Hot weather in the heart of summer is not uncommon, so like other communities that face periodic heat waves, Healdsburg has learned to adapt. Backyard swimming pools, a health club membership or dialing into regular use of the Healdsburg Swim Center at the high school can help one endure the hottest part of the day.
Whether a tourist or a local (or that broad category of “visitors from nearby”), everyone knows the first stop is Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach, where the Redwood Highway crosses the Russian River. According to Sarah Campbell of Sonoma County Regional Parks, the most recent headcount showed about 68,000 visitors for the previous year.
The ranger at the gate or electronic “iron rangers” calculate every car that enters to pay the daily parking fee. The expansive parking lot beneath the eucalyptus seems huge, but it fills up quickly on a summer’s day.
The park has a large grassy area for picnicking or games, and a steep beach leading to the river. From their red-and-white-flagged towers, a pair of lifeguards keeps watch on several buoy-defined swimming areas along the beach, and the more dangerous deeper current.
Life vests are available daily throughout the summer from well-marked stands. Just pick out a vest, use it all day and drop it at the stand upon departure. (Like the parking spaces, the life jackets disappear fast.) Outdoor showers and basic restrooms are available.
Backward glimpses
Some sort of seasonal dam designed to create a lake at this location has existed since at least 1908 when a summer water carnival drew “many thousands” to the bank of the river. According to Campbell, of the Regional Parks marketing department, “There has been a dam of some sort impounding water at this location from the very early 1900s,” managed by various organizations.
“The current structure was installed in the mid-50s by the County, and Regional Parks has been installing it since the late ’60s.” According to Regional Parks information, the current seasonal summer dam was built in 1955 using post-World War II funds and serves as the only public Russian River beach with seasonal lifeguard service.
With the regular seasonal dam in place, summers have been reliable for local river sports. In the 1950s and ’60s, speedboat racing and waterskiing became possible, and the reservoir behind the dam filled up almost a mile upstream.
It’s worth noting that the historical dam used to go up around Memorial Day, hence Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach. “That changed following construction of the fish ladder in 2001-2002, when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (then the California Department of Fish and Game) updated the operating permits,” Campbell pointed out. The concrete fish ladder built into the dam’s foundation proved ineffective. “Now permits specify that June 26 is the earliest date the dam can be installed to impound water, as most upstream fish migration has concluded by then.”
SEASONAL SUPPORT The architecture of the seasonal dam at Veterans Memorial Beach holds back the waters of the Russian River from July to September each year.
That current structure, a temporary dam made of what looks like plastic sheeting, plywood and two-by-fours (though it is certainly more complex and durable than that), goes up every July. The public beach that results, accessible with a Regional Parks ticket or annual pass, is the first place many people think of when they think of Healdsburg.
“Cost varies from year to year based on the annual condition assessment of the beach and flashboard panels,” Campbell said, specifying that it typically costs $120,000-$150,000 to install and remove the dam each year. That number “includes materials/supplies (like sand, rock, gravel, wood and hardware), permits, equipment rentals, crane and staff time,” Campell said.
A look ahead
Although Memorial Beach has changed little over time, it has changed too much for some—and not nearly enough for others. Since 2016, the City of Healdsburg and Regional Parks have cooperated on a Memorial Beach Renovation Plan. The plan will rectify the oversight that the 11.5-acre park lacked any documentation to guide “the property’s development, public access, recreational and educational uses, and habitat enhancements.”
But the more they looked at it the more the study committee liked the idea of re-envisioning the property altogether. “However, the latest proposal envisions an entirely new type of river park at Healdsburg Veteran’s Memorial Beach, one without the dam,” reported the Regional Parks study group in 2023.
“We propose replacing the existing steeply sloped beach with a more gently sloped beach, creating level terraced areas for picnics and sunbathing, all connected by accessible pathways. Instead of installing the dam each summer season, the beach area will provide a series of permanent terraced pools designed for swimming and water recreation, with sandy areas for access. This will allow people to enjoy the river and park for several more months of the year, without having to rely on the dam being installed.”
In other words no dam at all, but a series of four or five “drop structures” designed to slow and shape the spillway they create. The opportunities could include hydraulic features such as pools and eddies, waves and swimming holes. Recreation could range from tubing to kayaking or even river surfing during high-water months. Comparable urban rivers, in places like Buena Vista and Salida in Colorado, could make the river part of Healdsburg’s in-town, year-round recreation choices.
The Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach project lost some momentum when it stalled out during Covid—the last public meeting took place in 2018. A schedule on the county website about the project lists a city-county meeting—which did not occur—to be held last spring, and a final proposal to the Board of Supervisors that was to follow in the fall seems unlikely.
“The project team is now developing more detailed engineering plans and designs to better define the project before the next phase of community engagement and public input,” Campbell said. “We expect that outreach could begin within the next six months.”
Follow the Healdsburg Memorial Beach Renovation Project at tinyurl.com/fyu6x7yv.
