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.

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.

There is a Park and Ride lot just before W Manning Avenue crosses the railroad tracks. The west end of the trail is about a quarter mile west of here. There is a gazebo where you can look down onto the Kings River. The trail is paved with asphalt. The west half of the trail has benches along the way and has small street lights. There are several places where the trail crosses local streets. Many of these have lights in the pavement to warn the car traffic that someone is in the crosswalk. Most of these trail intersections also have roundabouts to slow trail-users and expedite movement at these crossings.

The west half of the trail (from the college to the east edge of town) has benches and lights. The east half does not have benches or lights. Also, some tree roots are pushing up the pavement. There are distance markers (every tenth of a mile) painted on the trail measured from west to east. There is a restroom located near the midpoint of the trail. There is nice landscaping along the trail. This a great trail for a short ride.

Nice walk

The westerly segment of the trail near the industrial area is not maintained. It is covered with twigs and dirt that has been washed over the trail by rain storms. The areas of the trail near residential areas are maintained probably as a golf cart path. One golfer came toward me in his electric golf cart and took the entire width of the trail. He would not yield to me.

Trail now extends from Henderson Ave. to the Heritage Center across Olive Ave. past the South County Justice Center. Now with two drinking fountains and a new bench. Always enjoy including it in my jogging routes. Well paved.

I forgot to mention in my previous review that there is civilization on the other side of the roadway. Besides the golf course, there are shopping areas, including a STARBUCK's (approximately near the midpoint of the trail)! So if you want a break from your ride or walk, cross over to the south side of the road.

If I hadn't checked this website, I would never had known that this trail existed. There are no signs anywhere marking this trail. There are no designated parking areas at the trailheads. The only sign is at what would be considered the western trailhead and it only says "Bike Lane - End". Its a level, smooth, old trail that runs parallel to a set of railroad tracks. There are no water faucets or restroom facilities and very few benches. I would not recommend this trail during the summertime since there are few trees for shade. The trees that do exist are small and old. They're mostly located in the middle third of the trail. Both ends of the trail have very few trees. There is no other landscaping. The western third of the trail is susceptible to flooding during the rainy season. There are areas where construction was required and damaged the trail. These areas were poorly patched. Very few people were encountered during my ride out to the west (less than 10). On my ride back to the car, I encountered about 15.
Even with all of these negative commments, I would recommend it during cool weather. It is an easy, level ride. (I rode a Trikke, a 3 wheel human powered vehicle). It needs some signs so that people would know that it exists.