Two miles above Rio Vista on the Sacramento River you’ll find the entrance to Steamboat Slough. This 11-mile-long waterway was originally called the Middle Fork of the Sacramento River; but by the 1860s it had become the preferred route of  impatient steamship captains because it was shorter and easier to navigate than the main river course.

Near Grand Island Mansion

Snug Harbor Resort sits on the far shore

Photo on display at the Sacramento History Museum

I’ve written before about the steamboats racing back and forth along Steamboat Slough, but I finally got the chance to explore along the banks a little bit. I can’t help wondering how much history still lies underneath the waters of this quiet Delta waterway.

A reminder of more recent history — the storms and flooding of February 1986

Hogback Island