for a dam in Folsom dates way back to 1944. After re-designing to accommodate more water, the Folsom Dam began construction on October 2, 1948. From that point until May 9, 1956, construction was non-stop. Although not 100 percent complete, the Dam withheld its first test in the spring of 1955, when Sacramento endured one of its wettest winters in recorded history.

Between now and then, Folsom Lake has seen wet spells, a dam gate failure, as well as a couple of droughts. Several times the lake has gotten so low you could see the foundations of buildings and an old bridge from the old mining town, Salmon Falls (go up the South fork of the lake towards current Salmon Falls Bridge). One of the only remaining reminders of Salmon Falls and Mormon Island is the Mormon Island relocation cemetery, quaintly located next to Green Valley Road on the way to Brown’s Ravine.

The Folsom Dam Road had served for years as one of the few ways to cross the river until the construction of Lake Natoma Crossing. It is no longer open to public vehicles, which is causing a large part of Folsom’s traffic problems today. The dam in in the planning modes of raising the dam height 7 feet for larger flood control, with a new bridge being designed to bypass the dam. The bridge will not be open until at least 2007.

Unfortunately, due to the tragic events of September 11, Dam tours are no longer provided to the public, either. It is not known when (or if) the dam will re-open for future public tours.

When the dam tour was open, it was a pretty interesting tour. After walking throughout the main dam, you would view the main engine room, inspect the interior walkways throughout the structure, and then finally climb a few flights of stairs to the top of the dam. At the top, you were be treated to one of the greatest views around. On a clear day you can see from Mt. Rose in the Sierra Nevada to Mt. Diablo in the Bay Area. Also with binoculars, you are able to get a good glimpse of Folsom Prison.

folsom dam tour

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FOLSOM DAM: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

  • (5.24 mi) Fairfield Inn & Suites Sacramento Folsom
  • (5.37 mi) Hampton Inn & Suites Folsom
  • (4.52 mi) Larkspur Landing Folsom
  • (6.32 mi) Comfort Inn & Suites Rocklin
  • (7.25 mi) Hyatt Place Sacramento / Roseville
  • (0.12 mi) Folsom Grind
  • (0.10 mi) Baja Fresh
  • (0.10 mi) Folsom Dam Market
  • (0.46 mi) Twigs Cafe
  • (1.92 mi) Sutter Street Steakhouse

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Folsom Dam - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Bureau of Reclamation, California.

Settlement of the basin began about 1844. In 1848, discovery of gold near the present site of Coloma precipitated a great influx of gold seekers from all parts of the country. At the height of the gold rush, the American River foothill area was one of the most populous in the State. Early miners quickly recognized the potential of riverflows to help in dredging, panning, and sluicing for gold. Diversion dams began appearing on the river in the 1850's. As mining activities declined, two of the dams were used to divert water for use in suburban Sacramento areas and remained in use until the completion of Folsom Dam in 1955. In December 1964, the last of those early diversion dams was breached by floodwaters. Currently general public tours of the dam are on indefinite hold.

Nearby Activities

From Sacramento take US 50 towards South Lake Tahoe. Exit at FolsomBlvd/Folsom exit. Left onto Folsom Blvd 6 miles into Old Town Folsom area. Road becomes Leidesdorff St. Turn left onto Riley Street and proceed across the bridge to Auburn-Folsom Road. Turn right and proceed 1.5 miles. Turn right at Main Entrance Gate.

Additional Information

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folsom dam tour

Planned Stops Included:

  • Environmental restoration sites
  • Flood control projects
  • Rice fields & other agricultural operations
  • Red Bluff Fish Passage Improvement Project
  • Clear Creek Restoration Project
  • The location of the proposed Sites Reservoir

Planned Topics Included:

  • Oroville Dam spillway damage & repair efforts
  • The significance of the Sacramento River to California’s water supply
  • Flood management & levee safety
  • State Water Project & Central Valley Project operations
  • Restoration of endangered Chinook salmon
  • Groundwater, conjunctive use & area-of-origin water rights
  • Environmental restoration projects
  • Agriculture/wildlife conservancies & wildlife refuges
  • Farming in the Sacramento Valley
  • Proposed water storage locations

Tour Start & End Point:

The tour started at 7:30 a.m. on October 18 and ended at 6:30 p.m. on October 20 at the Water Education Foundation office, 2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205, Sacramento, CA . Free parking was available.

The tour included overnight stays in Oroville and Redding which were arranged by the Foundation and covered by the registration fee.

Pricing Details:

General – $959 (one person, single-occupancy room)

Fee included all tour meals, transportation, materials, snacks and hotel accommodations once the tour began Wednesday. Meals covered by the registration fee included lunch on Wednesday through lunch on Friday. Participants were responsible for their own transportation to and from the tour’s beginning and end point.

A limited amount of scholarship funding was available to pay for a portion of the tour. Scholarships were awarded based on a few factors, including:

  • Financial need
  • Reason for scholarship request
  • How the education & experience will be used after the tour

COVID-19 Policy:

The Foundation continues to monitor developments with COVID-19. Precautions were implemented during the tour including enhanced sanitation protocols and an itinerary that maximized use of outdoor/open-air spaces when feasible.

Despite these mitigating circumstances, an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any place where people gather. All participants considered their personal choices around harm reduction and risk tolerance in the face of current variants and the likelihood of additional variants emerging in the future.

Acceptance of an assumption of risk waiver was required during registration for the tour.

We asked participants not to attend if, within 72 hours of the tour start date, they had experienced symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., a fever of 100.4F or higher, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking muscle pain/achiness, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, nasal congestion, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue or any other symptoms associated with COVID-19 identified by the CDC).

If a participant tested positive or was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 within 5 days of the tour start date, they had to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of the tour start date regardless of their vaccination status.

Cancellation & Refund Policy:

Deadline to cancel and receive a refund was three weeks prior to the first day of the tour due to hotel, meal and transportation commitments. Substitutions were allowed up to five business days before the tour. Eventbrite fees are nonrefundable and the remaining amount was subject to an additional processing fee.

We recognize that unexpected conflicts with our tours can occur from time to time. The Water Education Foundation  recommended consideration of travel insurance from a provider of choice soon after tour registration to protect against such unfortunate events.

Continuing Education Credits:

MCLE credits were available only for California attorneys for an additional fee, and may have been available for water plant/wastewater plant operators and other vocations/professions.

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Tour Sponsors

Bureau of reclamation – california-great basin major sponsor.

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COMMENTS

  1. Folsom Dam

    The Folsom Dam tour is EXCELLENT, very interesting! The Powerhouse tour is short, fairly boring. If you are pressed for time, DEFINITELY book the Dam tour. I'd only visit the Powerhouse if you have some time to kill. The Powerhouse tour is short, so that helps! ... Folsom Dam is an imposing structure and an engineering feat. There is a trail ...

  2. Folsom Dam

    The Folsom Dam Folsom Lake was created in 1955 by Folsom Dam, a concrete dam flanked by earth wing dams and dikes with a total length of about 9 miles. The lake features some 10,000 surface acres of water when full and has 75 miles of shoreline. It extends about 15 miles up the north fork, and about 10 1/2 miles up the south fork of the ...

  3. FOLSOM DAM TOUR

    Folsom Dam is an important part of California's flood protection system. Due to the abundance of storms in Northern California this year, the floodgates on t...

  4. Folsom Dam

    About Folsom Dam. The call for a dam in Folsom dates way back to 1944. After re-designing to accommodate more water, the Folsom Dam began construction on October 2, 1948. From that point until May 9, 1956, construction was non-stop. Although not 100 percent complete, the Dam withheld its first test in the spring of 1955, when Sacramento endured ...

  5. PDF Folsom Dam Programs

    Folsom Dam. Those tours will be presented in the nearby Beals Point Park and will incorporate the same information as past tours in a fast-paced, fun and interesting way. Other tour options are also being explored. American River Water Education Center (ARWEC) Folsom Dam has been identified as one of the top ten high

  6. Dam tour is great; you can skip the Powerhouse if you are short on time

    Both are very cool. At the dam, there is a visitors center with lots of cool exhibits on the watershed that drains into Folsom Lake. You can't go to the dam or drive over it any more (not since 9-11 and concerns about terrorism). The powerhouse is an historic park and you can tour inside the 1890s building itself. Very cool. The State of ...

  7. The American River Water Education

    The American River Water Education Center is open and taking reservations for tours. Physical Location: 7785 Folsom-Auburn Rd., Folsom, CA ... 38 KB) Mailing address: 7794 Folsom Dam Rd., Folsom, CA 95630 Phone: (916) 537-7053 or center (916) 537-7300 . Reclamation seeks volunteers for the American River Water Education Center at Folsom Dam;

  8. Programs & Activities

    Originally authorized in 1944 as a 355,000 acre-feet flood control unit, Folsom Dam was reauthorized in 1949 as a 1,000,000 acre-feet multiple-purpose facility. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed Folsom Dam and transferred it to Reclamation for coordinated operation as an integral part of the Central Valley Project.

  9. FOLSOM DAM: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

    Folsom Dam an Impressive Structure. This dam was built in 1956, and it's primary purpose was to prevent flooding of the American River in the Sacramento community. It's done its job very well, although there's been a couple of close calls (like 1986) when the volume discharged almost breached the levies downstream around Howe Avenue.

  10. Folsom Dam

    Skip to main content. Discover. Trips

  11. Folsom Dam, California

    As mining activities declined, two of the dams were used to divert water for use in suburban Sacramento areas and remained in use until the completion of Folsom Dam in 1955. In December 1964, the last of those early diversion dams was breached by floodwaters. Currently general public tours of the dam are on indefinite hold. Nearby Activities ...

  12. Folsom Dam & Reservoir Frequently Asked Questions

    Bureau of Reclamation provides some answers. Folsom, Calif.- Completed in 1956 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Folsom Dam and Reservoir is designed to reduce flooding damage and protect Sacramento and surrounding areas that reside in a flood plain.Folsom Dam and Reservoir also produces hydroelectricity, helps maintain water quality in the Bay Delta, and provides recreation and water ...

  13. Folsom Dam

    Folsom Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the American River of Northern California in the United States, about 25 mi (40 km) northeast of Sacramento. The dam is 340 ft (100 m) high and 1,400 ft (430 m) long, flanked by earthen wing dams. It was completed in 1955, and officially opened the following year.

  14. Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park

    The Folsom Powerhouse is located 23 miles (37 km) above Sacramento on the American River in the city of Folsom. History. The power station remained in operation until 1952 when the original Folsom dam across the American River was destroyed to make way for the new much larger Folsom Dam. The powerhouse was shut down after 57 years of continuous ...

  15. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

    In Folsom, Calif., residents are watching Folsom Dam's new auxiliary spillway project transform from rock and dirt, into a massive, life-saving flood risk re...

  16. Folsom Dam F.A.Q.s

    Folsom Dam F.A.Q.s. Folsom Dam. The dam is 340 feet high and 1,400 feet long. There is enough concrete in the dam to... build a highway (8 inches thick by 16 feet wide) from the Oregon Border to Bakersfield, California; or a sidewalk (4 inches thick by 3 feet wide) from San Francisco to New York. The dam weighs 2,343,000 tons but it is 40% ...

  17. Folsom Dam

    Address: 7794 Folsom Dam Road. City: Folsom, CA 95630. Phone: 916-537-7100. Bureau of Reclamation - Managing water and power in the West.

  18. Topic: Folsom Dam

    Folsom Dam. Folsom Dam, located on the American River above the city of Sacramento, is part of the Central Valley Project. It includes water storage (Folsom Lake), power generation and conveyance facilities. Tours. Western Water. Western Water Excerpts. Videos. Maps & Posters. Publications.

  19. Wave of Construction Kicks Off at Folsom Dam

    A view of Folsom Dam Dike 1, located in Granite Bay, California, with Folsom Lake in the distance, November 15, 2023. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District is raising the dike up to 3.5 feet in accordance with the overall plan for the Folsom Dam Raise project, which calls for similar raises across the dam system.

  20. Northern California Tour 2023

    Northern California Tour 2023Field Trip - October 18-20. Northern California Tour 2023. This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape while learning about the issues associated with a key source for the state's water supply. All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California ...

  21. Folsom Dam (CCAO)| Bureau of Reclamation

    FOLSOM, Calif. - Construction crews for the Bureau of Reclamation are making Safety of Dam improvements at the Right Wing Dam, Folsom Reservoir. This phase of the Safety of Dams work will begin in November 2020 and is expected to wrap up around July 2022. Current construction improvements include addressing minor runoff, drainage and erosion ...

  22. Folsom Powerhouse SHP

    For more information about Granite Bay and Black Miners Bar Group Picnic sites, Activity Center or Powerhouse Visitor Center reservations please contact: Sheryl Canada. 7755 Folsom-Auburn Road. Folsom, CA. 95630. [email protected]. (916) 988-0205. Activity Center Reservation Application. Granite Bay Group Picnic Reservation Application.

  23. Monticello Dam

    Monticello Dam. State: California Region: California-Great Basin Region. Related Documents. Related Facilities. Related Links Recreation.gov . Contact. Owner Title: ... Address: 7794 Folsom Dam Road City: Folsom, CA 95630 Phone: 916-537-7100. Operator Organization: Solano County Water Agency Address: 508 Elmira Road City: Vacaville, CA 95687