Owens River near Lone Pine gets state money for California's first river water trail

Paddlers could soon have a designated way to float the rewatered Lower Owens River. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Oct. 7 that it has awarded $540,000 to Inyo County for the Owens River Water Trail near Lone Pine, which the department described as California's first designated water trail on a river.

The money will pay for facilities that meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards so visitors can launch and land non-motorized boats such as kayaks, canoes and paddleboards. Larry Freilich, Lower Owens River project manager for the Inyo County Water Department, said on-water recreation came out at the top of the list when the county asked the public what it wanted to see in the river.

"The Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Tribe, off-roaders, anglers, conservation groups, veterans organizations, disadvantaged youth programs all working closely together to establish the trail," Freilich said. "I have worked in the Owens Valley a long time and I have never seen that range of interests lined up behind one project."

The water trail is one of six projects sharing $2.7 million from CDFW's Boating Access Grant Program. The program is funded with federal Sport Fish Restoration money, which comes from taxes on sport fishing equipment, fishing tackle and pleasure boats and from the share of the gasoline tax attributable to small engines and motorboats.

The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation received $315,000 to design improvements to the Xaa-wan'-k'wvt Village and Resort boat ramp on the Smith River in Del Norte County, which CDFW said has fallen into disrepair and is inaccessible to the elderly, families with children and people with limited mobility. The El Dorado Irrigation District received $456,000 for the first construction phase of upgrades at the Sly Park Recreation Area's boat launch on Jenkinson Lake, which the district said will improve access during drought years when the lake is low.

The Tehama County Transportation Commission received $536,000 for hydraulic, geotechnical, engineering and environmental work on the Woodson Boat Ramp on the Sacramento River, which county officials said has been damaged by repeated high water and bank erosion. Santa Clara County Parks received an additional $225,000, on top of a 2025-26 grant, to repair the boat launch ramp, replace wooden planks on three public boardwalks and improve the parking lot at Alviso Marina County Park, the southern starting point of the San Francisco Bay Water Trail.

The largest award, $704,000, goes to CDFW's own Invasive Mussel Program to add staff for monitoring, prevention and containment of golden mussels. The department said the invasive mussel's economic and recreational impacts continue to be felt across California; last year it spent about $1.3 million in the same federal funds on decontamination units, high-pressure wash stations, ramp improvements and inspection training.

CDFW is now taking proposals for about $3 million more in boating-access grants for fiscal year 2027-28. Proposals are due by 4 p.m. on Nov. 5 through the department's WebGrants portal, and the department will hold an online workshop about the program on Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. Questions go to BoatingAccess@wildlife.ca.gov.

See something we should correct? Read our corrections policy.