Here’s how to beat the heat and stay safe in Stanislaus County
This stretch of days in the low to mid-90s that started Saturday and continues in the forecast at least through next weekend is just a taste of things to come for the greater Modesto area.
There are ways to beat the heat, of course. Fans help. Air conditioning is better, but harder on your wallet.
But nothing — nothing — cuts through the heat like cool water. Here, then, is a bit on ways families can get wet in Modesto and some other Stanislaus County communities.
The city of Modesto will have its free Summer Kick Off Party on May 26 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Graceada Park pool.
The water safety event is co-hosted by the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Department, the Ryan Michael Barber Memorial Fund and the College Area Neighborhood Alliance. “Explore all the fun activities and resources our Recreation Department and community has to offer, make a splash in the pool and splash pad or test your strength on the bungee run,” says an email to The Bee from Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Manager Ashley Weaver.
Recreational water features
According to the city of Modesto’s website, splash pads will be open May 26 through Sept. 4. They operate daily, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and are free to use.
Locations are:
▪ Freedom Park, 3500 Sharon Ave.
▪ Lions’ Junction on the Virginia Corridor Trail, Roseburg and Virginia avenues
▪ Sylvan Park, 2801 Niabell Place
▪ Sanders Park, Kodiak Drive at Litt Road
▪ George Rogers Park, 1650 Hillside Drive
▪ Coffee Claratina Park, 4400 Highlights Way
▪ Graceada Park, 401 Needham Ave.
▪ Marshall Park, 440 Sutter Ave.
▪ Ustach Park, 2700 Hillglen Drive
In Turlock, water spray parks at Broadway Park, 501 N. Broadway, and Columbia Park, 600 Columbia Ave., opened May 12. They operate noon to 7 p.m. daily.
Public pools
Modesto offers public recreational swim sessions from June 10 through Aug. 4 (closed July Fourth). Cost is $2, and locations are:
▪ Johansen High School pool, Mondays through Saturdays 1 to 4 p.m. plus Saturdays 5 to 7 p.m. A Dive-In event (think drive-in movie but at the pool) will be held July 28, showing the animated feature “Strange World.” The pool opens at 7 p.m. and showtime is at dusk. Admission is $4.
▪ Davis High School pool, Mondays through Saturdays 1 to 4 p.m.
▪ Graceada Park pool, weekdays 1 to 4 p.m.. The pool — 20 feet wide, 40 feet long, but just 3½ feet at its deepest— is open only to swimmers age 12 and younger.
Also in Modesto, the swimming pool at the Salvation Army Red Shield Community Center, 1649 Las Vegas St., opens for public swimming on June 12. Sessions are 1 to 3 p.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Cost is $2.
In Turlock, public swim will be available only at Pitman High School this summer, starting June 12. Hours are 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Cost is $1 for children, $3 for adults.
The Patterson Aquatic Center has recreational swim June 10 through Aug. 10, 12:15 to 3:15 p.m. daily. All ages are welcome but must pass the swim test to go into the deep end, according to the city’s summer activity guide. Also, children under the age of 5 must be within arm’s reach of an adult at all times. Cost is $3 general, $2 seniors and $1 “spectating fee.”
In Ceres, public swim at the Ceres High pool runs June 16 through Aug. 5, Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 3 p.m.. Cost is $1 children, $2 adults.
Recreational swim at the Riverbank Community Pool, at Seventh and Stanislaus streets, opens June 1. Hours are 1 to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. As of May 15, Friday hours had yet to be set. Drop-in cost is $3, and season passes also are available, according to the city’s spring and summer activities guide.
Oakdale’s public pool, known as The Plunge, opens its season June 3. Open swim hours are noon to 4 p.m. weekdays, noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Family swim is Fridays, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Admission is $2 age 14 and up, $1 age 13 and younger. The pool is in Dorada Park, 600 N. Second Ave.
Swim season at the Empire Pool begins May 30. There are two sessions of open swim, Tuesdays through Sundays. The first is noon to 2 p.m., the second 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $4.50 per session.
Didn’t find your community’s public pool or water features here? Check with your local parks and recreation department.
Reservoirs
Just Friday, the seasonal body-to-water contact restrictions that had been in place since September at Woodward Reservoir were lifted. That means it’s OK to swim at the regional park, located at 14528 26-Mile Road a few miles north of Oakdale. Day use hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the entry fee is $20 per vehicle, discounted to $15 for Stanislaus County residents.
Modesto Reservoir Regional Park, at 18143 Reservoir Road a few miles from Waterford, has the same day use hours and fees.
Rivers
Though some counties have closed stretches of river to recreation because of high flows caused by snowmelt, Stanislaus County has not.
But Sheriff Jeff Dirkse warned in a Facebook video early this month that the fast, frigid waters mean a high threat of drowning and other incidents. “People are getting out on the water with bad equipment, bad training, bad experiences — they’re not able to swim, whatever the case may be — and they’re getting themselves in trouble,” he said.
He said in the video that he believes people have a right to recreation but a responsibility to do it smartly.
He urged those who want to raft the rivers to do so with one of the professional companies in the county.
Just Sunday evening, a rescue boat launched at Jacob Myers Park in Riverbank to help a person sitting on a log in the middle of the Stanislaus River, according to a Modesto Fire Department incident report. The male was not hurt but was unable to swim against the strong current back to the bank.
He was not wearing a life jacket. The boat crew was able to get him off the log and back to shore.
The Modesto Fire Department operates a life jacket loan program at Stations 1, 2, 5 and 10 in Modesto; Station 15 in Ceres; Statiopns 27 and 28 in Oakdale; and Station 29 in Knights Ferry.
It’s for those who need jackets for a day or weekend, and they’re available in sizes from infant through adult.
