California's biggest state park expansion in decades spotlights Central Valley

Sycamore Island, a 600-acre property on the banks of the San Joaquin River 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 and Fresno, paddle in a canoe or cast a fishing line in the river.

"Sycamore Island is the perfect place to go and just take a deep breath and relax and be immersed in nature," Daniska said.

Last week, Sycamore Island became part of California's largest expansion to its state park system in decades. On Earth Day, Gov. Gavin Newsom 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, the Pacific Coast and the Central Valley.

"As Trump sells out America's national parks, California is doubling down on protecting the Golden State's natural beauties," Newsom said in a news release announcing the move.

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. The six properties along the San Joaquin 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's funding for operations and maintenance on those properties was set to expire next year, so transferring ownership to State Parks will guarantee the public's access into the future, Daniska said.

"It really solves a problem that we had," she said.

The new park is a big win for the Central Valley: "I have nothing but pride and I'm so thankful to State Parks and the governor for seeing this as an opportunity and lifting us up and lifting up the Central Valley," Daniska said. "We get forgotten about, so for us to be in the spotlight feels really good."

Another new state park is Dust Bowl Camp, near Bakersfield. It's a historic camp where migrant farmers who came to California during the Great Depression once lived and inspired John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Grapes of Wrath."

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.

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 "an amazing recreational asset."

"One 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," Bradford wrote in an email to SFGATE.

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's 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.

"I have an all-terrain two-wheel chair that goes a lot of places, so I'm one of the few that are able to get out there," Miller said. "... It would benefit a large portion of the Yuba County residents that are disabled."

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.

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.

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's footprint.

"The bold vision laid out today by Governor Newsom 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," said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero in the news release.

For some Fresno residents, the San Joaquin River Parkway is within walking distance of their homes, Daniska said. Even though the park is in the middle of a big city, it's buffered by the bluffs, which add to the peace and serenity. At night, it's one of the darkest places in Fresno.

"It feels like another world," she said. "It's really special."

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