Mather Lake Regional Park

Last weekend, Marty and I went to Mather Lake in the Mather Rotary Regional Recreation Area, former site of Mather Air Force Base. The lake is formed by a dam across Morrison Creek, and is fed, during dry years, by water pumped from nearby businesses. Creation of the park is still underway, but it now includes fishing, picnicking and barbecue facilities, restrooms, and a play area for children. There are also benches and picnic tables set at intervals around the lake. The "hike" is nothing much - but the area is just right for a leisurely picnic. I can see a lounge chair, a good book, and a basket of food goodies.

The trail on the golf course side of the lake runs by a bed of cattails and tule reeds, and was teeming with blackbirds and other songbirds. The trail on the road side of the lake meandered by a section of woods near the vernal pools that was like a sound-tunnel of birdsong and crickets.

Paying the parking fee was self-service: take an envelope, write your license plate number on it, insert $5 and seal it, and then deposit into the locked box at the gate. Many cars just drove in and parked without paying.

Next week, we're going to explore a section of the American River with a friend.