River Center (San Joaquin River Parkway Trust)

11605 Old Friant Road, Fresno, CA

About This Vendor

A Serene Setting For Your Wondrous Occasion

The San Joaquin River Parkway & Conservation Trust, Inc. presents a charming wedding venue located in Fresno, CA. A pristine public space filled with potential, this venue offers a spacious location for your wedding celebration. From its newly built barn to the Kremen Outdoor Event Area, there is plenty of room for you to share with all your loved ones. The San Joaquin River Parkway & Conservation Trust, Inc. has worked to preserve and restore the beautiful natural scenery of this location for nearly 20 years. The River Center now offers many venues for guests to enjoy. Along with the restored historic Riverview Ranch House, the area presents a plethora of scenic locations for special events. From the walkways of the Shade Arbor to the circular lawns surrounding the ponds, there are plenty of spaces for you to make your own. The recently constructed barn also offers an ideal space for a rustic indoor wedding. The hundred-year-old camphor tree and serene gardens also provide the perfect location for an outdoor photoshoot, letting you preserve your precious memories in peace. We welcome couples to select the vendors and caterers of their choice to help host a truly personalized celebration. Ceremonies and receptions are both welcomed, both for indoor and outdoor occasions. With a full capacity of 250 people, there is plenty of room for all your loved ones as you celebrate your special day. Now, couples can make the whole venue space their own for their occasion. Interested clients are welcome to book a tour to see everything the River Center has to offer.

Amenities + Details

Ceremony Area

Covered Outdoors Space

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

Outdoor Event Space

Reception Area

Wireless Internet

Dressing Room

Liability Insurance

On-Site Accommodations

Business Attributes

Asian-owned Business, Black-owned Business, Hispanic or Latinx-owned Business, LGBTQ+-owned Business, Native American-owned Business, Pacific Islander-owned Business, Veteran-owned Business, Woman-owned Business

Guest Capacity

Up to 250

Settings

Barn, Farm & Ranch, Garden, Historic Venue, Park, Trees

Venue Service Offerings

Planning, Se Habla Español

Awards and Affiliations

River Center (San Joaquin River Parkway Trust) Reviews

Reviewed On 12/23/2022 by Matthew W

My wife and I recently had our wedding reception at the River Center and it turned out amazing! The venue is absolutely beautiful! The Rental Events Manager Jesus made the rental process as simple as could be and was available to answer any and...

all questions we had leading up to the big day. The amazing customer service paired with a very reasonable rental price would make booking with the River Center for other events in the future a no brainer. I highly recommend this venue to anyone looking for an amazing venue at a great price. The only complaint I had with the venue was that all setup and break down of our event had to be done the day of the event so plan to have a few people ready to clean up at the end of the night. Also make sure that all of your vendors are on site in time to remove their equipment from the site by 11pm.

Reviewed On 11/01/2022 by America R

My only son recently got married at this venue. It was such a wonderful experience. The grounds at this venue has a lot to offer for a affordable price. Everything was absolutely amazing from start to finish. We had a wonderful experience worki...

ng with Jesus. His customer service, communication, prompt and effective responses and his attention to detail were impressive to say the least. We were very pleased with the service we received and will forever be grateful for the wonderful and memorable experience. Thank you Jesus!

Reviewed On 5/12/2022 by Madisen S

ATTENTION BRIDES! My husband and I had the dreamiest wedding at San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust this past weekend. Jesus, the Rental Events Manager was such a joy to work with! The Trust and Jesus had great attention to custom...

er service, and communicated timely. The venue allows for renters to choose from various vendors, which allowed us to have an affordable, one of a kind wedding celebration. The entire rental process was incredibly simple, and I cannot recommend this place enough!

Reviewed On 3/31/2022 by fernanda h

I came across this venue after another bride and myself had our original venue go out of business and take our money. But after checking out the venue how could you not resist this place, we booked the venue in 2020 and finally got married this...

weekend. Our guests loved the venue and had an amazing time. I would definitely recommend getting married here. Jesus is very helpful and friendly and answers Any and all questions you may have.

Reviewed On 3/23/2022 by Jordyn M

This venue is gorgeous and SO affordable. It has many options of where you can host your ceremony and reception. When you rent you are able to use the entire grounds, but it does not become private until 4:00 so there are people during the day ...

while things are being set up. This place is an empty canvas, so as long as you are willing to find vendors and coordinate all things involved in your special day I believe this venue is absolutely perfect! We decided to do our reception and ceremony in the barn, having it be flipped from reception to ceremony during cocktail hour outside. It decided to storm so all items had to be moved inside but the barn fit everything with still some space left over and we had a total of 150 people. The staff, especially Jesus, is extremely helpful with reminders and answering any questions you may have leading up to the event. I do suggest getting a coordinator to help you at this venue due to their strict set-up and tear down on the same day policy. It would be difficult to handle all of that on your own while trying to enjoy your day at the same time. Photos were also excellent at this venue and depending on the time of year there are many options for photos! The ranch home is a nice set up for photos as well as a good place to hide prior to the reception. I highly suggest this venue for anyone who is looking to get married in town in the future that is wanting to stick to a budget, does not mind not getting ready on site, and is wanting an outdoorsy feel to their wedding day.

Reviewed On 11/04/2021 by Cathleen F

My husband and I were so excited when we locked this place in. It is a gorgeous view and the perfect barn wedding. All of our vendors came together and worked really well with Jesus, the event coordinator at the site. He is just lovely! He walk...

ed us through each part of the process and made sure we were ready to go for our big day. They have a list of recommended vendors which have all worked with the site before so it helps things flow smoothly. Definitely worth the price. Procedures, rules, and information were all clearly laid out. Our guests raved about the site and how beautiful it was. It was a literal dream!

Reviewed On 9/29/2020 by Nikki L

Jesus was incredibly accommodating in helping us with figuring out details for our wedding during a pandemic. Beautiful venue, and even though we had to change our plans, Jesus continued to communicate with us in a timely manner. We wish we cou...

ld have gone through with the River Center as our venue, but would recommend it to anyone!

Response from the Vendor on 11/07/2020

I'm pleased we were able to help during a critical time and thank you for your trust. If there's anything else we can do to help, please let us know. We hope you'll come to visit us again soon!

Reviewed On 7/28/2020 by Alicia C

This venue really worked with us during the quarantine to give us the best wedding venue they could. They offered us a micro-wedding which we were so thankful for! They made sure the plants around the area we were to be married were trimmed bac...

k and ready to go. This venue is sooo beautiful and I highly recommend it! Jesus is phenomenal and will definitely help you out as much as he can! He is a great contact person! Seriously, consider having your wedding here! It’s beautiful and your supporting the community and the environment.

Response from the Vendor on 11/07/2020

Dear Alicia, It was a pleasure serving you and your now-husband. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and being so open with us. I'm glad you felt that all of your requests were met. I am also happy we were able to h...

elp during the midst of the pandemic. Thanks for placing your trust in us and your willingness to share. Congratulations again to you both!

Reviewed On 4/29/2019 by Kenneth M

We just got married there 3 weeks ago and could not have had a more beautiful wedding! The house, the tree, the BARN were all amazing! Absolutely stunning! Patty was the most helpful along with the rest of the staff!

Response from the Vendor on 05/01/2019

Thank you so very much, Kenneth! We are all so thrilled to hear you had such a wonderful time. Congratulations again to you both!

Reviewed On 12/06/2018 by Angela D

We got married at this lovely venue this past November. We couldn't have asked for a better day, everything turned out perfect. Patty was very accommodating and responded to all of our requests promptly. As for Bart, who volunteers all of his t...

ime to help out with the weddings... well he's amazing. He stayed to clean up late at night and helped keep the day running smoothly. Great place to spend your special day!

Reviewed On 11/25/2018 by Kym T

We enjoyed working with both Patty and Bart. Everything went perfectly on our wedding day and the venue was absolutely gorgeous! It seemed like everyone was commenting on how perfect the venue was for weddings.

Reviewed On 11/08/2018 by Liz H

Where do I start? Everything about the River Center was perfect for our wedding! We had about 200 guests present and we got compliment after compliment about the venue from our guests. People were raving about the vintage beauty of the grounds ...

and house. Patty was a joy to work with, ironing out all the details and making sure we had all the information we needed to have a smooth rental process. Bart, a board member who was our day-of presence, was so kind and helpful throughout the rehearsal and the wedding day. I can't say enough how happy we were with everything -- the house was perfect for our wedding party to hang out in before the ceremony, and the grounds provided such a picturesque setting for our photos. If you want a unique, historic, vintage setting for your wedding (or any event) this is definitely the place to have it! I'll rave about the River Center as an event venue forever!

Reviewed On 1/14/2018 by Adriana G

Freaking amazing! They were very helpful throughout the whole process and incredibly flexible. Patty always called back at a reasonable time, she called immediately when something came up or there was a hitch in the scheduling. The place itself...

was very beautiful with a little nature walk and a lake. There were also a lot of those string lights all over the place that makes everything magical for some reason. The house itself is also very picturesque. You want a more vineyard kind of feel? They got you. Want something more fairy/elven/garden? They got you (that was our theme and yes it looked awesome and there were swords involved). It is beautiful and Bart was awesome and attentive and ready to make the place look even better. My wedding was also mostly diy so he definitely helped make sure I had available tools to make things happen. We did start kind of late due to photographer complications and such but everything worked out fine and turned out beautiful. ps they are also very affordable

Reviewed On 12/21/2017 by Jessica V

We got married at the Parkway in October and Patty was the best! She made the entire process of securing the property, explaining the requirements and reviewing the options smooth and efficient. Couldn't have asked for a better Vendor!

Response from the Vendor on 12/27/2017

Thank you so much for the stellar review! It was so great working with you, too. And thanks for sharing your photos--they are amazing!

Contact Info for River Center (San Joaquin River Parkway Trust)

11605 Old Friant Road, Fresno, CA

(559) 248-8480 ext. 101

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Meet the Team

River Center

Manager

It is my pleasure to introduce the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies (River Center) to new guests! Our locations on site offer stunning venues for your special day. I make it easy to work together via email and our website -- Contact me today! Can't wait to show you the perfect spot for your event.

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