After a break in construction for the COVID pandemic, work resumed on the west reach of the Zanja Trail, between 7th Street and Church Street. This reach will connect trail users between the downtown area and the area just west of Sylvan Park. Once at the park, the trail will follow the pathway through the park to University Street and University of Redlands where it will follow along the Zanja to Grove Avenue, and pick up the Orange Blossom Trail east.
Ultimately, the Zanja Trail will trace along the historic Mill Creek Zanja, still in existence, all the way to Sapphire in Mentone, and the Zanja Trail will be complete.
Regional indigenous peoples built it, and everyone since1819 has used it. The Mill Creek Zanja, a 12-mile ditch, crossed the land that became Redlands, from Mill Creek in the San Bernardino Mountains to what now is Loma Linda. It brought water to the Guachama Village for agricultural purposes.
In 2019, almost half of the old ditch still exists, and Redlands is celebrating it by creating a natural-surface path along or near the Zanja.
The first reach of the Zanja Trail was opened in spring of 2019, tracing next to the Zanja between Lincoln Avenue and Wabash Avenue for a little over a mile. It is open to the public, and is regularly used by walkers, strollers, and runners who enjoy a safe and beautiful environment.
Bookended by the Zanja Park at Lincoln and Laramie and the small park on Wabash, the Zanja Trail features native vegetation, typical of the region’s arid landscape. Several interpretive signs help the trail users understand the area’s long history and the contributions of many cultural groups.
Ultimately, the Zanja Trail will start at Seventh St in downtown Redlands, and follow the Zanja east to Sapphire in Mentone. For now, the trail connects to the Orange Blossom Trail-east, making a pleasant two-mile loop trail. Trail users can park along Lincoln or Laramie. .
The Zanja Trail and Zanja Park were developed by Redlands Conservancy through the generous support of Jack and Laura Dangermond.
The project is intended to enhance the City of Redlands’ public trails system by providing east-west connections between schools, University of Redlands, and historic Downtown Redlands; to enhance the natural and scenic values of the park’s footprint corridor; to provide a safe and interesting space for Redlands’ residents and visitors to conduct healthful activities; to attract cultural and heritage tourists to Redlands; and to implement a component of the City’s General Plan Open Space Element. (The City of Redlands 1987 Park and Open Space Plan calls for eight major features, one of which is the creation of “a strip park and related trails following the Zanja from Crafton through the downtown area to the westerly city limits.”)
