Chicory Bend Park

I saw this on a list of best parks in the south Sacramento area, but was disappointed when I read the review about it being closed to the public. I checked the city website and it’s true! It says there is technically public access from the river, but not the levee… If this is city owned, how can it just be fenced off and open to a select few homeowners who happen to live near the public land? Five stars because I hope awareness about this spreads, and something can be done, because it’s such a shame that this park can’t be enjoyed by the taxpayers.

Chicory Bend Park is a beautiful property and it’s a shame it remains closed to most people. However, it is not true that Chicory Bend Park is fenced off because the city cannot afford maintenance. Chicory Bend has been a city park since 1998 — long before the Great Recession — and the city has not opened it to the public since the state leased the property to the city for use as park. That is a statement by a councilmember to justify the park’s continued closure so he can appease a small number of his constituents. It is also not true the levee is privately owned within the confines of the park. The state owns the levee within the park. Levee-​adjacent property owners do have claims to the levee upriver and downriver from the park — but not in the park itself. The access road from the end of Seamas Avenue is also publicly owned. It is probably fair to speculate that the city keeps this public park closed because the city does not want to fight the opposition of the homeowners upriver and downriver from the park, or even the homeowners directly adjacent to the park who get to use a publicly owned and maintained park while access remains limited to others. An easy solution is to complete the Sacramento River Parkway, giving everyone access to this park while making it easy for police and park rangers to patrol the park and keep adjacent residents safe.

I live in Little Pocket and did not know this beachy park existed in my neighborhood. The homes that back up to the levy own the land behind their homes so only they technically would have access, were it open. It is fenced off for maintenance needs due to Parks and Rec budget cuts, we were told at our Little Pocket Neighborhood Association meeting last night. There are plenty of other open areas down to the water. There is a small beach area right off Riverside Boulevard past 35^th Avenue, with parking.

A beautiful, wide, sandy beach right on the Sacramento River. Adjacent to Bahnfleth park in the Little Pocket neighborhood.
Not many people know about this «public» park, because although it is City property, there is a locked gate at the end of Seamas blocking public access to the park. The only people who have keys to this gate are the people in the lovely Little Pocket neighborhood adjoining the park.
So if you are lucky enough to live in Little Pocket, you can have this beautiful 10-​acre park and beach almost to yourself. Picnic, let your kids and dogs run around, and enjoy the nature area without being disturbed by us lowly commoners.
If you live in the rest of the city, you are out of luck. You get to pay taxes to support the Department of Parks and Rec, but you don’t get to access this park. It’s only for the special people.
If you think this is not quite fair, you could call Parks and Rec at 808‑6060 and let them know that Little Pocket residents don’t own the city, we all do. You could also try calling your City council person. This park is in Steve Hansen’s district. Here is his contact info:
Mailing Address: 915 I Street, 5^th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95 814
E-​mail Address:
General Phone Line: 916−808−7004