Whitewater River Trail

[HikerBlatt]

Two recent The Desert Sun Articles about my ride with Gary Watson from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea along the Whitewater River Channel:

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 2207190354

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 2207190348

[Hikin_Jim]

Hey, cool stuff. Sound like it would be a neat trail (when it's not so hot that your tires melt).

HJ

[Perry]

You guys basically proved that there's no need to build a bike path and spend a bunch of money. Just get rid of the no trespassing signs where the golf courses are. People would rather ride on dirt than ride near a bunch of crazy drivers. For commuters, it would allow easier east-west travel on the north side of PS, Cat City, & RM. It would also reduce crowding on the buses.

[HikerBlatt]

"You guys basically proved that there's no need to build a bike path and spend a bunch of money. Just get rid of the no trespassing signs..."

Exactly right! That was one of the reasons for the ride. To prove that point. Another point is to show that paving it need not cost so much money, especially if done in stages, i.e. 1st hard pack, then pavement, then under bridge crossings and finally (or never), widening and putting in charging stations for electric cart access.

[Perry]

All those "no trespassing" signs....they're actually all over the place right? I would think if people just signed waivers they could ride the dirt roads, and there wouldn't be a liability issue. No access without signing a release.

[HikerBlatt]

I've done some Internet research on public access to navigable waterways. I'm no attorney, but it seems that as long as there are public entry points to a waterway between the waterway's banks, as there are at every road crossing along the Whitewater River, then public access cannot be denied. I don't think the "No Trespass" can stand as long as one enters from a public access point, whether golf course or water district. Another point in my belief system is that the flood control berms along both sides of the river were built and are maintained with public funds, another reason I don't think access can actually be denied.

[Perry]

Now that's interesting!

If there is liability still, maybe a warning sign "Enter at your own risk, road may not be maintained" would work.

As far as the golf courses, can they actually have private land within a flood control channel?