Rio de Los Angeles State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rio de Los Angeles State Park |
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Rio de Los Angeles State Park, California, USA
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| Location | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Area | 247 acres (100 ha) |
| Established | 2007 |
| Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
Rio de Los Angeles State Park is a cool place to visit in California! It's a state park located right next to the Los Angeles River, just north of downtown Los Angeles. This park is pretty big, about 247 acres (that's about 1 square kilometer!). It has lots of fun things like sports fields, a playground for kids, and a building for activities. It also has special areas called wetlands that have been brought back to life with plants that naturally grow there. The park is looked after by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, working with the City of Los Angeles.
Contents
Park History: From Train Yard to Green Space
This park was built on a place once known as Taylor Yard. This used to be a huge train area where freight trains would switch tracks and load or unload goods. It was used by big railroad companies like Union Pacific and Southern Pacific from the 1920s until 1985.
After the trains left, the area became an abandoned industrial site. But nature slowly started to come back! In the early 2000s, people decided to turn this old train yard into a fun park. The City of Los Angeles bought the land.
Workers then began to clean up the area. They tore out old train tracks and demolished the crumbling train buildings. They even removed concrete by hand! There were also some leftover chemicals from the train yard's past. These had to be carefully removed and treated to make the land safe for everyone.
After many months of hard work by different groups, Rio de Los Angeles State Park officially opened on April 21, 2007. You can find it at 1900 San Fernando Road.
Wildlife and Plants in the Park
Plants of the Park (Flora)
Most of the old Taylor Yard area is now covered in thick plants. You can find many native plants here, like deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens), greasewood (Adenostoma fasciculatum), and desert lavender (Hyptis emoryi).
Other plants include manzanita, desert fan palm (Washingtonia filifera), scrub oak (Quercus berberidifolia), and the bright California poppy. There are many other types of plants growing here too!
Animals of the Park (Fauna)
The park is home to many different animals. You might spot coyotes, gray foxes, raccoons, and striped skunks. There are also smaller animals like Virginia opossums (which were brought here by people), desert cottontail rabbits, brush rabbits, and California ground squirrels. You might also see woodrats, Botta's pocket gophers, and different kinds of mice. Unfortunately, the brown rat is also found here, which is an animal that doesn't naturally belong.
The park also has many reptiles and amphibians. These include the California kingsnake, Pacific rattlesnake, gopher snake, and two-striped garter snake. You might also see western fence lizards and common side-blotched lizards. Some animals like the bullfrog and common mudpuppy were brought here by people. The park is also a home for the western pond turtle, which is an endangered species.
Birds of the Los Angeles River
Over 150 different kinds of birds have been seen along the Los Angeles River near the park! Some of the larger birds you might spot are the great egret, great blue heron, snowy egret, and black-crowned night heron. Look up for birds of prey like the red-tailed hawk, prairie falcon, and osprey.
You can also see many other birds, including the northern mockingbird, western bluebird, common raven, American crow, double-crested cormorant, and Canada goose. Different types of ducks like the mallard, gadwall, and Muscovy duck (which was introduced) also live here. Other water birds include the horned grebe, red-necked grebe, black-necked grebe, pied-billed grebe, and American coot. You might also see cinnamon teal ducks, western gulls, mourning doves, and killdeers.
Fish and Other Water Animals
The Los Angeles River has become a popular spot for fishing! It's known for having lots of different fish like common carp, largemouth bass, Nile tilapia, black bullhead, green sunfish, common pleco, Pacific lamprey, bluegill, fathead minnow, and mosquito fish. You can also find crayfish and quagga mussels in the water.
In 2015, some people tried to bring back the native steelhead trout to the Los Angeles River near the park. However, most of the young trout were eaten by the fish already living there, so the effort wasn't successful.
