Recreation and Tourism

Great California Delta Trail

Public Resources Code sections 5852-5855 calls for the Commission to develop a plan for a Great California Delta Trail, a continuous regional recreation corridor extending around the Delta, including the shorelines of five Delta counties, and linking trail systems from Sacramento to the San Francisco Bay. Under the statute, the Commission works in partnership with local entities to coordinate planning and implementation. Trail segments are conceived, developed, built, and managed locally.

The charge for the Great California Delta Trail is to include routes for bicycling and hiking, with interconnections to other land and water trail systems, recreational facilities, and public transportation. Water trails will provide continuity in places where land trails are not feasible. When complete, this regional trail will connect communities with a long-distance, primary trail corridor linked with boat launch sites and access trails leading to and from key destinations.

There are currently five designated Great California Delta Trail segments, including:

• West Sacramento River Walk
• Sacramento River Parkway
• Clarksburg Branch Line Trail
• Big Break and Marsh Creek Trail
• Carquinez Strait Loop Trail

Great California Delta Trail Master Plan

Public Resources Code section 5855 directs the Commission to convene Technical and Stakeholder Advisory Committees to review planning, implementation, and funding proposals. Commission staff worked extensively with county parks planners, regional transportation officials, trails groups, and landowners to produce an Eastern Blueprint Report for Sacramento, Yolo, and San Joaquin Counties (2019) and a Western Blueprint for Contra Costa and Solano Counties (2010), laying the groundwork for the development and adoption by the Commission (January 2022) of the Great California Delta Trail Master Plan.

The plan provides a framework for the Commission to work in partnership with local trail planners, facilitating coordinated planning and implementation across jurisdictional boundaries.

Great California Delta Trail Master Plan (PDF) – Large File 16 MB

• Appendix A – Public Survey Summary (PDF)
• Appendix B – Background Document Review (PDF)
• Appendix C – Rail Trail Development (PDF)
• Appendix D – Levee Managers Survey Summary (PDF)
• Appendix E – Operations and Maintenance (PDF)
• Appendix F – Funding Sources (PDF)
• Appendix G – Liability and Risk Reduction (PDF)
• Appendix H – Delta Trail Master Plan Trail Designation (PDF)
• Appendix I – Public Workshops (PDF)
• Appendix J – Public and Stakeholder Comment Summary (PDF)

Recreation and Tourism Survey Report

This study represents the findings of a research effort conducted by California State University, Sacramento and funded by the Commission. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a dynamic system of human communities and the natural environment. Up-to-date understandings of the social dimensions of recreation and tourism in the area should be considered when adapting approaches to managing the Delta region. The work performed in this research effort aims to provide information on visitor and local resident recreation preferences and information sources they utilize when choosing recreation opportunities. Additionally, this report includes economic impact and significance analyses of two annual events.

• Delta Recreation and Tourism Survey Report (2019) (PDF)
• Delta Recreation and Tourism Survey Infographics (2019) (PDF)

For more information contact Virginia Gardiner.

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