On June 12, California will open its first new state park in nearly a decade, setting aside 1,600 acres near the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers in the San Joaquin Valley.
The park will give visitors a glimpse of the valley's waterways before the advent of agriculture, but it will be a while before the site sees much activity. Or have a name.
The site is called Dos Rios, but state officials have not yet given it an official name. It is located eight miles west of Modesto, among dairy farms and almond orchards, and is considered the largest public-private floodplain restoration project in the state.
State park officials said that's the start June 12Guests will be able to take escorted hikes to some areas of the property and use about a dozen newly installed picnic tables and shade structures.
But many activities will have to wait. Officials are still taking public input and planning other possible activities, including biking, swimming, fishing and non-motorized boating.
The new state park on the old Dos Rios Ranch outside Modesto, which opened June 12, includes a grove of oak trees.
(Brian Bear / California State Parks)
“We're still growing,” said park manager Paige Haller. Haller said the park will be open with three full-time interpreters on staff and open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Visitors will be able to book guided tours on a forthcoming park website, Haller said.
There are temporary toilets. A prefabricated “welcome center,” about the size of a trailer, will open later this year, followed by a larger visitor center.
Once the dock is in place at the park's main pond, “We're planning to launch non-motorized boating” and fishing, perhaps by the end of 2025, Haller said.
Haller said initially there will be no admission fee, adding, “We hope that will happen in the next few years.”
The property, formerly known as Dos Rios Ranch, includes eight miles of river; a long, bow-shaped pond; a barn; Some farm buildings will be adapted to new uses; and about 20 miles of farm roads, many of which will likely become trails.
The property operated as a dairy and cattle farm for decades, with a series of riverbanks separating the rivers from the rest of the land, before being preserved by the nonprofit River Partners. of California acquired it in 2012. River Partners planted vegetation, removed the berm in 2018 and began transferring the property to the state in 2023.
A River Partners analysis of the property found species including riverbank woodrats, Swainson's hawks, at least Bell's vireo, yellow warblers, sandhill cranes and “a whole range of migratory songbirds neo-tropical”. In waters near the restoration area, River Partners has recorded spawning Chinook salmon, steelhead salmon and white sturgeon. The park is surrounded by San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge.
Previously, the last new state park unit announced was the Onyx Ranch East Kern State Vehicular Recreation Area, which opened in November 2014. Dos Rios Park will be the 281st unit in the system. The system covers an area of nearly 1.4 million acres and includes nearly 15,000 acres. campgrounds and 3,000 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails.
The name of Dos Rios park will be determined and approved during upcoming meetings of the California State Parks and Recreation Commission. Its next meeting are June 11 and September 11. Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke at the Dos Rios site on Monday as part of the Earth Day celebration.
The Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers both carry snowmelt from the Sierra into the agricultural areas of the Central Valley. The 366-mile long San Joaquin River, the longest in the valley, eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean through Suisun Bay and San Francisco Bay.
