Best Nature Preserve Elk Grove Near Me

4worldlovers: The Preserve is 28-acre passive park space that includes a habitat restoration of wetlands, native grasslands, and native oak forest. It's a place for all ages and abilities to explore and take in our agricultural history, with a historic silo and pistachio orchard, fitness court, walking trails, a wheelchair-accessible playground, picnic tables, and benches to relax and unwind from the outside world.

4worldlovers: The Preserve is centered along the Cosumnes River, with opportunities for paddling, hiking, and nature viewing. The Preserve Visitor Center has an interpretive room so you can learn more about the history, flora, and fauna. Located just southwest of the Visitor Center is a boat launch so you can paddle the Cosumnes River and its sloughs. North of the Visitor Center is a trailhead with access to the Wetlands Walk and River Walk Trails. Learn more below about all of our recreation opportunities!

Cosumnes River Preserve consists of over 10 miles of trails located around the main Visitor Center and at Rancho Seco Recreational Area. We encourage you to enjoy our trails from 8 am – 5 pm every day of the week!

The Cosumnes River Preserve has several FREE events each month! These events include guided bird surveys, guided historical walks, guided photography walks as well as guided paddle. Come out and join the Fun!!!

Become a Certified California Naturalist at the Cosumnes River Preserve! The mission of this program is to foster a connection between California’s natural resources and education with a specific focus on the Cosumnes River Watershed, wetland habitat, riparian habitat and the vernal pool grasslands. Graduates of this program will be ready to take an active role in natural resource conservation, education, and restoration.

The Cosumnes River Preserve consists of over 50,000 acres of wildlife habitat and agricultural lands owned by seven land-owning Partners. The Partners include The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Sacramento County Regional Parks, Department of Water Resources, Ducks Unlimited, and the California State Lands Commission. The Preserve is centered along the Cosumnes River, its floodplains and riparian habitat. This habitat is buffered by a variety of agricultural operations. The Preserve provides numerous social, economic, and recreational benefits to local communities and to people residing in the larger Sacramento and San Joaquin areas. The habitat supports wildlife, including birds that migrate throughout the Pacific Flyway.

4worldlovers: The Friends of Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge has raised over $150,000 for several projects in the past few years. We welcome donations and volunteers for the following projects:

Blue Heron Trails is a new wildlife viewing and habitat study area that allows the refuge to be open, for the first time, seven days a week from dawn to dusk.

The Little Green Heron Playscape will create a no-cost, nurturing, nature-filled outdoor space for children and families.

Strategically located for restoring and managing native Central Valley habitat within the 100-year floodplain along the Delta, Stone Lakes NWR acquired its first land in 1994.

4worldlovers: At the north edge of our Bufferlands property, next to bustling Interstate Highway 5, lies a showpiece wildlife sanctuary known as Upper Beach Lake. Passing motorists probably don’t realize that the shorebirds visible from the road enjoy this healthy natural habitat as a result of restoration efforts done by a coalition of public and private groups led by Regional San.

Beginning in 1989, Regional San joined the National Audubon Society, the Sacramento Job Corps Training Center and other groups in an ambitious effort to restore wildlife habitat on 650 acres of our land. With our Bufferlands resource management experts taking the lead, by 1995 this unique coalition had:

Created and restored more than 300 acres of seasonal and permanent wetlands