‘String of Pearls’ parks near Knights Ferry attract water lovers

On a cool afternoon in late April, Ryan Williams and friend Casey Schaap slid their kayaks into the Stanislaus River at Horseshoe Road Recreation Area between Oakdale and Knights Ferry.

The Stanislaus ran high, cold and fast that day. The plan, Williams said, would be to head downstream past the Honolulu Bar Recreation Area about a mile away, under the Orange Blossom Road bridge and keep going until they reached one of the parks near his home off Rodden Road. Then, they’d go get his truck and return to retrieve the kayaks.

From start to finish, their trip lasted no more than maybe two hours. Along the way, including their starting point at the Horseshoe Road park, they kayaked past as many as six of the nine “String of Pearls” parks operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along the river.

That, friends, is day use, and the nine parks stretching along the Stanislaus from Goodwin Dam upstream west to the McHenry Avenue Recreation Area are collectively among the most popular areas in the region. In addition to the raft and kayak launching and pullout areas, the parks also offer picnic areas, restrooms, fishing access, nature walks, views of the river and maybe sticking your toes in the cold water on a hot day.

Last year, said Heather Wright, the Corps’ park manager at Knights Ferry, more than 400,000 vehicles entered their parking lots. If the majority of those cars carried an average of two to three people, the math suggests anywhere from 800,000 to 1 million folks visited the parks, which are day-use only. Only three of them – Knights Ferry, Orange Blossom and McHenry Avenue – charge $5 per car per day fees. The other parks are free.

Wright and the other rangers are noticing changes in the use of the parks. They’ve gone from winter ghost towns to year-round attractions.

“It used to slow in the winter,” she said. “Now, it never slows down. The drought and the population of the county have changed it. When it’s sunny, we’re open and ready. But even on rainy days, we have people in the parking lots, walking the trails.”

The spring brings fields of wildflowers that draw photographers.

All the parks are accessible by car and have walking trails. Upstream, Goodwin Dam and Two-Mile Bar offer spectacular views of the Stanislaus and the lava bluffs on the north side of the river.

The Knights Ferry Recreation Area is the most popular and busiest of them all for several reasons. There’s the historic town of Knights Ferry (1848), the covered bridge built in 1863 and a National Historic Landmark, and the area hosts a Civil War re-enactment every March. The Army Corps’ Visitor Center is also there, next to the old Tulloch Mill ruins, and includes exhibits that explain the area’s geology, history and wildlife. And Knights Ferry is the primary launching pad for river rafters.

They can put in or take out at the recreation area at Horseshoe Road, Honolulu Bar, Orange Blossom, Valley Oak and other points along the way, with the McHenry Avenue Recreation Area being the last of the Army Corps’ parks.

And a motivated tourist or hiker can easily visit them all in one day. A couple of warnings: First, wear life vests, use common sense and follow posted rules involving rafting and kayaking. And when you’re in the parks east of Oakdale, stay on the established trails and watch where you step. You’re sharing the terrain with wildlife, including rattlesnakes, and you’re on their turf.

Otherwise, it’s an easy day trip. Or nine.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 4:23 PM with the headline "‘String of Pearls’ parks near Knights Ferry attract water lovers."