Explore Stockton, San Joaquin Valley on foot (or bike) during the holidays
With California’s sunny fall days, comfortable evenings, chilly mornings, and only a week to Thanksgiving, what better time to get out and explore your hometown, burn a few calories and show off the local sights to friends and family? Additionally, with seasonal fall foliage in nearby scenic places – what’s keeping you from exploring?
I turned to local walking and running luminaries for advice and suggestions. Ralph Womack, retired Stockton Police captain and founder of the huge Thanksgiving morning Run and Walk Against Hunger, and Tony Vice, long-time owner of Fleet Feet Stockton in Lincoln Center, were happy to share suggestions.
Tony Vice of Fleet Feet offers, “running and walking is easy...just lace up your shoes and step out your front door. Find a friend, family member or neighbor, because going together makes you accountable to someone else. Need more motivation? Visit Fleet Feet Stockton for a host of upcoming running events and run/walk inspiration”.
Ralph Womack has long been a local recreational runner, and he and his wife Marie still enter numerous local fun runs and walks. Ralph suggests the Run and Walk Thanksgiving morning, which benefits the Emergency Food Bank’s hunger and nutrition programs, makes a lovely opportunity to explore the Downtown Stockton waterfront. The Walk and Run offers a choice of 3.1 miles or 6.2 mile options, as well as a separate Kids Run. The majority of entrants are walkers, so you don’t have to be a runner to take part; for more insight, go to runagainsthunger.org.
You also have the option of traversing the Run and Walk course other days; start at the Stockton Ports Ballpark on Fremont, go East, turn south on Center, then west on Weber to Morelli Park, turn around and return to the ballpark, about 3 miles, round-trip. Stockton offers a host of walking and running trails; see link to map, below.
Make a day of exploring downtown Stockton and learn about the city’s early history as a vital port, provisioning center and banking powerhouse in the 1850s and 1860s and beyond - check the downtownstockton.org website for a lively “Walk with Weber” downtown historic walking tour. Make a day of exploration on foot and stop at favorite restaurants like Cancun, Xochimilco Cafe, Yasoo Yani or Cast Iron Trading Company. Or, explore downtown the day of the showing of It’s a Wonderful Life at the Fox California/Bob Hope Theatre on Sunday, December 10.
Consider a walking or jogging exploration of some of the scenic options nearby. Those include the sanctuary that is Cosumnes River Preserve, just north of Thornton, Lodi Lake Park in Lodi, the Calaveras Bike trail, starting at the University of Pacific campus and heading west on the trail to Brookside and Buckley Cove Park. Explorers will find walking and running trails along the levees in Weston Ranch, Lathrop, Tracy and Ripon, and Caldwell Memorial State Park along the Stanislas River just south of Ripon. These are perfect places to take family or friends for a holiday walking, jogging or biking outing and enjoy seasonal color as the foliage turns.
Several new or annual events make perfect reasons to get out and explore on foot. Those include the Lighted Boat Parade and the Holiday Tree Lighting in Weber Point Event Center on December 2, and the all new Stockton Lantern Festival at the Stockton Ports Ballpark, running November 24 through January 14, showing off huge, lovely lanterns and lighted caricatures.
As always, a Christmas visit to the lavishly-decorated Haggin Museum in Stockton’s Victory Park and their always stunning art collection, as well as history museum, will reward young and old visitors. The annual Festival of Trees, December 1-3, at the San Joaquin Historical Society in Micke Grove Park south of Lodi offers a fine opportunity to explore one of the west’s great agricultural/pioneer and Native American museums decked out with scores of beautiful Christmas trees done by local organizations.
A couple other options for inveterate foot explorers include the relatively new Bear Creek Trail (park near Bear Creek high school), go south on Thornton and head west on the trail to Trinity Parkway, and continue west on the levee on newly paved trail adding three additional miles taking hikers or cyclists deep into the heart of the Delta.
Shima Tract has long been a favorite for walkers or runners. From the west end of Stockton‘s Hammer Lane, go left on Mariners Drive, right on Lighthouse Drive and a quick right on Voyager Court – park where it dead ends against the levee. Walk up to levee for four mile or eight Mile optional loops, taking one deep into the Delta and our agricultural lands.
As Ralph and Tony would exhort, pull out those walking or running shoes or dust off that bike and explore your homebase!
For more information, Fleet Feet Lincoln Center, Fleetfeetstockton.com; Friends of Fox/Bob Hope Theatre, foxfriends.org; Haggin Museum, hagginmuseum.org; Run and Walk Against Hunger, Thanksgiving morning, runagainsthunger.org; San Joaquin Historical Museum, sanjoaquinhistory.org; Stockton bike and running trails map, stocktogov.com/files/CitywideBikeNetworkMap.pdf; Visit Stockton, visitstockton.org;
Happy trails and have a great Thanksgiving!
Call for year- end favorites; seeking your submissions of favorite travel destinations for 2024, those local, regional or country-wide destinations you would recommend to family and friends. Send your suggestions in a short paragraph (and photo if you have one) to Tim at tviall@msn.com and I’ll publish the best suggestions in the final weeks of December
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Explore Stockton, Central Valley on foot (or bike) during the holidays
