{"id":291379,"date":"2026-04-29T11:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/291379\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:38:08","slug":"largest-state-park-expansion-in-decades-spotlights-central-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/291379\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest state park expansion in decades spotlights Central Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

The San Joaquin River Parkway is a pocket of nature near Fresno and the site of a newly proposed state park.<\/p>\n

Brian Baer\/Brian Baer \/ California State Parks<\/p>\n

Sycamore Island, a 600-acre property on the banks of the San Joaquin River<\/a> in the Central Valley, is a little pocket of nature in the middle of a metropolis. Nesting bald eagles live here, said Kari Daniska, CEO of the San Joaquin River Conservancy, and people often visit to get away from the hustle of city life in Madera<\/a> and Fresno<\/a>, paddle in a canoe or cast a fishing line in the river.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cSycamore Island is the perfect place to go and just take a deep breath and relax and be immersed in nature,\u201d Daniska said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Last week, Sycamore Island became part of California\u2019s largest expansion<\/a> to its state park<\/a> system in decades. On Earth Day, Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> unveiled plans for three new California state parks and announced the expansion of several more. The state parks expansion touches the redwoods, the Sierra Nevada<\/a>, the Pacific Coast and the Central Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Trump sells out America\u2019s national parks, California is doubling down on protecting the Golden State\u2019s natural beauties,\u201d Newsom said in a news release announcing the move.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The San Joaquin River Parkway is a pocket of nature near Fresno and the site of a newly proposed state park.<\/p>\n

Brian Baer\/Brian Baer \/ California State Parks<\/p>\n

The San Joaquin River Parkway, including Sycamore Island, is a proposed state park that would consist of 874 acres of riverfront property and will provide river access and recreation opportunities for communities in Fresno and Madera.\u00a0The six properties along the San\u00a0Joaquin River that will make up the new state park are part of a larger effort to protect 5,900 acres of open land on the San Joaquin River and build a 22-mile trail system. The properties are currently owned by the San Joaquin River Conservancy, a small state agency with just six people on staff and limited funds. The conservancy\u2019s funding for operations and maintenance on those properties was set to expire next year, so transferring ownership to State Parks will guarantee the public\u2019s access into the future, Daniska said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt really solves a problem that we had,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new park is a big win for the Central Valley: \u201cI have nothing but pride and I\u2019m so thankful to State Parks and the governor for seeing this as an opportunity and lifting us up and lifting up the Central Valley,\u201d Daniska said. \u201cWe get forgotten about, so for us to be in the spotlight feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another new state park is Dust Bowl Camp, near Bakersfield. It\u2019s a historic camp where migrant farmers who came to California during the Great Depression once lived and inspired John Steinbeck\u2019s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel \u201cThe Grapes of Wrath.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"One<\/p>\n

One of California\u2019s newly proposed state parks is Dust Bowl Camp, a historic camp where migrant farmers once lived during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

Brian Baer\/Brian Baer \/ California State Parks\"One<\/p>\n

One of California\u2019s newly proposed state parks is Dust Bowl Camp, a historic camp where migrant farmers once lived during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

Brian Baer\/Brian Baer \/ California State Parks<\/p>\n

The third is just north of Sacramento: 2,000 acres along the Feather River will be the first state park in Yuba County. The Feather River Park shines a light on an often overlooked part of the state in Yuba County, a mostly rural region where the western slope of the Sierra runs into the Central Valley. The 2,000 acres that will make up the new state park have seen heavy use in the past, but faced many challenges, including illegal dumping, trespassing, encampments and off-road vehicles, according to Yuba County<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yuba County adopted a limited use ordinance in 2024, which helped curb some of the illicit activities and improved the area, but state parks have more resources to develop the area to its full potential, said Gary Bradford, a Yuba County supervisor, calling the new park \u201can amazing recreational asset.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of our priorities as a board is to enhance recreational opportunities along the Yuba and Feather Rivers and this is a huge step in that direction,\u201d Bradford wrote in an email to SFGATE.<\/p>\n

\"North<\/p>\n

North of Sacramento, the proposed Feather River State Park would be a first for Yuba County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brian Baer\/Brian Baer \/ California State Parks<\/p>\n

The oak woodlands that surround that section of the Feather River are a beautiful area, said Paul Miller, president of the Sacramento chapter of the Audubon Society. A new state park could be a huge draw for people from Sacramento and Marysville. Miller, who uses a wheelchair, said he\u2019s going to be following the process of establishing the new state park here closely so he can advocate for more wheelchair-accessible amenities, including trails.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an all-terrain two-wheel chair that goes a lot of places, so I\u2019m one of the few that are able to get out there,\u201d Miller said. \u201c\u2026 It would benefit a large portion of the\u00a0Yuba County residents that are disabled.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With this addition, California will count 283 state parks. Newsom also announced expansions to existing parks. Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve in Mendocino County will see a 453-acre expansion, thanks to land donated by Save the Redwoods League. The expansion includes second-growth forest and 1.25 miles of streams.<\/p>\n

\"North<\/p>\n

North of Sacramento, the proposed Feather River State Park would be a first for Yuba County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brian Baer\/Brian Baer \/ California State Parks<\/p>\n

In Nevada County, the South Yuba River State Park will grow by 218 acres and encompass all of the Independence Trail, which was the first wheelchair accessible-wilderness trail in the United States and runs along a historic gold mining ditch.<\/p>\n

And in San Mateo County, the Cloverdale Bluffs are part of the 133 acres that have been added to Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, tripling the park\u2019s footprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe bold vision laid out today by Governor\u00a0Newsom sets California on a path to not just grow the State Park System but also provide more access and instill a greater connection and sense of pride for all Californians in their state parks,\u201d said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero in the news release.<\/p>\n

For some Fresno residents, the San\u00a0Joaquin River Parkway is within walking distance of their homes, Daniska said. Even though the park is in the middle of a big city, it\u2019s buffered by the bluffs, which add to the peace and serenity. At night, it\u2019s one of the darkest places in Fresno.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like another world,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really special.\u201d<\/p>\n

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More Central California News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Joaquin River Parkway is a pocket of nature near Fresno and the site of a newly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,1894,6027,1229,1228],"class_list":["post-291379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-sfgcentralca","tag-sfgmountaintowns","tag-sfgparks","tag-sfgtravel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}