Sutter Buttes (Guided Hike)
Sutter / Yuba City (Sutter County) · near Yuba City · Gold Country & Central Valley
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 1,800 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Guided-hike season late Oct–early May (spring green + wildflowers); interior closed in summer
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- NO public access — the interior is entirely private ranchland. Access ONLY via docent-led Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes (~$45/person, reservation required; limited dates sell out). A 'Sutter Buttes State Park' exists on paper but is undeveloped with no public trailheads.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 4 of 5
What is here
- Features
- 'World's smallest mountain range' · Volcanic plug peaks from the valley floor · 360° Sacramento Valley views · Spring wildflowers & raptors
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Plan months ahead — guided hikes run only in the cool season and fill quickly. There is no way to legally hike the interior on your own; don't attempt it (it's trespassing on private land).
The guide
The Sutter Buttes are an iconic, improbable cluster of volcanic peaks jutting out of the flat Sacramento Valley, often called t…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Sutter Buttes (Guided Hike) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.2119, -121.8197