Modesto has 7 miles of park along river, but it’s not heavily used. Planners invite ideas

The public can share ideas this week about the future of Tuolumne River Regional Park.

Two meetings and an online survey are part of an update to the 2001 master plan for the park. It stretches for seven river miles between Mitchell and Carpenter roads.

The park does not draw a large number of people, despite its proximity to several neighborhoods in Modesto and Ceres. Part of it is closed this spring due to high river flows.

The place has longer-term issues such as trash dumping, homeless camps and access from certain areas. Drought can sharply reduce the river flow, though it could improve via a tentative agreement among diverters and state regulators.

Park planners started acquiring the first pieces in the 1960s. In 1995, they added the Gateway area, which someday could be a crown jewel within an easy walk or bicycle ride of downtown Modesto.

The park has trails along its entire length and picnic areas near the airport neighborhood. It soon will have more soccer fields near Carpenter, as well as its first boat ramp near John Thurman Field in west Modesto.

The park also has restored floodplain in the Gateway area, and more is funded near Carpenter. The vision also includes more places for nature study and gatherings.

The master plan update is expected to be done by spring 2024. It could add uses not in the 2001 version and also evaluate funding sources.

The park is governed by a five-person board that includes members of the Modesto and Ceres city councils and the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.

The survey asks in English and Spanish about what visitors do in the park now. It also inquires about what they would like to add, and their reasons for not spending more time there now.

The first of the meetings will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, in the Neighborhood Center at James Marshall Park, 420 Chicago Ave.

The second meeting will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday in Picnic Area B at the airport neighborhood portion of the river park.