River Bend Trail

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Caswell Memorial State Park

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Difficulty: Easy
Length: 1.0 miles / 1.6 km
Duration: 1 hour or less

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Overview: The River Bend trail offers a 1-mile flat windy walk in this riparian habitat. There are a few overlook points that allow visitors to take a peek over the river bends, and part of the trail is ADA accessible. There are a few benches at the junction area with the Gray Fox Trail marking the end of 0.25-mile ADA accessibility,and one has the option to take the extra loop around the 0.4-mile Crow's Loop Trail.

Tips: Park policies and hours:
Fishing closed Nov 1st-Dec 31st.
Day use fees: $8
Camp fee: $30
Dogs on leash only in day use area, no dogs on beach
No diving, no life guard at beaches

What to bring:
binoculars, camera, water (~1 liter), snack, bug repellent.

When to go:
Spring/summer would be best for watching plants/roses grow. Spring-Fall would be good time to visit for a cooler walk in the park.

What to wear:
Sturdy tennis shoes would do. Bring a sweater for the cooler temperature in the shade.

What to watch for:
Being a riparian woodland, the area allows sufficient growth of flora and fauna due to the abundance of water -- one would see prominent displays of wild roses, grapes, valley oaks, willows and elderberries. As for animals, if your eyes and ears are fast enough, you may catch a glimpse of brush rabbit, woodrats, birds, foxes and even great horned owls.

Getting there:
The trailhead of the River bend can be accessed near the restroom of the elderberry day use area, it can also be accessed from the hiking-use parking lot side (park at the day use parking area, come back out past the stop sign and make a left into the "authorized vehicles only" area; go all the way down and take another left turn for the trailhead.

Points of Interest

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Day use parking lot

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Benches at river vista

This marks the end of the ADA accessible 0.25 mile section. Three vista-view benches and trash cans are available at this point.

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Crow's Loop trail

The Crow's Loop trail offers a quick additional 0.4 mile to the 1-mile walk.

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Gray Fox Trail Junction

For a shorter walk, you can take the Gray Fox Trail back up toward the parking lot. An Interpretive bulletin and a bench are also available at this junction. This section of the gray fox trail has steeper slope and poison oak, so keep your eyes out and watch where you step.

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Lookout

Going off trail for a few steps toward the river, you can catch a quick view of the river.

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Majestic Oaks Trail

This 0.2-mile section of the trail is shared with the majestic oaks trail.

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Fence Line Trail

Instead of returning along the river bend trail, the fence line trail offers a straight line trail back toward the day-use parking lot. The fence line trail offers a flat and wide trail with a fence along the state park boundary on one side and an oak forest view on the other side.

River Bend Trail x Fence Line Trail Photo

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Elderberry day use area restrooms

The trailhead for the river bend trail is just beyond this restroom building.

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Day use area parking lot restrooms

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Plants and Animals

The river bend trail provides a great overview of all the plants and animals of this park. You may encounter dangling grapes, thorny wild roses, moss, mushrooms, buckeyes, willow, bright red elderberries and sounds from flocks of bird, brush rabbits, woodrats and even gray fox sightings on this trail.