River Ridge to hold New Year’s walk, picnic and open house

Each January for the last several years, owners Gary Adest and Barbara Brydolf have invited the public to begin the year with a beautiful experience at River Ridge.

The New Year’s event will be held again on Saturday, January 8 as River Ridge will host its annual Ranch Walk, Picnic and Open House. River Ridge is located at 37675 Balch Park Road, 1.6 miles north of Highway 190 on Balch Park Road.

Those attending Saturday’s event will meet at 10 a.m. in the lower parking lot. There will be a 1 ½ mile walk, 1 mile on mostly flat ground with gentle rises and ½ mile of a moderate uphill rise to First Mesa. There’s an additional 3 miles of steep climb for those who choose to go to the top.

River Ridge is the ancestral home of the Yaudanchi band of the Foothill Yokuts tribe and is also home to 100 kinds of birds, 37 kinds of mammals, 20 or so kinds of amphibians and reptiles and thousands of insects, other invertebrates, plants and fungi. The ranch is 722 acres and stretches from 1,000 feet along the North Fork of the Tule River to 3,000 feet at the top of Lumreau Mountain, where it borders the Giant Sequoia National Monument. The entire property is under a voluntary Conservation Easement with Sequoia Riverlands Trust and is permanently protected from subdivision.

The 1/2-mile New Year’s Ranch Walk will feature 100 acres of pasture and a portion of the Blue Oak Woodland on the mountain. Along the walk, which will be at a leisurely pace, there will be stops to discuss ecology, economy of ranching and land management for resource protection. There will be plenty of informal question-and-answer chances with Adest and Brydolf.

Those attending should wear sturdy shoes, dress in layers after consult

ing the weather report for Springville, have water and bring lunch as there will be a chance to stop on the grass at First Mesa at 1,450 feet and have a glorious view of the Springville/tule River valley.

Those attending are welcome to hike farther on their own and also to turn around and exit whenever they choose.

For more information email info@river-ridge. net or call (559) 5390207.