Blauert on Outdoors: Eaton Trail is a nice location close to home

I had an appointment with a doctor in Fresno on Monday. Before leaving home, I packed a backpack and threw my bike in the back of my truck.

Once the doctor had given me a clean bill of health, I headed north on Friant Road to the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust’s River Center.

Located along the San Joaquin River, it’s a great place to start exploring via the Lewis S. Eaton Trail. I found ample and free parking, double-checked my gear, hopped on my bike and started peddling southwest along river bluff toward Woodward Park.

The Eaton Trail is a wide, paved pathway that follows the high bluff. Plans are in the works to connect it to a future 22-mile San Joaquin River Parkway along the river from Highway 99 up to Friant Dam. It’s an ambitious and exciting project that will bring more first-class outdoor recreation within the city limits.

Our valley is blessed with several large rivers that provide water for crops and towns, habitat for wildlife, sand and gravel for construction and recreation for people of all ages. Over the past few decades, recreation has become more of a focus. It’s nice to be able to drive to the mountains or coast to enjoy the outdoors, but it makes a lot of sense to have more good recreation closer to home.

Bakersfield’s 30-mile Kern River Parkway and Sacramento’s 23-mile American River Parkway are examples of successful urban river corridor recreation areas. The many access points on the Stanislaus River have made it a favorite with rafters, canoers and fishermen. Even L.A. is beginning to transform the notoriously ugly concrete channel of the Los Angeles River into something with park areas and paths following its course through the city.

The same thing is happening in Fresno with the San Joaquin River, and it’s clear the results are popular with many locals. Wide, paved and gentle in its slopes, the Eaton Trail is perfect for walking or biking and is well-suited to strollers and anyone with accessibility needs. I passed people of all ages out enjoying the warm afternoon – family groups, joggers, kids on scooters, walkers with dogs. Most of the trail is even open to horses. Restrooms, benches and water fountains are located at regular intervals. On a clear day after a storm, the view of the snow-capped Sierra is stunning. The trail’s open, bluff-top location and popularity means it is safe – I didn’t see anything that would cause anyone to feel wary.

I followed the Eaton Trail along the bluff to Woodward Park – about 4 miles. I looped around the park on dirt paths and paved roads and then followed a paved trail down to the Jensen River Ranch, another riverside park adjacent to Woodward. Jensen is located on flat river-bottom lands between the river and bluff.

The 2-mile Tom MacMichael Sr. Trail loops around these lowlands. I’d ridden this trail on horseback a couple of years ago. There’s even a couple of spots at Jensen where side trails permit humans and horses to wade in the river. This time, the grasses in the river bottom were green. On my previous visit in the spring of 2012, bright orange poppies and other wildflowers were abundant. The main trail at Jensen is paved, and there are unpaved side trails and a separate unpaved horse trail. You can connect to them from the Eaton Trail without looping the entire park, as I did.

All in all, I rode more than 10 miles, stopping at regular intervals to enjoy the view and snap photos. It took me about three hours. Back at the River Center, I walked around the grounds, which include a restored turn-of-the-century ranch home, picnic area and pond. The half-mile “Hidden Homes Nature Trail” around the pond provides great views and larger-than-life re-creations of animal homes that children can explore. It’s a fun, hands-on way to learn about wildlife.

Speaking of wildlife, I saw egrets, ducks, hawks, vultures and many other bird species. Larger species such as coyotes, bobcats and deer may be seen in the evening or early morning. Despite the cold nights, afternoons can be warm and enjoyable times to be outdoors in the winter. The trails along the San Joaquin River are best enjoyed in the cooler months. Recent rains have rejuvenated grasses and other plants, and the bluff and river bottom are prettiest from this time through the spring, especially on a clear day after a storm.

The river area is well worth a visit. For a short walk or ride, I recommend starting at Woodward Park ($5/car parking fee) and heading down to Jensen River Ranch to enjoy views from the river bluff at Woodward and the lowlands by the river. You can extend your walk up to the Eaton Trail along the bluff.

Woodward’s Shinzen Japanese Garden is a stunning place to stroll as well. The park is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. through March and until 10 p.m. from April through October. The gate is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends.

For information about the Eaton Trail, River Center and other recreation opportunities along the San Joaquin River, go to https://www.riverparkway.org or call the River Center at (559) 248-8480. For information about Woodward Park and a good map of the park, go to http://www.fresno.gov or call (559) 621-2900. There is a good map of the Eaton Trail in the book “Best Easy Day Hikes Fresno” by Tracy Salcedo-Chourre.

This story was originally published December 30, 2014 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Blauert on Outdoors: Eaton Trail is a nice location close to home."