swimmin\’ holes

I got a boogie board at a thrift store for five bucks and also found a great new place to swim.  I was a great weekend.  This spot is a pretty good hike, about 2 miles, so make sure you have your river shoes and plenty of sunscreen and water.  Parking is at Broderick Boat Docks, which incidentally is a free boat ramp.  Here is the link to a website that contains information about the boat docks, http://www.sacramentoriver.org/access_site.php?access_site_id=191&view=all&Strangecode=b1e3f6eb85f30e72d00de69702d193e7.  We had an easy drive of it as we live in West Sacramento, but this beach is easily accessed from anywhere in the Greater Sacramento Area. It is located at 2nd and A Streets in West Sacramento.  After finding a parking space your best bet is to go back out of the Boat Dock area on foot to the closed road.  Head North on the closed road.  Ahead of you you will see a housing development.  If you reach that development you have gone too far. Keep the large Oak tree to your right until past the tree itself.  You will see a foot trail skirting the edge of what looks like a meadow. Stay out of there,  the meadow is actually a slough that is just about dried up.  I learned that lesson the hard way, there is no point in you repeating my mistake!  Stay on the foot path as it dips down and climb straight back up the other side of the small ravine, it is an easy hike so don’t let the term ravine put you off, it is little more than a deep ditch.  As the trails come back up you will see a dirt road that hasn’t seen much recent use.  Cross the road and bear right around the clump of trees.  Stay on your best behavior when in this area, there are quite a few involuntary urban campers in evidence.  There is a lovely hand hewn stairway leading to the beach just the right of the clump of trees and bushes that are fenced. The stairway can be located easily as it runs along a lone poplar.  It is easy to get lost, but also just as easy to find your way around back to the parking lot as the entire area from the parking lot to the beach is crisscrossed with trails and the remnants of roads.  Further upriver from the good swimming spot I even found evidence of what once must have been a campground. The current is really strong at this beach as it is on the Sacramento River side of the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers so be respectful.  There are waves a plenty here and also lots of sandy beach for wave skimmers.  I rode my boogie board at that spot for about five hours.  I tore that thing up, but what a great time!

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