If you’ve got a bucket list item labeled “visit all of the US state parks,” well, your list just got a bit longer.

This new state park is the first one to join the fold in over a decade, and visitors say spending time there is like journeying into the past.

It’s located in the San Joaquin Valley at the junction of the Tuolumne River and the San Joaquin River, which is why it’s been dubbed Dos Rios.

It’s goal is to show visitors what California’s Central Valley looked like before the advent of modern agriculture.

It opened on June 12, 2024 and is the first state park to open since the Eastern Kern County Onyx Ranch State Vehicular Recreation Area opened in November of 2014.

The agricultural boom transformed the Central Valley’s farmland and wrought environmental changes like groundwater depletion and the disruption of natural waterways.

The land is part of California’s largest floodplain restoration project, in the hopes that at least some of that damage can be undone.

The money behind the effort comes from River Partners and the Tuolumne River Trust, who purchased the property in 2012. They’ve restored 1,600 acres so far and have plans to add another 500 in the near future.

They have flooded parts of the land and planted over 280,000 trees. So far, over 8 miles of riverfront has been restored to what it looked like before modern farming took over.

The hope is that endangered species like the riparian brush rabbit, riparian woodrat, Swainson’s hawk, Central Valley Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, least Bell’s vireo, and the greater Sandhill crane could return to the re-established habitats.

The recovered areas should also host many species of birds along the Pacific Flyway, a migration corridor that stretches from the Arctic to Argentina.

Armando Quintero, the Director of California State Parks, issued a statement about the achievement and future plans.

“The vision for Dos Rios is a journey into the past, revealing a lush Central Valley and a local escape – adjacent to two rivers and a wildlife refuge.”

In addition to helping wildlife, the restored plains should assist with flash flooding, which is becoming more damaging and common due to climate change.

The flood of freshwater from the rivers should “recharge” the region’s underground aquifers, too, which are used for drinking water, local agriculture, and to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

The park has also created 250 jobs and California State Parks believes the area will “improve the mental, physical, and social well-being of locals and travelers who can enjoy the park’s national beauty.”

Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of California Natural Resources Agency, really believes the new park could make a huge impact on the people who visit.

“Opening Dos Rios is a game changer. It provides a beautiful riverfront destination for San Joaquin Valley residents to get outside and recreate, in a part of the state with few such places. It also provides a new model of a multi-benefit park that also reduces flood risk for local communities, provides a refuge for local residents during worsening heat waves, and restores the natural environment of the Central Valley to benefit local wildlife.”

It’s currently only open on the weekends and doesn’t allow campers.

If you’re looking to take in the hiking trails, enjoy a picnic, or bust out your binoculars for bird watching, this could be your new favorite spot.

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