Clovis trail system gets new hub
The City of Clovis will unveil the latest addition to its already robust trail system with the grand opening of the Dry Creek Trailhead at Sunnyside and Shepherd avenues on Saturday.
Fitted with four restrooms, two picnic areas, multiple water fountains and two bike repair stations, the trailhead will serve as a central hub for people using the existing Enterprise, Dry Creek and Fresno Sugar Pine trails (ending at Willow and Shepherd avenues), as well as two future trails proposed in north Clovis.
“It’s creating that network of trails that we really want,” said Mark Keppler, chairman of the Clovis Community Foundation. “It’s a staging area for cyclists. You now have the option of traveling in any direction; to the east on the Enterprise Trail or south along Dry Creek and into Old Town Clovis.”
To give you an idea, it’s a 5-mile trip to Woodward Park and 3.5 miles to Old Town Clovis. For longer trips, the trailhead is a starting point for roundtrip rides of 17 miles to the San Joaquin River Center and 24 miles to Friant Dam.
“It’s giving folks in Clovis a vital transportation alternative,” Keppler said. “These trails aren’t just for recreation but also a new means of transportation for those that choose to bike.”
Located on the southwest corner of the intersection, the trailhead is finally complete after a long battle with funding. In 2006, the city applied for and was awarded $1.5 million in federal grants but budget cuts reduced staffing and put the project on hold. In 2012, an additional $677,900 became available and the city began working to finish the project. The total cost of the project was $2.2 million.
“At first this seemed impossible, but every agency has been supportive to deliver a great asset for the community,” Clovis city engineer Steve White said.
The City of Clovis annexed the triangular piece of land from the Fresno Irrigation District and worked with CalTrans and the City of Fresno in the planning process. To control flood waters in the area, a 197,000-gallon water storage was constructed beneath the trailhead.
For Clovis resident and avid cyclist Tim Stites, the site couldn’t be better.
“It’s great. Now we can ride out in nearly any direction,” Stites said on Tuesday as he was walking along the Enterprise Canal to check out the new trailhead before its grand opening at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“It has great amenities with the repair stations and a much closer restroom. Before, the nearest one was all the way down at the Clovis Botanical Gardens,” he added.
Future additions to the Clovis trails system include a proposed suspension bridge at Highway 168 and Temperance, extending paved trails along the banks of the Dry Creek and Enterprise canals and new trails into the Harlan Ranch area, White said.
To help with policing, lights and police surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the trailhead, but White asks resident to help do their part in keeping the new trailhead as spotless as possible.
“It’s benefiting the community and county so residents can make use of it and live a healthy lifestyle,” White said. “There’s no way to constantly police this site, so we’re going to need help from everyone to do their part.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2014 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Clovis trail system gets new hub."