Coronavirus forces ban on out-of-county visitors to Woodward and Modesto reservoirs
Only residents of Stanislaus County will be allowed at Woodward and Modesto reservoirs because of COVID-19.
The restriction applies to day use and will extend to camping after Aug. 6.
The move was announced Thursday by the county Parks and Recreation Department, which manages both east county attractions.
“Upon consultation with the sheriff and our public health team, the decision has been made to reduce public access to Woodward and Modesto reservoirs for the health and safety of Stanislaus County,” an online post said. “Stanislaus County remains on the state public health officer’s monitoring list due to elevated levels of transmission of COVID-19.”
Most campers come from elsewhere
The sites have operated this summer with social distancing and other rules aimed at slowing the virus. But the crowds have proved to be too large, and they have mostly been people from other counties, department Director Jackie Dwyer said in an email.
So far in July, only 329 of the 1,114 camping reservations at Woodward were from Stanislaus residents. Only 290 of the 1,060 reservations at Modesto Reservoir were in-county. Day-use visitors were not checked for place of residence.
The parks will honor out-of-county reservations for camping through Aug. 6.
Low-foothills attractions
Woodward is north of Oakdale and has about 3,700 acres around a reservoir for the South San Joaquin Irrigation District.
Modesto Reservoir is east of Waterford and has about 3,200 acres around a water storage facility for the Modesto Irrigation District.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 8:53 PM.
