Modesto area’s new state park will open by summer. See what awaits where two rivers join

Opening day is a few months away for Dos Rios Ranch State Park, which the boss vows will be “stunning.”

The park sits amid about 1,600 acres of restored floodplain where the Tuolumne River meets the San Joaquin.

Dos Rios, about 8 miles southwest of Modesto, will start out with picnic tables, trails, benches, temporary restrooms and basic parking. The next year will bring a welcome center and better parking. Future funding could add a campground, boat ramp and other amenities, guided by public input.

The first visits could be in late spring or early summer, said Danielle Gerhart, district superintendent for California State Parks. She spoke during a tour of the site on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

Dos Rios has emerged fairly quickly after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed the first $5 million in funding in 2022. That covered the site purchase and early construction. Another $3.3 million is in the annual operating budget.

Dos Rios is part of a state effort to enhance recreation for people in the San Joaquin Valley and other under-served areas.

Restoring the forest primeval

The nonprofit River Partners has restored Dos Rios with help from the Tuolumne River Trust and other public and private allies. They hope to mimic the forest that thrived in the Valley before dams and levees diverted most of the runoff from the Sierra Nevada.

Former grain fields and orchards have been planted with native grasses, brush and trees. Levees were breached in a few spots to let the rivers spread during high flows.

The floodplains absorb water that could otherwise threaten downstream homes. They recharge the aquifer below for use by farms and cities in drier years.

The fast-growing native trees shelter baby salmon and steelhead trout before they migrate to the Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of bird, mammal and insect species call Dos Rios home.

The tour included State Parks Director Armando Quintero. He said he spotted snow geese as he arrived, visitors from spring to fall.

“For me, what Dos Rios represents is a realization for Californians that we live in something as spectacular as the African savanna,” Quintero said. “It is really stunning.”

Lyons family owned the land

River Partners purchased the site in 2012 from the Lyons family. It continues to farm nearby in wildlife-friendly ways, such as leaving corn stubble for migratory birds.

Dos Rios has been off-limits to the public to allow the restoration to take hold. When it opens, the entrance will be on Shiloh Road, south of Paradise Road. The fees and hours have not been announced.

Picnic tables and shade structures were recently built near the entrance. A modular restroom building will soon replace the portable toilets now used by the staff. The trails will take visitors out to see some of the floodplain, without trampling it.

The state agency will soon announce events where the public can offer long-term ideas for Dos Rios, said Douglas Johnson, an information officer in Sacramento. A website also is planned.

A place to launch a boat?

The entry area looks out on a former ranch pond fed by the Tuolumne. It eventually could have a ramp for canoes, kayaks and other non-motorized craft headed for the river.

The tour was mainly for the California Boating and Waterways Commission. It also paid a visit that day to a new boat ramp it helped fund in a west Modesto stretch of the Tuolumne.

Dos Rios has a staff of five so far, led by Park Manager Paige Haller. It could grow to 17 eventually.

Staff members Caitlin Jackson and Ali Manzo will educate the public about plants and animals at the park. They told the tour group how Dos Rios already nurtures endangered species such as the least Bell’s vireo (a bird) and the riparian brush rabbit.

Dos Rios is just upstream of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. This 7,500-acre federal expanse has habitat similar to the state park.

Dos Rios still has remnants of agriculture, including a barn, a milking shed and grain silos. Some could be retained as historical relics if they are in decent shape.

The Valley has only about 5% of the riverside forest from the millennia before most of the water was diverted. Dos Rios is the largest project involving both public and private parties.

“It’s just an incredible place,” Gerhart said. “... We have two rivers, which is where the name Dos Rios is from, so a lot of recreational opportunities for people.”