Bright blue skies on Sunday morning, May 5, proved a perfect backdrop to help celebrate the grand opening of the new 2.9-mile Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail.

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Bright blue skies on Sunday morning, May 5, proved a perfect backdrop to help celebrate the grand opening of the new 2.9-mile Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail at Tempo Park on Fair Oaks Boulevard.

Citrus Heights Mayor Bret Daniels welcomed invited guests from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), the San Juan Unified School District, Orangevale Recreation and Parks District, SMUD, the Sunrise Recreation and Parks District and the Citrus Heights city manager to the grand opening celebration ceremony.

 Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost, far left, stands under a balloon arch celebrating the grand opening of the new 2.9-mile Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail at Tempo Park on Fair Oaks Boulevard on Sunday, May 5. Frost presented a proclamation recognizing the trail’s grand opening to Citrus Heights Mayor Bret Daniels. From left are Frost, Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney, Daniels, Vice-Mayor Dr. Jayne Karpinski Costa and Councilmembers Porsche Middleton, Marijane Lopez-Taft and Tim Schaefer.

Individual proclamations from Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost and California State Assemblyman Josh Hoover marking the celebration were also presented and read.

A short presentation was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony under a colorful balloon arch. Children on their bicycles mixed with grown-ups and local officials to open the new trail. 

Guests and the public were also invited to “walk, bike and run” along the trail to C-Bar-C Park which featured food trucks, activity booths and trail exploration opportunities.

 From left are Mayor Bret Daniels, Vice Mayor Dr. Jayne Karpinski Costa and Councilmembers Porsche Middleton, Marijane Lopez-Taft and Tim Schaefer.

A SacRT shuttle was provided at C-Bar-C Park for guests who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and left cars at Tempo Park.

The Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail, referred to as ACCT for short, is a 3.45-mile-long multi-use trail starting at Arcade Creek Park Preserve and ending at Wachtel Way. The trail connects several neighborhoods to eight parks, several schools and Sunrise MarketPlace.

The Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail travels through Mitchell Village Park where it features playgrounds and picnic areas before veering off to connect with the back of Tempo Park.

Two large historic valley oak trees, each more than 250 years in age, are along the route in Northwoods Park and in the Sundance Nature Area.

The trail travels through the Sundance Nature Area, some 14 acres of meandering wooded natural terrain, before reaching Streng Park.

The trail continues to Northwoods Park, C-Bar-C Park before reaching the Woodside K-8 School at 8248 Village Oak Drive and Woodside Oaks Park.

Successive Citrus Heights City Council members, Sunrise Recreation and Park District and the Orangevale Recreation and Park District board members, together with San Juan Unified School District, the Sacramento County Area Council of Governments (SACOG), and SMUD representatives, partnered throughout the project’s lengthy development and execution.

The completion of the trail project is part of the City of Citrus Heights’ effort to “increase walkability, safety and provide improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists throughout a system of Creekside trails, passive open space, and parks.”

The City of Citrus Heights first began exploring the feasibility of a multi-use trail in 2014 and then adopted a Bikeway Master Plan in 2015, making the Arcade-Cripple Creek trail a priority project.

The trail was also identified in the Sacramento County Bikeway Master Plan. Funding was acquired in 2017 and the project’s design phase began in 2018. Construction officially began on the trail in 2022 at Arcade Creek Park Preserve.

The new Arcade-Cripple Creek trail is part of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Regional Trail Network and is anticipated to be a step in a regional plan to ultimately connect to the American River Parkway.

 Members of the Wednesday Walkers, a social walking group sponsored by the Sunrise Recreation and Parks District, smile under a balloon arch celebrating the opening of the new Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail.