The best walks and hikes around Dixon

Lake Spafford is a segment of the original channel of Putah Creek, with a trail system that goes around the lake. It’s an artificial lake created as the result of dredging back in the 1870s when the city was still being developed.

The Putah Creek Trail is a lovely, flat loop along the north side of Putah Creek, where you can immerse yourself in nature surrounded by Valley Oaks, wild California Grape, California Wild Rose, and Fremont Cottonwood trees. The public access area is only on the north side of the creek between Pedrick Road and Old Davis Road; the rest is private property or not open to the public, so be mindful of the boundaries. In the winter, the path might get a bit flooded; however, you can still enjoy a stroll by walking along the levee to Old Davis Road.

Putah Creek, also known as Liwaito in the Patwin language, spans 85 miles and is a tributary of the Yolo Bypass and, ultimately, the Sacramento River. It originates in the Mayacamas Mountains and flows east through two dams, forming the border of Yolo and Solano Counties. It is home to native steelhead trout and Chinook salmon and serves as a vital water source for farming in the area.

Lake Spafford is a segment of the original channel of Putah Creek, with a trail system that goes around the lake. It’s an artificial lake created as the result of dredging back in the 1870s when the city was still being developed.

Lake Spafford is a segment of the original channel of Putah Creek, with a trail system that goes around the lake. It’s an artificial lake created as the result of dredging back in the 1870s when the city was still being developed.

Just off School Rd bike route is this low gated access to the road around the drainage pool

Access via pedestrian gate on the northeast side from the Valley Glen neighborhood is open. Exit gate on the southwest corner may be closed on weekends, but is low enough to lift the bike over 😉

Midsize lake along a former stream in Davis Arboretum. The waterway, built in 1968-69, occupies what used to be the north fork of Putah Creek, which brought floodwater to the town then known as Davisville. A dredging effort in the late 19th century diverted most of the flow to a channel known as the south fork of Putah Creek. In 1948, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built levees at the north fork's mouth (the west end); the levees completely eliminate flow in the north fork. Whereas the original north fork flowed east, the waterway flows west. This is the result of dredging and grading over the years. When the waterway fills up with storm runoff, excess water goes through a weir and into a holding pond and from there is pumped into a pipe that carries the water to the south fork of Putah Creek. The waterway is about 1½ miles long, about 2 to 5 feet deep, along the south edge of UC Davis' central campus. A wide portion of the waterway just east of Mrak Hall is called Lake Spafford, named after F. Edwin Spafford, an alumnus who went on to be come a longtime UC Davis administrator, holding such positions as assistant to the provost; executive assistant and special assistant to the chancellor; and vice chancellor for physical construction and maintenance. The waterway runs from near the south end of D Street in downtown Davis to the UC Davis Equestrian Center. The university classifies the remnant north fork channel as a recreation and aesthetic amenity, and a biological resource. The waterway runs through the arboretum, established in 1936 and considered today to be the university's landscape centerpiece. Pedestrian and bicycle paths line the waterway's banks. The waterway also serves as a storm water detention pond. Poor water quality conditions have persisted since the arboretum waterway was first created more than 50 years ago. In large measure, the problems of today stem from the original design. The arboretum waterway is a stagnant pond designed to look like a flowing creek. https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/arboretum-waterway