Putah Creek South Fork Preserve

Putah Creek is one of Davis' greatest local parks for outdoor activities, hiking and bird watching. To get there from the intersection of Chiles Road and Mace Boulevard in South Davis, head south about two miles. Cross over Levee Road, and you will see a parking lot on your left.

For more information:

• Maps & Trip Report - Putah Creek South Fork Preserve
• Putah Creek Explorer Book Page 18 - putahcreekcouncil.org

Additional Photographs

Board featuring habitats and fauna in the reserve. History of the reserve. Putah Creek watershed.

2010-03-27 20:15:05   Putah Ck Preserve has some wildflowers in the spring and its a good place for birdwatching. —BruceThomas

2013-04-27 20:53:06   Great display of the park's benefits. Only one question: Where the heck is it? Can you give me a cross street or two? I'm not stupid just curious since I don't know all of the areas of Davis. —fknochenhauer

• Click the map icon at the top of the page (although I agree that a description would be helpful, too. I'll cook one up). —CovertProfessor

2013-09-12 11:49:28   Went to South Fork today for first time. Left confused. The gate to the parking area was locked even though the sign listing the preserve's hours stated it was open for use. Had to park on side of road. Could not find the north trail. There is a permanent fence blocking off all access I could see running from the creek bank all the way to the levee. There was also a temporary fence blocking off access part way down main loop by grassland. (I am guessing this may be for the sheep, but there was no sign or anything to let me know when the path may be open again.) The site looks like an awesome place to go birdwatching particularly along the riparian stretch, but I don't understand how I am to access it. Can someone clue me in to what I must be missing? Thanks! —KateGiorgi

• Fences are made to be figured out, through, over, under, around...—BrianKenyon

2015-01-09 13:06:31   Don't bother. We tried to hike here over the recent winter holiday. The fence and gate were not really a problem for us; as noted, it was easy to get through. And of course the sheep were not exactly aggressive. But sheep do poop, and the trail was very liberally sprinkled with sheep feces. We tried to get off the main trail to avoid the road hazards, but just found ourselves surrounded by poop. Blech. —DanLawyer