River offers critters, fishing, boating

The Mokelumne River is one of the landmarks that defines Lodi. It is the city’s northern boundary, the salmon love it and recreation opportunities abound.

But the river covers a lot more than Lodi. The Mokelumne ranges through four counties in environments spanning Delta houseboating to Nordic skiing.

You can see the Mokelumne River from relatively urban Lodi, or you can enjoy it from the Delta, the gold country and the far reaches of Alpine County.

The easiest locations to see the river in the immediate Lodi area are at Lodi Lake, Woodbridge Dam and the recently renamed Woodbridge Wilderness Area.

Lodi Lake is on Turner Road near Mills Avenue in Lodi’s western edge. Woodbridge Dam is nearby on Lower Sacramento Road, where a bridge crosses the river near Woodbridge Road.

This year, visitors can actually watch a new Woodbridge Dam being built to replace the old dam that served the region for 100 years.

The Woodbridge Wilderness Area, formerly named Woodbridge Regional Park, can be accessed from Meadowlark and River Meadows drives off Woodbridge Road.

The 17-acre wilderness area is densely forested with dirt trails, but it has no picnic tables or park amenities.

Downstream, the Mokelumne River forms the eastern and northern border of Thornton near Interstate 5. North of the Thornton, off Twin Cities Road, one can find the Cosumnes River Preserve, where many animals, including bats, can be seen. The preserve, with a large population of sandhill cranes and other birds, has a visitors center and a series of trails to enjoy.

In the heart of the Delta, the Mokelumne River has recreation opportunities at Wimpy’s Marina, between Thornton and Walnut Grove, and at Tower Park Marina, 13 miles west of downtown Lodi on Highway 12 toward Rio Vista.

The river eventually flows into the San Joaquin River and then into San Pablo and San Francisco bays.

East of Lodi, the Mokelumne River forms the northern boundary of the small towns of Victor, Lockeford and Clements. The best access is available from the 20-acre Stillman Magee Park on Mackville Road in Clements and from Camanche Dam and Reservoir, located in Calaveras and Amador counties. The Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery is located at the base of Camanche Dam off Highway 12.

In the gold country and Sierra Nevada range, the Mokelumne River forms the Amador-Calaveras County border.

Pardee Lake, almost 40 miles northeast of Highway 88 west of Jackson, has 37 miles of shoreline. Fishing, camping and boating are abundant at Pardee, but swimming, water skiing and wading are prohibited.

The Mokelumne River generally follows Highway 88, but heads south of the highway as it winds through Alpine County.

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