Pelican Trailhead and Parking

The Pelican trail offers visitors a choice of three connected loops for a short walk of about one mile (just the first loop) or a longer four-mile walk if you include all three loops. The first loop departs from a free-roam trailhead “garden” that has been planted with native trees, shrubs, and forbs. The area includes two interpretive kiosks and picnic tables. From there, the first loop leads along a restored wetland that features raised vegetated mounds or “bunny mounds” that were created to provide refugia for the endangered riparian brush rabbit during San Joaquin River flood events. The riparian brush rabbit is the beneficiary of an intensive breeding and re-introduction program undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners intended to return the species to portions of its once vast range of riparian habitat throughout the Central Valley. The second trail loop leads you along the top of a portion of the San Joaquin River levee alongside a dense riparian forest. From atop the levee, you can see into the tops of the riparian trees to the east, or look out over the uplands to the west. This perspective provides the possibility of seeing a variety of bird species – ring-necked pheasant, California quail, western kingbird, swallows, western meadowlark, and raptors over the upland grasslands; and woodland species such as woodpeckers, Bullock’s oriole, grosbeaks, and warblers in the trees. The third loop continues along the top of the levee seeming to lead the visitor right out into the San Joaquin River. The trail follows the inside of an oxbow channel. Keep your eyes peeled for river otters and beavers. You may also spot a flock of American white pelicans as they scan the river’s course looking for a place to set down and fish. In the winter, flocks of snow geese, Aleutian cackling geese, and Sandhill cranes are frequently seen flying overhead.This is the only refuge site with public restroom facilities.Outdoor pit-style toilets are located at the Pelican trailhead, available during normal refuge hours (1/2-hour before sunrise to 1/2-hour after sunset).