California
Delta Chambers & Visitors Bureau
is an organization of chambers
of commerce, visitors bureaus,
businesses and boosters in the
vast Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. The
area, also called the "California
Delta", strives to enhance
the enjoyment for visitors to this
unique 1,000-mile waterway, while
striving to protect and preserve
the area's fragile beauty.
Our
organization was established more
than a quarter-century ago. Many
of us first came here on holiday
or vacation, fell in love with this
boating and fishing paradise, and
later established our roots here.
Some of us first experienced this
profuse waterways on a rental houseboat,
or on a fishing charter for sturgeon
or striped bass; others of us rolled
in on RVs and liked the area's hospitality.
The
Delta is a fresh-water system primarily
comprised of fertile agricultural
islands that sit below sea level,
but are protected by a stout system
of levees. It is fed by five major
rivers, including the Sacramento
River and the San Joaquin River.
There is a remoteness to the lightly
populated inner Delta. The lifestyle
here is decidedly laid back, a sort
of Huck Finn kind of existence. Boating,
fishing, and camping are a way of
life.
Some
of the historic river towns are little
changed from the Gold Rush era when
paddlewheel steamboats came piping
their arrival with the steam-driven
calliope. Drawbridges yawn open to
let boating traffic pass, you cross
some waterways on lumbering cable-drawn
car ferries, the postman delivers
mail by boat.
Although
Sacramento and Stockton are at our
doorsteps, and San Francisco, "Silicon
Valley," and the great valley
city of Fresno are no more than a
two-hours drive from the California
Delta, word about the attributes
of this great place has not been
quick to spread. In a way, we river
people appreciate that. It's gratifying
to be privy to knowledge of a cool
place that is not widely known. On
the other hand, we enjoy this place
so much that we want to show it off
to others.
For
all its rural charm, the California
Delta caters to visitors' needs.
It boasts over 100 marinas and waterside
resorts, full-hookup RV parks and
campgrounds. There are quaint waterside
restaurants for dining, grocery stores
for provisions, bait and tackle shops,
and over 50 boat launching facilities.
Public parks and bank-fishing sites
are numerous.
We'd
be honored if you stopped by for
a visit. Maybe you'll decide to dally
a while.
