Sacramento River Delta makes for fun, scenic exploration

Tim Viall
·4 min read

Spring is upon us, and it's time for a Sacramento Delta road trip to check out favorite fishing, hiking, watersports, camping, cabins, restaurants, wildlife, steamboat history, wondrous views, and tranquil sunsets. The trip includes a tour of the Delta’s famed Delta Loop, just west on Highway 12 from Lodi, further exploration onto Rio Vista, then up river to Walnut Grove and Locke. This is a scenic, quiet tour of our wonderful, laid-back Delta.

First, the Delta Loop, with its scenic views, marinas, restaurants, RV Parks, boats, and boat rentals concentrated in tight proximity. From Highway 12, turn off on Brannan Island Road to favorite stops, including Perry’s Boat Harbor, Korth’s Pirates Lair and Cafe, Spindrift Restaurant and General Store, the Lighthouse Marina and Restaurant, and many others. You’ll see thousands of pleasure boats and more than a few historic craft in boat sheds that extend for miles. All these water sports and resorts make for wonderful family adventures and fishing expeditions. Harnessed with stunning views of water and wildlife around almost every turn, this is the Delta built for exploring.

Alas, one-time favorite restaurant Moore's Riverboat II burned a few years ago. The other four Loop restaurants are on the water with docks where boaters can pull up for lunch or dinner. Mark your calendar. The Delta Loop Association’s live music and Delta celebration will be on the first weekend in May.

All of this in a scenic, quiet tour into our wonderful laid-back Delta.
All of this in a scenic, quiet tour into our wonderful laid-back Delta.

From the Delta Loop, continue west on Highway 12 for about five miles to the historic town of Rio Vista. The city was first named Los Brazos de Rio (the arms of the river) for its proximity to the confluence of the Sacramento River and Steamboat and Cache Sloughs. The river was the super highway for northern California during Gold Rush days, and the town’s huge wharf once welcomed steamers like the Eclipse and the New World, which moved freight, mail, and passengers between San Francisco and Sacramento. Huge floods wiped the town out in 1862; survivors found a safer site for the new Rio Vista, which was reborn as a thriving agricultural center.

The town achieved new notoriety when Humphrey the humpback whale arrived in October 1985. The huge mammal reached 70 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. With help from marine biologists and the US Coast Guard, Humphrey was lured back into the San Francisco Bay and, ultimately, the Pacific in November 1985. You’ll find a granite monument on Rio Vista’s waterfront commemorating Humphrey’s month-long visit.

The town offers noteworthy choices for food. The iconic Foster's Big Horn Restaurant, 143 Main Street, displays well over 250 stuffed animal heads from owner Bill Foster’s big game hunting in the 1930s, a huge bar, and tasty food like oyster shooters, bison burgers, steaks, and more. Nearby is historic Raul’s Striper Café (210 Main Street) in the old Hotel Rio Vista, another lively option, open for breakfast and lunch. Consider calendaring the town’s first Riverfront Arts Festival, set for April 27, for artists, crafters, food, and fun in downtown Rio Vista.

Rio Vista Bridge, completed 1960, is a vital traffic link taking Hwy. 12 across the Sacramento river.
Rio Vista Bridge, completed 1960, is a vital traffic link taking Hwy. 12 across the Sacramento river.

Not until 1919 was the first Rio Vista bridge completed – until then, ferries and steamboats crossed the wide Sacramento and plied all corners of the Delta. In days before the bridge, the town was the site of two of the worst steamboat disasters in state history. The steamer Washoe’s boiler exploded just north of Rio Vista in September 1864, killing 16 and injuring 36. Thirteen months later, the huge steamboat Yosemite, 283 feet in length and hauling a ton of gold and silver from the mines, was pulling away from Rio Vista landing when her boiler blew, killing 13 Americans whose names were listed in the Alta newspaper. Following the racial prejudice of the day, the paper, not bothering with names, noted: “There were 29 Chinamen killed by the explosion”.

For those seeking RV, tent camping, or boating experience, check out Brannen Island State Recreation Area (just south of Rio Vista). It features a dozen RV sites and another 13 walk-in camper sites, offering boat-in camping for craft up to 35 feet in length; for reservations, visit reserveamerica.com. Additionally, Sandy Beach County Park on the south edge of Rio Vista offers 42 individual campsites with electricity and water. For reservations, contact Solano County Parks.

From Rio Vista, explore the two free auto ferries: Go northeast on River Road for a little more than a mile, where the ferry will take you across to Ryer Island Road. Then take the road north. The J Mack and Real McCoy II ferries carry vehicles across Steamboat Slough to Grand Island Road, which you can follow north to the stately Grand Island Mansion.

Foster’s Big Horn Restaurant’s dining room features some 250 big game heads from its owner’s hunting trips in the 1930s.
Foster’s Big Horn Restaurant’s dining room features some 250 big game heads from its owner’s hunting trips in the 1930s.

If you have additional time in the area, other nearby historic river towns beckon. Isleton, with a cute historic district and several restaurants, Walnut Grove, Locke, and the Ryde Hotel, can make for an additional day of exploring amongst the meandering Delta waterways and picturesque roads that follow them—more on that part of the Delta in a future installment.

Contact Tim, tviall@msn.com. Happy travels in your world!

What to bring

Of course, you need a map, GPS, binoculars, and a camera!

Information

The Delta Loop, deltaloop.net; Rio Vista, discoverriovista.com; CalTrans free auto ferries, call the ferry update line at (510) 622-0120.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Sacramento River Delta makes for fun, scenic exploration