Come see what we're protecting
California Swan Festival
Celebrating the return of tundra swans and other waterfowl to our region — three days of guided tours, presenters, and our biggest fundraiser of the year.
Proudly hosted by Sutter Buttes Land Trust
All festival proceeds directly benefit local land conservation and wildlife habitat protection.
Why we hold the festival
Each winter, tundra swans travel thousands of miles down the Pacific Flyway to winter in the rice fields and wetlands around the Sutter Buttes. The festival exists to celebrate that arrival — and to show why the working farmland they depend on is worth protecting.
It is also our largest annual fundraiser. Proceeds go directly to conserving land and habitat in Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa counties.
Guided tours & field trips
Swan viewing tours
Sutter Buttes hikes
Guided walks into the Buttes — rare access to a privately owned mountain range.
Working lands tours
Visits to rice farms and conserved ranches to see agriculture and habitat side by side.
Tours run rain or shine. Cancellations made more than 14 days before the festival receive a full refund; after that, tickets may be transferred to another guest.
To cancel or transfer, call 530-755-3568 or email info@sutterbutteslandtrust.org.
Final policy wording and tour schedule to be confirmed.
Meet your guides
Our guides are naturalists, farmers, and long-time residents who know this landscape intimately.
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Register & liability release
Registration opens ahead of the festival. Tours have limited capacity and typically sell out, so early booking is recommended.
All participants must sign a liability release before joining a tour. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Our annual photo contest
Every year, local photographers submit their best images of the Sutter Buttes and surrounding region. Winning photos become our annual calendar — now a member benefit and, for the first time, a successful fundraiser.
Winners are celebrated at a reception where the new calendar is unveiled and prints are available.
An evening on the land
Our members-and-friends evening event: music, food, and conversation as the sun sets behind the Buttes.
A relaxed way to meet the people protecting this landscape — staff, board, landowners, and neighbors.
Explore the region
You don’t need to wait for the festival. Here’s what to look for, and where to go, across Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa counties.
Swans
Tundra swans winter here by the thousands, arriving in late autumn after a migration of several thousand miles from the Arctic. They feed in flooded rice fields — an agricultural landscape that has become critical habitat.
Look for them from November through February, most active at dawn and dusk. Listen first: you’ll often hear a flock before you see it.
Sutter Buttes
Often called the smallest mountain range in the world — a circular volcanic formation rising abruptly from the flat floor of the Sacramento Valley, visible for fifty miles in every direction.
The Buttes are almost entirely privately owned, so access is by guided hike. We offer them on our North Butte property through Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes.
Explore locally
Nearby public lands and refuges worth a visit, especially in the winter months.
Gray Lodge Wildlife Area
One of the best waterfowl viewing spots in the valley, just north of the Buttes.
Sacramento NWR Complex
Auto tour routes and viewing platforms over managed wetlands in Colusa County.
Feather River corridor
Riparian habitat and river access near Yuba City and Olivehurst.
Middle Mountain hikes
Guided access into the Buttes themselves, through our sister organization.
Full “Explore Locally” list with the client’s numbered destinations and starred highlights to be added.
Wildlife viewing tips
Go early or late
Dawn and dusk are when waterfowl are most active and the light is best.
Stay in your vehicle
On refuge auto routes, your car is the best blind — birds tolerate it far better than people on foot.
Bring binoculars
Keep your distance and let optics do the work. Never flush a flock for a photo.
Respect private land
Most land around the Buttes is privately owned and farmed. View from public roads and pullouts only.