California's newest state park is like a time machine

JULY 25, 2024 5:00 AM ET
By Jonaki Mehta, Christopher Intagliata, Ailsa Chang



The sun rises, shedding light onto an oak grove along the western edge of Dos Rios.
Geloy Concepcion for NPR

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A few feet above the tree’s base, its massive trunk is lined with a white ring, indicating how high the San Joaquin River rose during a flood last year. Dos Rios is supposed to flood — it’s a floodplain, recently transformed into California's newest state park.

The park opened this summer, emerging among the never-ending rows of agriculture the valley is known for. It's a lush 2.5 square miles now bursting with hundreds of thousands of native trees, bushes and animals.

Dos Rios, named for the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers that meet at the edge of the park, is the first new California state park in more than a decade.

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By restoring the natural floodplain, the park will also help mitigate flooding that threatens residents in the area.

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