A river, a nervous moment, and a community finding its flow
What RecFest reminded us about why access matters
Some moments on the river are quiet. The kind that don't make it into reports or press releases, but that stick with you long after the water dries off your boots.
This spring, one of those moments happened on Dry Creek at Tuolumne River Regional Park.
A father and his young son showed up to the kayaking station at RecFest — Modesto's annual celebration of outdoor recreation held each May along the river parkway. The boy was scared. Really scared. He didn't want to get in the boat.
His dad stayed steady, kept encouraging him. Our team triple-checked that they were comfortable and ready before pushing them out onto the water. We sent them upstream first, giving them space to find their footing together before heading downstream.
By the time they came back around, the boy wasn't crying anymore. He was smiling — big, wide, and proud. So was his dad.
That's what the Tuolumne River can do when people have the chance to meet it.
Bringing Modesto to its own backyard
RecFest exists because access to nature shouldn't be a privilege. On May 2, 2026, families, kids, anglers, cyclists, and first-time paddlers gathered at the Gateway location of Tuolumne River Regional Park for a full day of free outdoor activities — hiking and walking trails, bike rides, kayaking and canoeing, fishing and aquatic wildlife exploration, kite flying, and disc golf.
No cost. No barriers. Just the river and an open invitation.
By the end of the day, 60 people had hopped on bikes, 47 had paddled the water, and 38 volunteers had shown up to make it all happen. With an estimated 150–175 attendees total, the event was intimate by design — and every single one of those experiences mattered.
For many who came, it was their first time truly experiencing what flows through their own city. The Tuolumne River isn't just a line on a map — it's a living system that sustains drinking water for millions of Californians, supports hundreds of wildlife species, and connects communities to something larger than themselves. RecFest makes that connection real and felt.
A community that shows up together
Events like this don't happen by accident. RecFest brought together 18 partner organizations — from the Modesto Outdoor Recreation Alliance and Stanislaus Fly Fishers, to the Boys & Girls Club of Stanislaus County, Foothill Horizons Outdoor School, California State Parks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Modesto, and more than a dozen others. Together, they created a day that was safe, welcoming, and full of life.
That breadth of partnership is intentional. RecFest is also an advocacy tool — a way to build community investment in the Tuolumne River Regional Park and the coalition working to protect and expand it. When people from across sectors show up together for a river, it sends a clear signal: this place belongs to all of us, and we're committed to keeping it that way.
Yosemite Rivers Alliance was proud to be part of that team.
What the river teaches
We'll be honest: we'd love to see this event grow. More families, more first-timers, more kids getting in a kayak for the first time. The potential here is enormous — and so is the need. When communities have safe, welcoming, free access to nature, something shifts. People begin to see themselves as part of the watershed, not just living near it.
There's something about being on the water that changes people. You feel it when a first-time paddler finds their rhythm. You see it in a nervous kid who comes back downstream laughing.
The Tuolumne River has been shaping this region for thousands of years. It still has something to teach us — about courage, about flow, about what happens when we give communities the chance to connect with the places that sustain them.
That little boy on Dry Creek? He didn't just learn to kayak. He learned that the river was his too.
We'll see you at the next one.
Big thanks to all our partners that made this event possible!
Modesto Outdoor Recreation Alliance Bike Team, Stanislaus County Health Services Agency, Gold Rush Adventure Racing, Modesto Police Department, Community Health and Assistance Team (CHAT), Park Rangers, Foothill Horizons Outdoor School, City of Modesto - One Water, Stanislaus County Police Activities League, California State Parks, US Army Crops of Engineers, Stanislaus Fly Fishers, River Partners, Stanislaus County Library, Boys & Girls Club of Stanislaus County, City of Modesto Parks, Recreation & Neighborhoods Department, Tuolumne River Lodge, Stanislaus Audubon Society, American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR), Modesto Irrigation Distict (MID), Cost Less Food Company, Dunkin' Doughnuts and Stanislaus Health Coalition (StanCo Health)
Want to support community access to the Tuolumne River and the conservation work that keeps it healthy? Join the Alliance at yosemiterivers.org/join or give today: yosemiterivers.org/donate
