Springtime on the Carrizo Plain
California’s Carrizo Plain was designated a National Monument during the Bill Clinton presidency. The plain is situated in the southern hills of the San Joaquin Valley between two substantial mountain ranges. More importantly, Carrizo straddles the San Andreas Fault. It's approximately 150 miles north of Los Angeles, and the monument has a well-maintained road through the length of the plain. Central to the plain is Soda Lake, a mostly dry lake bed occasionally covered in fog. Caliente, a coastal mountain range to the west, offers many hiking opportunities. Carrizo offers old homesteads to explore, as well as a perfect place to visit California wildflowers in the spring. The Bureau of Land Management manages the must-seemonument.
Instructions
1. Make hotel reservations in Bakersfield to the east, or Santa Maria to the west. Taft, California, is the closest town, but note that lodging is minimal there. There are two campgrounds located in Carrizo, so inquire about reservations.
2. Use the map to locate Maricopa, California. Soda Lake Road, the entrance to the monument, is located just a few miles west of town.
3. Turn onto Soda Lake Road and look for a brown directional sign identifying Elkhorn Road. There is an information kiosk there. Take Elkhorn Road eastward and cross the San Andreas Fault. Stop and examine the massive fissure in the earth, recognizing that all past and future California earthquakes are geologically connected to the San Andreas.
4. Return to Soda Lake Road and stop at Traver Ranch. Dated farming equipment line the roadside near the entrance to the ranch. The house and outbuildings are not accessible and the grounds are considered private property, but nevertheless, from its perimeter, you can see a thriving enterprise dating back to the first half of the last century.
5. Continue on Soda Lake Road to the Selby Campground cut-off. Turn left and follow directional signs past the campground and up into the coastal mountains. Gain access to the Caliente Mountain Ridge Trail. This 3-mile trail along the ridge offers great views of Caliente Mountain and Carrizo below. Deer are plentiful in the area and you can often see them close up.
6. Return to Soda Lake Road and stop at the Goodwin Education Center. This much smaller version of a national park visitor center is staffed with well-informed rangers. They are capable of explaining Carrizo’s geology and ecology. They will also explain the status of Painted Rock, which is sometimes closed to visitors. Note the huge population of rabbits scattered around the grounds.
7. Visit Painted Rock, if accessible. The lone rock formation sits among the grasses of Carrizo and is notable for its pictographs drawn by the Chumash People, the original Californios.
8. Backtrack north and stop at the Soda Lake Boardwalk. These wetlands will collect water in the winter and then dry up in the summer, creating an optical illusion of a great sea. The lake is a great stopping place for migratory birds.
9. Cross the road and drive up to Overlook Hill for a panoramic view of the lake and the plains. The overlook is covered with wildflowers in spring.
10. Leave the north entrance of the park toward State Highway 58 which goes west to San Luis Obispo or east to Bakersfield. Before reaching the highway, however, Soda Lake Road travels through California Valley, where a variety of poppies and other wildflowers paint the green hillsides in vibrant color.
Tags: Soda Lake, Lake Road, Soda Lake Road, Carrizo Plain, Andreas Fault
