When the Fresno Bee photographed the canal behind Letterman Park on Oct. 2, 2025, there was already a path there. It was a natural-surface bank along the Fresno Irrigation District's Big Dry Creek Canal, running from Barstow Avenue to the park. The city's planning staff described it the same way. Their stated goal was to "encourage the use of the existing Big Dry Creek Canal bank between Barstow Avenue and Villa Avenue as an informal trail."
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, the City of Clovis cut the ribbon on what it now calls the Letterman Trail. It runs just over half a mile between Barstow and Villa, along the canal and through Letterman Park at 908 Villa Ave. The path isn't new. What's new is everything that tells you where it starts, where it ends, and who it's named for. And the paved part runs through the park, so the park now works as the trailhead.
What $187,000 Bought, Section by Section
The project cost $187,000, all of it from the Community Development Block Grant money Clovis gets each year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For a half-mile trail, that's a modest budget. The breakdown shows where it went.
| Section | Surface | What the project added |
|---|---|---|
| Barstow Avenue entry | Natural surface | New entry feature and a "Letterman Trail" concrete marker column |
| Canal bank, Barstow to Letterman Park | Natural surface, regraded | Grading and improvements to the existing unpaved path |
| Park gateway | Transition point | Large gateway with the trail name, a rust-red firefighter emblem, and a historical plaque |
| Through Letterman Park to Villa | New concrete | A paved path |
| Villa Avenue entry | Concrete | New entry feature and marker column |
The canal stretch is still dirt. The city's own announcement calls that work "improvements to the unpaved path along the canal bank." The paving went into the park. The Bee's account of the approved plan matches: regrade the natural-surface trail from Barstow to the park, and build a concrete sidewalk from the park out to Villa.
That matters if you're bringing a stroller, a skateboard, or shoes you'd like to keep clean. The paved half and the unpaved half feel different, and the gateway sits right where one becomes the other. Planner Marissa Parker described it as a "larger gateway feature proposed for the entrance from the new concrete trail to the existing natural trail that will be within the Letterman Park."
The Name on the Gateway
The park has carried Clinton J. Letterman's name for years. The trail now spells out why. Letterman was a volunteer firefighter with the City of Clovis in the 1960s. In 1969, at age 44, he died of a heart attack while fighting a house fire. The city says that fire was not far from where the park and trail now stand.
That history is built into the trail. All three trail markers and the new portal into Letterman Park carry his name and the silhouette of a firefighter in turnout gear. The gateway adds a historical plaque about the ties between Letterman Park and Clovis firefighters. The Clovis Fire Department gave a memorial presentation at the ribbon cutting, held at 8:30 that Tuesday morning near the park's northwest corner.
The project also changed how the park and the canal relate. The canal used to be the strip of land behind the park. Now the park's northwest corner has a formal entrance onto the canal path, and the path continues as concrete right through the park.
Why the Park Is Now the Trailhead
Barstow has an entry marker. Letterman Park has everything else. The City of Clovis lists these amenities at the park, which sits on Villa Avenue between Barstow and Bullard:
- Skateboard park
- Dog park
- Playground equipment
- Barbecue pits
- Picnic shelters
- Restrooms
The project also added a new water fountain. With restrooms, picnic shelters, and the paved section all inside the park, the obvious place to start is 908 Villa Ave.
Here's one way to use it on a Saturday morning, working only from what the park and trail actually have:
- Start at the Villa Avenue entry and take the new concrete path through Letterman Park.
- Stop at the gateway near the northwest corner and read the Letterman plaque.
- Walk the regraded natural-surface canal bank toward the Barstow Avenue marker, then turn around for a round trip of roughly a mile.
- Finish back in the park. Let the dog run in the dog park, let the kids loose on the playground or at the skate park, or claim a picnic shelter if you packed food.
That loop works because of how the project was laid out. Everything you'd want before or after a walk is at the Villa end, and the canal bank works as an out-and-back from it.
What the Project Didn't Promise
The city announcement and the Bee's coverage of the approved plan both describe the Barstow-to-Villa segment and nothing beyond it. Neither one says the Letterman Trail links directly to the Clovis Old Town Trail, the Dry Creek Trail, or the Sugar Pine Trail. Neither one mentions trail lighting or describes how pedestrians cross at Barstow or Villa. If you're planning an evening walk or a longer route that ties in other trails, check those details on site first.
The schedule also slipped. In fall 2025, city officials told the Bee construction would start in early spring 2026 and finish by June 2026 at the latest. The ribbon cutting came on Sept. 29.
The bigger signal is in the last line of the city's announcement. The project "is part of a larger partnership between the City of Clovis and FID that enables existing canal banks to be used as informal trails." Sarai Yanovsky, Principal Utilities Engineer for the City of Clovis, framed it as part of "a connected, accessible trail system," and pointed to "new entry features and pedestrian-friendly improvements along the Big Dry Creek Canal." Neither source names a next canal segment or gives a date for one. The approach itself is clear, though. Take a canal bank people already use, regrade it, mark the entrances, and connect it to a park with restrooms and water. The Letterman Trail shows what that approach looks like once it's finished.
Coffee to Close Out the Morning
There's no café in Letterman Park. If the walk ends with coffee, the Old Town Clovis business directory lists several coffee and breakfast spots:
- Kuppa Joy Coffee House, 518 Clovis Ave.
- Old Town Cafe, 361 Pollasky Ave., listed for breakfast and Groundwork Coffee
- On The Edge Coffee House, 412 Pollasky Ave., listed for coffee, breakfast, and lunch
- Rodeo Coffee Shop, 535 Fifth St., listed for breakfast and lunch seven days a week
None of them are on the Letterman Trail, so plan on getting there separately and check hours before you head out.
At Bennie Clay, we keep an eye on projects like the Letterman Trail because a new marked trail entrance changes the walk from some central Clovis streets, and owners in those blocks should know it. If you live near Villa, Barstow, or Bullard and want to know how the new trail access affects your home's value, start with an instant home valuation, and we'll follow up with a local read on your block.
