Continuing our quest to check out more Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge units, we focused on the North-Central section of the refuge. (Please see Rio Vista Unit, Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge, November 27, 2022, for a general description of refuge layout.) This section contains two units that are open to hiking: Capay Unit and Pine Creek Unit. Both units are located very close to Hamilton City. Like Rio Vista, the trailheads offer plenty of parking and some signage, but no toilets; a couple picnic benches can be found along both trails.
Capay Unit is the more southern of the two units. To get there, take Highway 32 east from I-5, to Hamilton City. Turn south on Highway 45 and drive ~2.3 miles to County Road 23, which begins paved and becomes gravel as you near the unit. There are three designated parking areas for the Capay Unit on County Road 23; we chose the parking area farthest east, which is closest to the river, about 2.8 miles from the intersection with Highway 45.
Capay Unit is very much like Rio Vista Unit, only on a smaller scale. The trail begins under canopy, breaks out onto river levee for a short distance, tucks back into riparian canopy, finally opening up onto open grasslands/floodplains before completing its loop.
It is unclear just how much trail Capay Unit has to offer. The brochure states that there are 3 miles of trail, broken into two connecting loops. We had hoped to hike all 3 miles, in a figure eight, but missed a turnoff and only did one loop. But that one loop was GPS-tracked as 3.3 miles on its own. While the trails are very obvious, they are not well signed.
Photo by Don Burk, taken December 18, 2022.
Pine Creek Unit can be accessed from Highway 32 just east of Hamilton City, shortly after you cross the river. It is well signed, and heavily used.
There were lots of walkers, many with dogs, strolling along the unit’s single ~2-mile trail (we recorded 2.3 miles). Perhaps the proximity of this unit to town explains its popularity; we were not overly impressed. Not only does the trail never come close to the river, but a huge margin, up to 50 feet wide, has been brushed and dozed along both sides of nearly the entire length of the trail. Some of this brushing/dozing included restoration plantings—ripped up irrigation pipe could be seen in some areas. What the intent of all of this manipulation is is unclear, but it has left a rather unattractive scar throughout the entire unit.
Of the three units we have visited so far, Rio Vista remains our favorite. Capay Unit does have remoteness going for it—we saw no one there and it felt much less used than Rio Vista Unit. Pine Creek Unit has little going for it unless you live locally, and then it is a fine destination for getting a little fresh air. But if you’re going to put in the effort to visit one of these units, Rio Vista Unit is, hands down, the one to choose. ~Laurie & Don Burk
Photo by Don Burk, taken December 18, 2022.