Llano Seco Unit

The Llano Seco Unit offers an incred­i­ble oppor­tu­ni­ty for wildlife enthu­si­asts, pho­tog­ra­phers, and vis­i­tors to eas­i­ly con­nect with nature.

Locat­ed only 10 miles south­west of Chico, the expan­sive 1,732-acre unit com­pris­es tran­quil wet­lands and grass­lands, pro­vid­ing an essen­tial habi­tat along the Pacif­ic Fly­way. The unit is open dai­ly from one hour before sun­rise to one hour after sunset.

Llano Seco Unit: Know Before You Go

• Hours of Oper­a­tion: Open dai­ly one hour before sun­rise to one hour after sunset.
• Best View­ing Time: The best time for bird watch­ing is Novem­ber through February.
• View­ing Access: Vis­i­tors can access two obser­va­tion plat­forms along a half-mile walk­ing trail.
• Activ­i­ties Per­mit­ted: Wildlife obser­va­tion, pho­tog­ra­phy, envi­ron­men­tal edu­ca­tion, and inter­pre­ta­tion. Hunt­ing is not permitted.

Vis­i­tor Areas and Accessibility

The Llano Seco Unit con­sists of two dis­tinct areas:

• Sanc­tu­ary I (967 acres): Non-pub­lic use.
• Sanc­tu­ary II (765 acres): The pub­lic-use area where vis­i­tors can peace­ful­ly engage in wildlife obser­va­tion and photography.

Vis­i­tors will enjoy great views of the wildlife that calls the Unit home from the two obser­va­tion plat­forms along the half-mile walk­ing trail. Both plat­forms are open to the pub­lic dur­ing oper­a­tional hours.

View­able Wildlife: Icon­ic Birds and Rare Species

The Unit is a cru­cial spot along the Pacif­ic Fly­way, sup­port­ing large pop­u­la­tions of win­ter­ing water­fowl. Vis­i­tors should keep an eye out for many notable species, including:

• Icon­ic Birds: Bald eagle, Swain­son’s hawk, great horned owl, and the State-list­ed threat­ened greater sand­hill cranes.
• Mam­mals: Moun­tain lion and bobcat.
• Threat­ened & Endan­gered Species: Fed­er­al­ly threat­ened giant garter snakes and val­ley elder­ber­ry long­horn bee­tle, and fed­er­al­ly endan­gered ver­nal pool tad­pole shrimp and ver­nal pool fairy shrimp

Direc­tions

Trav­el­ing south on I‑5 (from Oregon/​Shasta)

• Exit at Hwy 32 at Orland
• Go 10 miles east on Hwy 32
• Go 8 miles south on Hwy 45
• Go 5.7 miles east on Ord Fer­ry Rd
• Go 2.1 miles south on Sev­en Mile Ln
• Turn right into North Cen­tral Val­ley WMA — Llano Seco Unit park­ing lot

Trav­el­ing north on I‑5 (from Sacramento)

• Exit at Road 68 (9.1 miles north of Maxwell)
• Go 4 miles north on Hwy 99W
• Go 9.6 miles east on Road ⁶⁰⁄₆₁ to Four Corners.
• Con­tin­ue 5 miles east on Hwy 162
• Go 10.8 miles north on Coun­ty Rd Z/​Seven Mile Ln
• Turn left into North Cen­tral Valley