Except on county roads, or unless otherwise posted, speed limit is 25 miles per hour. Vehicles parked adjacent to any open road should park as close to the road as possible without preventing passage of other vehicles.
Roads designated as being for administrative use only are open to bicycles and other nonmotorized vehicles, pedestrians, and casual horse use, unless otherwise posted. Camping: Overnight camping is allowed only within designated campgrounds and designated car-camping areas and is limited to 14 days within any 30 day period, for a total of no more than 28 days within any one year period.
Camping or overnight parking is prohibited within yards of any natural or artificial water source. Pets: Must remain leashed or caged at all developed sites, including visitor center, interpretive areas, trail heads and camping areas.
At all other locations pets must be controlled by the owner at all times. Skip to main navigation Skip to main content. Carrizo Plain National Monument. COVID Fire restrictions are in effect as of May 21, which include no campfires, barbecues, or open fires, in or outside of developed campgrounds.
Portable stoves with gas, jelled petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel are allowed with a valid California campfire permit available free at all BLM, U. Forest Service and Cal Fire offices, or at www. To read the current fire restriction please visit Bakersfield Fire Restriction Order All vehicles including UTVs on the monument must be street-legal DMV plated and all vehicles must stay on roads.
Soda Lake, its centerpiece, is a glistening bed of white salt, set within a vast open grassland, rimmed by steep mountains. The Caliente Ridge Road can be especially dangerous when wet and may be closed periodically during periods of heavy rain or snowfall. All roads in the Monument may be periodically closed for safety conditions such as fire hazard, weather, or unsafe conditions.
Panorama and Simmler roads often take weeks to dry out after a rain. Even though the other roads in the monument are dry, Panorama and Simmler roads may be impassable—proceed with caution on these roads especially during winter months, and obey all closed road signs.
Gateway Communities located near the Monument help inform and educate the public about the opportunities on the Carrizo Plain National Monument. They also provide services food, fuel, water not available on the Monument.
Taft offers a variety of businesses, including grocery stores, fuel, and lodging. Santa Margarita is located northwest of the Monument and offers visitors information on Main Street El Camino Real , look for visitor information signs. Santa Margarita offers fuel, food, and shops. Proclamation Created: January 17, Size: , acres of public land.
Skip to main navigation Skip to main content. Carrizo Plain National Monument. Planning Your Visit Prepare yourself for your adventure.
Weather Expect warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Pets Pets must be controlled at all times. Water levels in the lake basins rise and fall based on rainfall: when we visited in April in a wet year, there was quite a bit of water in the lake.
Walk the boardwalk trail that runs by the shore to view and photograph the lake and admire the flora and fauna. During wildflower bloom, when you walk the boardwalk, you will be surrounded by a sea of wildflowers! The boardwalk can be accessed off Soda Lake Road. There is parking at the Soda Lake Trailhead. From the parking area, the lake shore is just a 5-minute walk on a wide gravel trail. Across the road from the Soda Lake boardwalk, you can walk a short trail to the top of Overlook Hill for a panoramic view of Soda Lake and Carrizo Plain, and the masses of wildflower displays in season.
The trail is short but a little steep. From the top, you can see Soda Lake Road snaking across the plain. And looking down from the overlook, you get a better sense for how vast Carrizo Plain really is. It is one of the most prominent natural features in the park, along with Soda Lake. The fault has given rise to the Panorama Hills and Elkhorn Hills, making for a beautiful landscape in this part of the park, and has altered the course of creeks and streams such as Wallace Creek.
When it rains, little pools, called sag ponds, form along the fault, creating great photo ops. The round trip is just 1. You will find informational pamphlets in the dirt parking area at the trailhead. If you enjoy scenic drives, you can combine area roads for an mile scenic loop that is impressive any time of the year and especially breathtaking during wildflower season, when hillsides are painted in vibrant colors. Be aware that some of these roads are unpaved and may be impassable after rains.
There are several dirt roads that run through Carrizo Plain National Monument, and if you arrive in an appropriate vehicle and you are an experienced backroader, you can explore some of them to see more of the monument.
Padrone Canyon Road offers beautiful scenery and the opportunity to see wildlife. The Traver Ranch area has old farm equipment to see. Dirt road driving in Carrizo Plain National Monument is only possible if you have a high-clearance 4WD, and conditions have been dry for a while. Even trucks and Jeeps can get stuck in wet clay, so heed signage and err on the side of caution.
Tow services are hard to come by here if you get stuck, and very expensive. Offroad driving is not permitted within Carrizo Plain National Monument. It is home to the pronghorn antelope, the second fastest animal on land in the world, and the fastest in North America.
If you are lucky, you may see a whole herd of pronghorn in Carrizo Plain when you visit: they often move around in groups. They are skittish, and may not wait around to be photographed, unless you see them in the distance and can capture them with a zoom lens. Carrizo Plain National Monument is also home to the endangered San Joaquin kit fox, San Joaquin antelope squirrels, giant kangaroo rats, blunt-nosed leopard lizards, cottontails, hogs, bobcats, and a variety of snakes, among other creatures.
You are more likely to see wildlife if you visit early or late in the day. Bring your binoculars and zoom lens, and watch or photograph animals from a safe distance! The largest protected habitat on the Pacific Flyway, Carrizo Plain National Monument is a superb place for birding in the winter.
But you are likely to see birds in the monument no matter when you visit, and even during the day. Carrizo Plain is home to the endangered mountain plover, and is a foraging ground for the magnificent California condor.
Soda Lake attracts several dozen species of migratory birds in season, from sandhill cranes to long-billed curlews. Hawks, pelicans, swifts, owls, and Peregrine falcons have been spotted here. Bring your scope or binoculars and look for birds perched on old fence posts left over from farming days in Carrizo Plain, and from the boardwalk trail at Soda Lake.
While the wildflowers are definitely the showstoppers at Carrizo Plain when they are in bloom, the monument is also home to several other noteworthy plant communities.
You are more likely to notice them if you visit outside of wildflower bloom time! You will also see California juniper woodland areas, iodine bush, desert tea, manzanitas, and salt bush scrub. Hikers will find many trails to explore in Carrizo Plain National Monument. Arrive in a high-clearance 4WD vehicle to access trailheads for some of the more adventurous trails that are not off Soda Lake.
If you are looking for a moderate but longer hike, try the Caliente Mountain Ridge Trail, which is out and back, about 16 miles round trip. You can go biking on the dirt roads in the park as well, as long as you do not attempt to ride when the roads are not completely dry.
During bloom, you can find many spots in the monument to capture the beauty of the flowers. For other interesting subjects for your lens, visit the Travers Ranch area and other places where dilapidated old barns and huts and a variety of old farming implements and machinery are scattered about. There are interesting rock formations in the park as well. Carrizo Plain is far enough away from civilization that it has dark skies, perfect for stargazing.
Soda Lake, with its white salt flats, is a great stargazing location: flat and open. Overlook Hill by Soda Lake has an elevated position for stargazing, or, if you are apprehensive about wildlife being around in the dark like we are, just park in the Soda Lake Trailhead parking area and sit inside or on the bonnet of your car to observe the night skies!
A cloudless, moonless night is perfect for seeing the most stars, and the recommendation is that you wait in the dark for at least 30 minutes for the eyes to adjust: at the end of that time, your patience will be amply rewarded! Visitors arrive at Carrizo Plain National Monument by road, and you need your own wheels to be able to explore the monument.
See map. If you do not wish to camp overnight, you could make a weekend of it, or a short mid-week getaway, and combine a visit to Carrizo Plain National Monument with a Central Coast town like Paso Robles or San Luis Obispo.
This is how we visited. Carrizo Plain is about one hour from the Central Coast. There is no fee to visit Carrizo Plain National Monument.
A small fee may be charged for registering for guided or self-guided tours. It is only partially paved along the north end. The unpaved part is pretty rough.
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