RIVERVIEW TRAILHEAD REDESIGN
If you have been by the Riverview Trailhead lately, you will have noticed a fresh new look.
This trailhead has been in need of major updates for years. Following years of leasing the property, we secured full ownership last year and prioritized enhancing the trailhead as a key first step.
The major goals were to improve the parking area, correct drainage issues, replace the old fencing, and consolidate all trailhead signage and the kiosk around a single, improved trailhead entrance.
Years of erosion had caused considerable damage to the trailhead and adjacent banks leading down to the river bottom. To address this, all existing infrastructure and fencing were removed, and the parking area was regraded to direct water runoff toward a newly installed culvert at the rear of the trailhead. The hillside below, which had experienced substantial erosion, was also repaired and compacted around the new drainage location.
The newly regraded and re-fenced parking area allowed us to designate head-in parking to accommodate a few more vehicles and discourage the haphazard array of vehicles that had become commonplace.
With the newly consolidated infrastructure, we are able to better funnel all trailhead visitors through a single entrance that includes our maps, signage, rules, bike bells and dog waste bags. We also installed a wooden trailhead box, as a deterrent against the motorcycles that are not allowed on the preserves. While this may pose an added challenge for some of our equestrian visitors, the change is already proving effective in reducing the number of unauthorized vehicles entering the area.
This trailhead box was modeled after a design used by the United States Forest Service, but we opted to build it out of wooden railroad ties rather than steel pipes, in order to be a little softer and more gracious to the horse hooves as they pass through it. Just inside the trailhead, we added a large boulder to be used as an equestrian mounting block.
Trailheads are where our urban and natural environments meet, and one of the most significant changes we’ve implemented at Riverview, on a trial basis, is the complete removal of trash bins. High use leads to high waste. As more people enjoy the preserves, bins fill quickly and managing them daily is not practical or the best use of our limited resources.
Our trash bins have collected everything from broken beach chairs and household chemicals to fish carcasses, construction debris, human waste, and just about anything visitors decide to leave behind from their vehicles. Contrary to what many assume, trash bins can actually lead to more litter, not less. When bins overflow or are misused, waste ends up on the ground or scattered by wind and animals. This has proven to invite rodents and rattlesnakes who love to shop and live in these bins. Rodents chew through the trash bags, making it difficult to cleanly and thoroughly remove the soggy contents. We want to significantly reduce the interaction between wildlife and this debris, and also thereby decrease the possibility of the spread of disease between both humans and animals.
This includes a wide variety of bacteria, viruses (hantavirus and rabies), and other pathogens.
Stewardship starts with each of us. These lands stay clean and healthy when everyone takes responsibility for what they bring in by packing it out. We now provide environmentally friendly compostable dog waste bags. Please use them, as cleaning up after your dog is a preserve rule, and remember to take your bagged waste home with you. By packing out your trash, you help keep this place thriving and beautiful for everyone to enjoy.
NEW BICYCLE PARKING COMING SOON! The demand for bicycle parking is increasing and we want to accommodate that. Numerous preserve visitors bicycle to the trailheads, then search for a place to lock their bikes before hiking in. Random bicycle parking frequently blocks pedestrian, equestrian, and vehicle access, and a new rack should help alleviate this issue. We are currently in the process of designing new bicycle racks with a local metal artist for installation at Riverview Trailhead. Stay tuned; I think you will be impressed by the result.
LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE As cooler, moister weather arrives this fall, we will begin planting native plants around the trailhead to help control erosion, crowd out invasive plant species and restore these disturbed areas. We will include only native plants from our OVLC nursery, utilizing specimens propagated from cuttings and seeds from our local preserve flora. If you’d like to help plant new native species in the fall, sign up to volunteer at ovlc.org/volunteer.
As future budget allows, we intend to install an automatic gate, similar to what we have at the other trailheads, to prevent this location from being a draw for after-hours visitors
Do you know why we have the preserves closed at night? It is to give nocturnal wildlife a chance to roam and feed without human disturbance. Our nighttime friends include mountain lions, bears, bats, raccoons, owls, skunks, rodents, opossums, coyotes, bobcats, and many others, each playing a unique role in the delicate balance of our ecosystem.
A few of these Riverview Trailhead changes, like bicycle racks, reorganized infrastructure with motorcycle deterrent entrances, and trash bin elimination, if successful, will be slated for future implementation at other trailheads.
Thank you for bearing with us during the trailhead construction as we worked to make improvements. A heartfelt thank you to Nick Wingate and his team from Wingate Earthworks for their outstanding work and generous donation of time and effort, which helped us reopen the trailhead quickly during a busy season. We also want to extend special thanks to one of our talented volunteers, who prefers to remain anonymous, for designing the new bike racks, which are still in progress. A huge thank you to all our dedicated volunteers who braved the heat to bring this project to completion.
We are especially honored to have partnered with members of the Chumash, Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians, who joined us on-site throughout the project in a monitoring role. This land is sacred to them, and their presence reflects a deep, ongoing connection to this place. We are grateful for the opportunity to work together in a spirit of respect and collaboration as we continue to protect and honor the land.
Keith Brooks, Land Steward