California’s Newest State Park Is Actually Just a Big Farm
Explore the reclaimed farmland to visit 350,000 native plants and lots of endangered animals.
As you enter Dos Rios, California’s newest state park, you’re immediately reminded of the land’s agricultural past. This is because Dos Rios, located at the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers some 65 miles west of Yosemite in Modesto, was once farmland. Remnants of the land’s past—namely, a vacant barn and three semi-abandoned silos in which an owl has taken residence—are still readily apparent. Meanwhile, just beyond the park entrance sits an active almond orchard, which belongs to the previous landowners and should produce nuts for another decade or so.
But over the last decade, 350,000 native plants and trees have been planted on the 1,600-acre floodplain, transforming it into a lush environment that’s allowed new life to flourish, including endangered and threatened critters such as the riparian brush rabbit and valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
Speaking of the park’s wildlife, on a recent Saturday morning hike, I encountered a coyote, a heron, quails, various butterflies, a round black rodent that I’m pretty sure was a mouse but disappeared into a burrow before I could identify it, several hawks, bees, and a gorgeous husky sitting with its family. (Dogs aren’t allowed on the trails, but they can join their people in the day-use area if they’re on a leash; visitors, too, must stay on designated trails unless accompanied by a park ranger to prevent them from straying off the path, damaging vital plants, or tumbling into the rivers.) This diverse wildlife is a direct result of the meticulous restoration efforts.
Picnic areas and ramadas provide guests with places to eat and unwind near the entrance of the park. A quarter-mile pathway runs along the edge of a pond, inviting visitors for a scenic walk. While campfires aren’t allowed, there are several provided grills, which you can use to cook hot dogs, roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories, or whatever other activities you would typically do around a fire at a park. And while the pond next to the community area looks refreshing, there’s no way to access it from the mainland—fishing, boating of any kind, and swimming are currently prohibited.
But that doesn’t mean that won’t change. As park manager Paige Haller puts it, “People can grow with us. The plants are growing and so is Dos Rios.”
Dos Rios is located at 3559 Shiloh Road, Modesto, CA 95358. Park hours are Friday through Sunday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. There are currently no fees to get in (this may change in the future, so check their website to make sure).