San Joaquin River Gorge

This is truly a wonderful trail located about an hour from Fresno and I feel lucky to have this here. It located at the end of Smalley Rd, just a couple miles from Auberry in the scenic SJ River Gorge which is a portion of the SJ river trail. On the Fresno side there is a bridge that you can hike to that will have you cross over to the Madera side. From the trail head parking lot there is some signage and a map of the area and this is the last signage you will see. There are several trails so it is best to do your homework and figure out which trails you wish to attempt that day. I took screen shots of the maps on my phone the day prior since I knew there will be no cell coverage there.
I took the Wuh-ki’o Trail as well as a portion of the Pa’san Ridge trail. They are relatively easy hikes but rated online as moderate difficulty due to the distance which is about 9 miles roundtrip in total to get back to the parking lot. It is dog friendly and they have the usual wild life around but mostly cows. The area is well maintained overall and I would certainly suggest it for the cooler months. There are large portions that are not well shaded and are likely too warm in the summer.