These road trips are close to Stockton and feature hikes, history and stunning scenery
Before late spring and summer settles in with temperatures in the 90s and higher, consider local road trips featuring short hikes, history and stunning scenery. All these options are within 10 to 50 miles from Stockton and can be done in one day.
Our first destination is the San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta, featuring quaint towns such as Walnut Grove, Locke, Rio Vista and the Delta Meadows Trail.
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Begin your tour by heading north on Interstate 5, then go west on Walnut Grove/Thornton Road to Walnut Grove.
The city grew as a lively river town, blending agriculture and travel as the river ferries provided the most efficient transport in the late 1800s. Just north of Walnut Grove is the most interesting town of Locke, founded in 1883 by George Locke, a smaller, more humble town.
When Walnut Grove’s Chinatown burned in 1915, the Cantonese-speaking Chinese migrated to Locke to create a town of their own. The town built its reputation for illicit entertainment and gambling, earning the nickname “California’s Monte Carlo,” with numerous gambling halls, brothels and speakeasies.
Visitors to Locke are wise to stop first at the north end of Main Street, where the former boarding house is now the Locke Boarding House Visitors’ Center, offering historic overview and is free of charge. Other attractions include the Chinese Association Museum, former home of the Jan Ying Benevolent Association, the Locke Chinese School, a language school that opened in 1926, Locke Memorial Park and Monument (which honors the Chinese who labored in agriculture and helped build the levees and railroads early in the century) and the Dai Loy Museum (showcasing gambling paraphernalia). Two notable restaurants are the Locke Garden Restaurant and Al the Wop’s Saloon and Restaurant (which was earlier also a brothel).
The lovely Delta Meadows Trail starts on the border between the two towns (use the smartphone app AllTrails for details on hikes like this one). The several mile hike starts along levees built by Chinese laborers more than 100 years ago, through riparian woodlands, marshes and meadows with a heady dose of quiet solitude. Despite our assumption that most all the Delta had been developed for either agricultural crops or livestock grazing; we discovered much to our surprise large portions virtually untouched by man.
Continuing your Delta road trip, coursing through newer vineyards and several wineries, follow Highway 160 northwest from Walnut Grove to the Grand Island Mansion, stroll the estate’s lovely classic gardens and plan a return to one of the most stately former residences in the Delta, now home to an acclaimed weekend brunch.
Continue your meandering Delta tour by heading south along Grand Island Road, and take the first of two free auto ferries across Steamboat Slough to Highway 220, then west to Highway 84, then south (crossing Cache Slough on the second free ferry) to Rio Vista. Stroll the historic old river town, make a stop at the monument on the Sacramento River to Humphrey the Humpback Whale, then stop for libations and a bite to eat at Foster's Big Horn restaurant, featuring the mounted heads of big game bagged by the restaurant owner in the 1930s and 40s.
Even closer scenic destinations offering memorable hiking options include the Cosumnes River Preserve, just north of Thornton and Caswell Memorial State Park, just south of Ripon. Cosumnes River Preserve features riparian forest along the Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers, once the location of the port town of Mokelumne City. In the 1850s, Mokelumne City grew to be the second largest city and second largest port in the county, behind only Stockton. But the ‘several hundred year flood’ of 1862 washed the old town into the Delta, never to be rebuilt; today only the ghosts of the city’s former residents guard the lovely riverbanks.
A similar preserve just south of Ripon is Caswell Memorial State Park, featuring riparian oak woodland forest along the Stanislaus River. Within Caswell’s 258 acres is a lovely campground and hiking trails along the languid river. The park is home to several endangered species such as the riparian brush rabbit, and offers ancient woodland groves where Native Americans like the Yokuts would collect acorns, hunt and fish.
Finally, one of the most interesting road trips is right in your backyard. The Downtown Stockton Alliance offers a self-guided history tour, including Hotel Stockton, the Sperry Flour Mill, Weber Point, the Bob Hope Theatre, formerly known as the Fox Theatre, and much more profiling the historic port city’s emergence as one of the state’s most robust business, banking and agricultural empires 150-some years ago.
Friends of the Fox Theatre board chair Marilyn Togninali notes upcoming classics "The Breakfast Club" on May 20; "It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," June 12; "Independence Day," July 15; and "Cool Hand Luke," Aug. 14. Combine a downtown walking tour with a Fox classic movie, and you have a memorable hike wrapped in the city’s history and spectacular views.
For Sunday afternoon Fox matinees, a special bonus includes an in-depth tour of the almost 100 year-old movie and burlesque theatre, hosted by noted theatre impresario Matias Bombal.
More information: Cosumnes River Preserve, cosumnes.org; Caswell Memorial State Park, parks.ca.gov; Downtown Stockton Alliance, downtownstockton.org; Friends of the Fox/Fox Theatre, foxfriends.org, Locke, nps/gov/places/locke-historic-district.htm; Rio Vista, discoverriovista.com; Walnut Grove and other Delta cities, visitcadelta.com.
Contact Tim at tviall@msn.com. Happy travels in the west!
This article originally appeared on The Record: Road trips close to San Joaquin County with hikes, history
