What do we have cooking these days?
Some awesome projects!
Riverside County Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Park Feasibility Study
Between March 2021 and February 2022, the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District (RivCoParks), in partnership with the State of California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division, conducted a county-wide feasibility study for a potential future public off-highway vehicle (OHV) park.
The purpose of this study was to identify locations for a regional OHV recreation area in Riverside County. This study considered land ownership; sensitive lands; sources of noise, and dust; cultural resource and environmental protection; and private land rights when considering potential OHV park sites.
NEXT STEPS
RivCoParks is seeking additional funding to allow us to conduct an environmental review of the potential sites. Through the environmental review process, one or two sites will likely emerge as the most feasible for use as an OHV park. The next round of grants from the State of California opens in Spring of 2023. If funding is secured through these grants, the environmental review process will likely take place beginning in Winter of 2023 and continuing through the winter of 2024. Additional funding sources are also being explored in an effort to start the environmental study process this year.
Learn more about the four potential OHV sites in Riverside County identified by this study.
Kabian Park Restoration Project
Kabian Park was established in 1968 and provides a variety of trails for hiking, running, mountain biking, and equestrian use, as well as wildlife viewing and nature photography. Additional amenities within the Park include gazebos with barbeque grills, drinking fountains, and playground facilities.
The main entrance to the Park is located north along Kabian Park Road in the southeastern corner of the Park, with an unpaved gravel pad to provide parking. However, a number of unofficial access points currently exist along all borders of the Park. These access points have led to unauthorized Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) entry to and use within the Park, leading to the deterioration of native habitat in the area.
The proposed Project would include approximately 3 miles of unauthorized trail restoration, installation of approximately 20,000 square feet of perimeter fencing, restoration of native habitat on up to 35 acres of other lands, and installation of gates, and signage; to restore native habitat and prevent future unauthorized OHV use.
Environmental Documents
Santa Ana River Trail Projects
The Santa Ana River Trail offers opportunities for local outdoor recreation while also connecting Inland Communities to the California Coastal Trail. It spans 3 counties (Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino) and connects 17 cities. More than seven million people live in the three counties that the trail connects. The project is an integral part of the effort to restore and revitalize the 100-mile Santa Ana River.
To date, 68 miles of the Santa Ana River Trail have been completed or are under construction. When finished it will run from the San Bernardino County National Forest to the Pacific Ocean at Huntington Beach where the trail ends, and it will be the longest multi-use trail in Southern California. There are currently two gaps in the trail: From Green River in Orange County to Hidden Valley Wildlife area in Riverside County and from Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino to the National Forest boundary line near Mentone.
Public Review Draft:
Santa Ana River Trail Phase 6
Thru Green River Golf Club
Environmental Documents for Public Review
To give public comments, Click Here
Santa Ana River Parkway Minimum Trail Signage and Maintenance Guidelines
Harford Springs Staging Area Project
Harford Springs Reserve is located just southeast of Lake Mathews, in the Gavilan Hills. It is a 325-acre park/reserve. This is a popular haven for hiking, horseback riding and getting back to nature that is relatively close to Riverside and Perris.
The property was purchased in 1970 and was placed into the county reserve system as it is still today. It's namesake was an early settler to the Perris area named Henry Morey Harford who migrated from Omaha for the more temperate California weather.
The park is a gateway to the Harford Springs Reserve trail which a beautiful, hilly trail through high foliage that levels off to an area of rocks and shrubbery. In the spring, the area offer lots of blooming wildflowers, and is one of the few remaining areas where the rare chocolate lily can be found.
A new Staging Area is being developed off the Piedras Road entrance which will allow guests to safely park trailers and vehicles in a designated stall areas with the Reserve lands. The new construction features parking for up to 15 equestrian trailers, 6 parking stalls, a picnic area and new gates and fencing.
Environmental Documents
Butterfield Overland Trail
National Historic Trail Special Resources Study
The Butterfield Overland Trail has a rich history in America. The routes were originally pioneered by John Butterfield and the Butterfield Overland Stage Company as they traveled across the country from the eastern cities of Saint Louis, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee all the way to San Francisco, California in the mid-1800's. In Riverside County, the trail passes through Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Temescal Valley and Corona. It is also known as the "oxbow" route since it takes a u-shaped curved path giving stagecoach travelers a way avoid the dangerous Rocky Mountains and their harsh winter snows.
In 2009, legislation was enacted to develop a special resource study to evaluate options to protect and interpret the route. This includes work towards achieving a national historic trail designation and officially adding the route to the National Trails System. The study project also involves developing collaborations among the National Parks Service, Federal, State, and local government agencies as well as private & non-profit entities. The trail and historic sites along the way are owned by both public and private entities and participation in the national historic trails program is voluntary.
The Butterfield Overland Trail Project represents a joint effort between the City of Lake Elsinore, the City of Corona, Riverside County Regional Park and Open Space District, Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Riverside County Habitat Conservation Agency, and Riverside County Park District Advisory Commission. Technical assistance on this project was provided by the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program.
Read more about our project: Butterfield Overland Trail Project
Hidden Valley Restoration Project
Salt Creek Trail Projects
The Salt Creek Trail project trail will consist of a hard surfaced Class I bike path and a soft surface pedestrian path. The trail is located along the north side of the Salt Creek flood control channel between Goetz Road and Antelope Road in Menifee and along the north parkway of Domenigoni Parkway between Sanderson Avenue and Searl Parkway in Hemet.
in Menifee and Hemet
Google maps to each trail segment
Access the Menifee trail segment at Goetz Road and Antelope Road.
Access the Hemet trail segment at Domenigoni Parkway between Sanderson Avenue and Searl Parkway in Hemet.
Geographical overview of the 16 Mile Salt Creek Trail
Story contributed by the County of Riverside Transportation Department.
Beginning in the 1960s, developers constructed a wide earthen flood control channel along Salt Creek to carry stormwa-ter 16 miles from the City of Hemet westerly through the community of Winchester and through the City of Menifee, where the water would eventually flow into Lake Elsinore. The Riverside County Flood Control District (Flood Control) envisioned the facility as a balance of “Function, Environmental & Recreation” elements. As such, the County planned a regional recreational trail along the full length of the channel, and by the 1990s the Salt Creek Trail became one of five essential backbone trails identified in the circulation element of the County's General Plan.
The 16-mile Salt Creek Trail will be an essential east-west trail for the western Riverside County trail system with accessibility to homes, schools, businesses, and planned linkages with smaller trails. Regional trails meet the goals of increasing active modes of transportation and decreasing bicycle and pedestrian fatalities, while providing an alternative to gasoline-powered vehicle trips, which is key
to achieving state and local air quality objectives.
The Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District (Park District), which oversees regional trails throughout Riverside County, applied for and received a $5 million grant from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program to construct the first 5 miles of the Salt Creek Trail.
In a three-department County partnership, Flood Control provided the property consisting of a dirt maintenance road along the north side of the channel, the Transportation Department is administering the funding pro-gram, design, and construction of the project, and the Park District will ultimately operate and maintain the regional trail.
This first phase of construction includes a 4-mile segment in the City of Menifee and a 1-mile segment in the City of Hemet. The trail generally consists of a 12-foot wide paved bike path with an adja-cent soft surface path, where space permits. Pedestrian-activated traffic signals will stop traffic so that trail users can safely cross ma-jor streets. At one location, the trail goes under the Interstate 15 bridge.
Members of the public can bike, walk, run, and ride their horses along the trail, and may be accompanied by pets on leashes. The trail is also designed to be accessible for persons with disabilities. Motorized vehicles, such as golf carts and motorcycles, are not per-mitted on the trail.
The Splash Pad Project
at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park
In 2010, RivCoParks completed an improvement project at the beautiful Rancho Jurupa Regional Park that included the addition of walking trails, miniature golfing, splash pad, natural rock play area, and improved parking facilities.
Upon completion, the splash pad quickly became a popular destination for day-use within the park. Over time, the splash pad surface area deteriorated, and the surrounding amenities needed to be brought into ADA compliance to safely accommodate visitors.
In 2019, improvements to the splash pad and surrounding area were approved to include updating the surfacing throughout the facility, expansion of water reclamation drains for increased water efficiency, improved amenities, ADA compliance improvements, new shade structures, landscaping, and irrigation repair work.
RivCoParks proudly shares with you these improvements to the splash pad and surrounding day-use areas that will provide visitors and the community with a more functional, ADA compliant, and safe place to enjoy for many years to come.