Davis residents and visitors greatly value having access to passive recreational opportunities in open space areas.  Providing that access helps taxpayers appreciate the benefits of their investment and fosters strong support for continued open space conservation.  The subject area of public access and recreation includes increasing public access and recreational opportunities on the City’s open space areas and on the City’s conservation easement lands, where feasible.  It also includes building a better open space network, and improving linkages between open space areas.

The community has expressed a great interest in being able to hike more within the City’s open space areas.  Residents also have expressed a great interest in being able to visit various publicly owned open space areas by bike.  Ideally, the publicly owned open spaces within the Davis Planning Area should be connected by biking/walking trails, allowing people to visit multiple sites without having to get into a car.  Currently, many of the City’s open space areas are publicly accessible, but trail systems are limited and open space areas aren’t linked by dedicated bike paths.

Recent Accomplishments -- Public Access and Recreation

New Public Accessibility Improvements

More than $400,000 in much-needed public accessibility improvements will soon be open to the public at the City’s largest nature preserve, the 110-acre South Fork Preserve located about a half mile south of the city limits along County Road 104.

The improvements include a new gravel trail that is accessible to people with disabilities, a short boardwalk and large creek overlook, new single-track and seasonal trails through the preserve’s riparian habitat, 10 new interpretive panels, new trail signage, trail improvements, and natural seating areas. The improvements will be open in December 2021.

The project is a long time in the making.  In 2017, the City was awarded a $230,000 grant from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Habitat Conservation Fund Program (Trails), to help fund the improvements.  It took more than three years for the City to get an encroachment permit from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board because the improvements are located between the levees that contain the South Fork of Putah Creek.

The improvements will allow people with disabilities to enjoy a large section of the preserve.  The gravel trail is built on “geocells” which hold the gravel and provide a firm and safe surface for wheelchairs.  The improvements also were needed to protect the preserve’s sensitive habitat and provide the public with more views of the creek.

The project cost more than $700,000 to complete.  About $300,000 was spent securing approvals from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Yolo Habitat Conservancy. 

The City committed about $470,000 toward the project.  That money came from special open space protection parcel taxes (Measure O) and open space development impact fees.  No general fund dollars were used on the project.

In addition to the State of California, the City partnered with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps (“SRCC”), and dozens of volunteers who all helped to complete the project.  The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation provided graphics and text for a special interpretive panel about the Patwin people.  The SRCC built the single-track and seasonal trails and dozens of volunteers assembled hundreds of geocell panels for the gravel trail accessible to people with disabilities.

Other partners included the City’s Open Space and Habitat Commission, who helped provide the content for the 10 new interpretive panels, Loduca Construction, who built the boardwalk and creek overlook, and Helix Environmental Planning, who designed the 10 new interpretive panels.

The City purchased the preserve in 1993, when the land was still in row crops.  In 1999, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers planted thousands of native trees and shrubs to restore the land’s natural riparian, upland, and grassland/oak savannah habitats.  South Fork Preserve is now part of the City’s open space program, which maintains more than 240 acres of open space for the public to enjoy.

New Interpretive Panels

The City recently installed 10 new interpretative panels at South Fork Preserve, as part of a larger project to improve public accessibility at the 110-acre nature preserve.  The City’s Open Space and Habitat Commission helped provide the content for the panels, Helix Environmental Planning designed them, and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation provided graphics and text for a special panel about the Patwin people, as shown below.  The Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps installed the interpretive panels along the new trails, and on a new overlook structure that provides better views of the South Fork of Putah Creek.  The panels discuss the history of South Fork Preserve, oak galls, the Putah Creek Accord, and salmon spawning along the creek. 

New Limited Public Trail Easement

The City recently secured a limited future public trail easement as part of the purchase of an agricultural conservation easement on 124 acres of farmland within a half mile of the city limits, known as the Gill Orchard property. The trail will only be accessible to the public when legal access is secured between the Gill Orchard property and the City's Wildhorse Agricultural Buffer. Even then, it will only be accessible to the public between November 1 and February 28 to not conflict with the Gill family's farming operation.  The land is planted with nut trees. Only pedestrian access (i.e., walking, hiking) will be allowed.  No bicycles or motorized vehicles will be allowed.  No overnight camping will be allowed. The Gill family generously donated the limited future public trail easement as part of the City's purchase of a 124-acre agricultural conservation easement on the Gill's property.   

New Docent Program

The City has partnered with the Putah Creek Council to start a docent program at South Fork Preserve. Volunteer docents are recruited and trained twice throughout the year. Public programs are offered in two four-month series each year, during which at least one event is held per month. The docents are trained guides who conduct tours, lead guided walks, or otherwise help the public understand the preserve's resources and opportunities. Docents are volunteers who generously donate their time and skills toward improving visitors' experience and enjoyment of South Fork Preserve.