Location: Visalia, CA
Parking: Gravel lot in industrial area, west end of trail.
Trail Condition: Surface is fine and wide enough but not very appealing. Old and gray asphalt with a few old railroad track crossings at an angle…be careful crossing!
Signage: None.
Comments: The first 3 miles or so of the trail are in the industrial area of Visalia. The trail is between active track and busy Goshen Ave. Guessing the track is only occasional used, although a yard engine and a few cars did move along the track (in the industrial area) while we were on the trail. There are several intersection to cross, push button for crossing signal, at least these are spaced a good distance apart and didn’t feel like we were stopping every couple minutes for a cross road. The trail is mostly unappealing, straight and level. It is a rail-trail for sure. We encountered a single walker on the eastern end. This trail ok based trail condition, not pretty but not a bunch of cracks or roots, etc. Wouldn’t do this one again.

Location: Visalia, CA
Parking: Riverway Sports Park…lots of parking available, nice park.
Trail Condition: Wonderful asphalt trail condition, new. This is a very wide trail, wide enough for a vehicle to easily drive it and some were but not a problem.
Signage: Informational and regulatory signs but no directional signs, which aren’t really needed.
Comments: Started from the western end Riverway Sports Park. This trail is wide and nice new surface, very easy to ride two abreast with plenty of room. A couple of underpasses avoid having to cross any roads, these parts of the trail are concrete and also very wide and nicely done. After the first section of trail of being in the open and construction of a large housing development to the side it then gets into the trees and more shade. All along following beside the dry river bed. While a previous reviewer mentioned a “no-go zone”, there certainly is a part of the trail with many encampments along the river bed, we passed through during the afternoon and certainly felt safe enough. It is an unfortunate condition. If wanting to avoid this part of the trail, start at St. Johns Park off of Ben Maddox Way and travel east. From this park the trail is more scenic with a lot of trees and a few small parks along it. At the eastern end of the trail, the trail makes a small circle and implies start of this trail. We continued east into Cutler Park to the actual end, as mapped on Trail Link. On the trail we encountered walkers and only a couple bikers, this was during the middle of a weekday. Of the two trails we did in Visalia, this is the preferred trail.

Location: Fresno, CA
Parking: Shopping Center (Yosemite Freeway & Friant Rd). Drove into Woodward Park but decided not to pay the $5 ($3 senior) parking fee. Should have read Parking & Trail Access description closer. Noted some folks park in shopping mall across Friant Rd from the park entrance.
Trail Condition: Excellent wide asphalt pathway. Well maintained.
Signage: Trail is easy to follow without signage, follow white stripe down middle of trail.
Comments: Started at South end, rode to North end and returned. Lots and lots of walkers and few bikers on the trail, nice three day weekend afternoon to get outside. Wonderful views of the San Joaquin River valley and mountains in distance. Of the trails in the Fresno (Clovis) area we rode this one was the best. No busy intersections to navigate, enough curves and small up and down hills to keep this one interesting. Highly recommend this trail.

Location: Fresno, CA
Parking: Shopping Center (Yosemite Freeway & Friant Rd)
Trail Condition: Excellent wide asphalt pathway. Well maintained.
Signage: Trail is easy to follow without signage, follow white stripe down middle of trail.
Comments: Going West to East the first portion of trail is a nice ride with a couple of underpasses and only one intersection to navigate. There is a gated section in this first portion that is closed at night. This section is a wide old railroad bed with housing on each side and now a bunch of trees along the trail. Nice and quiet section. Once passed this gated area the trail parallels a main street with a number of major intersections, which is a significant detractor. In fact, we didn’t finish the trail after growing tired of navigating the intersections. A few walkers and bikers were encountered on trail. It is evident this trail is a rail-to-trail project. The greenway is very wide, flat and mostly straight. Without the many busy intersections to cross this would be a fine rails-to-trails trail.

Location: Clovis (Fresno), CA
Parking: Costco (Shaw & N. Clovis Ave)
Trail Condition: Satisfactory for most of the trail. Is a wide asphalt pathway. There are portions of the trail that are older with tree roots raising up and causing a bumpy ride. Roots haven’t broken through surface yet. Trail needs work.
Signage: Fairly easy to follow with exception of one park with a fork in the trail. Of course, we chose the straight path which turned out to be the wrong choice. Stopped for quick check of our map and look around to see a busy intersection that needed to be crossed. A portion of the trail has a white stripe down the middle but not all. There is a count station along the trail showing trail usage (bikers and walkers, daily and this year). Nice feature.
Comments: This trail was in combination with the Clovis Old Town Trail (thus reason for parking at Costco). We started from the junction of the Clovis Old Town Trail to the terminus which is a nice park with large parking lot on the north end. Then returned back to the Clovis Old Town Trail. The trail passes through a nice park on the way to the terminus. The park at the terminus has an interesting horse statue made from old rusted mechanical parts. A number of walkers, runners and a few cyclists were encountered on the trail, not overwhelming. According to the trail counter, walkers way out number the bikers. A major intersection must be crossed. A lower rating for this trail was given because of the poor trail condition.

Location: Clovis (Fresno), CA
Parking: Costco (Shaw & N. Clovis Ave)
Trail Condition: Excellent wide asphalt pathway. Well maintained.
Signage: Mostly the trail is easy to follow with except through the Old Clovis Town section. Up to that point the trail is wide asphalt with a solid white line down the middle. For about a block the trail becomes sidewalk near a school and Veterans Memorial Building. After that section it returns to the asphalt trail with white stripe. There are a number of great informational signs, little “train station” gazebos, and statues along the trail. There is even a count station showing trail usage (bikers and walkers, daily and this year) in the Old Town Clovis section. (See photo of count station in the Dry Creek Trail photos.)
Comments: We rode this to the point where we thought the north end is and the Sugar Pine Trail begins. Didn’t see any signage that defined the end of one and start of the other. Then on the return south we took the Dry Creek Trail out and back. To finish up rode to the southern end of the trail and back to parking. This trail surface was great and think must be fairly new. A number of walkers, runners and a few cyclists were encountered on the trail, not overwhelming. According to the trail counter, walkers way out number the bikers. A detractor to this trail is the number of major busy intersections that require stopping to wait for a walk signal to cross. The north end of the trail has fewer of these but does have a couple crossing with signaled cross walks requiring the press of a button to activate the warning signals, at least they aren’t at busy intersections. It is evident this trail is a rail-to-trail project. The greenway is very wide and flat. Without the many busy intersections to cross this would be a great rails-to-trails trail.

Started from the Riverway Sports Park which was very nice with much greenery for an October day. We hit the trail and as expected this newly paved trail made its way into the surrounding desert scenery. How wonderful to have such a trail in this town. There are several options to side trails along the way. Now for the bad news... the no go zones. Sprawling homeless encampments all along the St John riverbed, laundry hung out on the trail benches to dry, garbage can rummaging all along the trails. Ride at your own risk

The west end of this trail was recently extended to reach Highway 63. Visitors can park in the Riverway Sports Park and walk to the trail head.

This is a beautiful trail and perfect for longboarding. There are plenty of small hills to learn on if you want to experience a bit of speed. There is enough to work with, level wise to keep you learning and improving until your ready to take your skating to another level. The sunsets in this park have been extraordinary. Warning though, people don’t always get out of your way if you’re going fast, when they are on the wrong side of the road. Watch out for people and dogs that hate wheels. Otherwise it’s beautiful and perfect!