Visited on 2/3 -2/4/2018 - Jeff and I loaded up the truck camper for a weekend of camping on Black Butte Lake for the weekend and brought our two pups Summer and Skye. Black Butte Lake is at an elevation of 512 feet above sea level. Black Butte Lake was formed in 1963 upon the completion of Black Butte Dam. Located on Stony Creek 9 miles west of Orland, the lake is an inviting and accessible recreation area on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, with Mendicino National Forest as a backdrop to the west. When full, the lake has a surface area of 4,460 acres, is seven miles long and has a shoreline of 40 miles. The dam provides flood damage protection for local towns and agricultural lands. The monotony of driving Interstate 5 in California can be numbing. Whether going north or south, seemingly endless miles of flat land unfold in every direction. Though there are usually mountains on the horizon, they are distant and often difficult to access, do little to disrupt the drudgery of getting where one is going. However, there is an obscure remedy to this ailment. To the west of the farming of community of Orland, a surprising oasis of terrain looms closer to the highway than the faraway mountains. The Orland Buttes, a trio of large volcanic ridges, emerge unexpectedly from the grassy fields of the western Sacramento Valley, forming a 500 foot tall rocky escarpment. They are often difficult to perceive from the freeway due to their distance, though the tallest butte, Orland Mesa, is evident if one is paying attention. Unfortunately, the Buttes are almost entirely on private land. Thankfully, the northernmost of the three buttes, Black Butte, is on land owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, and thus provides a respite to those travelers on I-5 weary of the horizontal.
Black Butte is a long ridge composed of dark, chunky basalt, similar to the Lovejoy basalt. This rock formation is found along Big Chico Creek in Bidwell Park near Chico, or North Table Mountain, near Oroville. Similar rock also composes the Table Rocks along the Rogue River, in Oregon. On Black Butte, the rock forms a dramatic band of cliffs that wrap around the southern and eastern sides of the butte. On the west and north side, the rock protrudes from the grassy slopes. In contrast to the black rock are the gentle slopes beneath the cliffs and the blue waters of Black Butte Lake. Black Butte is the northernmost of the Orland Buttes. Although the basalt cliffs are striking, the mountain is not particularly high. Nonetheless, its lower elevation is offset by the flatness of the surrounding terrain, imbuing the small peak with more drama than its slight elevation would indicate.
Black Butte is under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers because of its location adjacent to Black Butte Lake, a reservoir formed by the impoundment of Stony Creek, which flows off of Snow Mountain, then flows north 30 miles toward Black Butte. Beyond the Orland Buttes, the creek turns east and flows into the Sacramento River. It is easy to imagine the dramatic passage of the creek through the gap in the rock wall of the buttes in the place now occupied by the Black Butte Dam. In spring, the lake is one of the more attractive reservoirs in the state, boasting a grassy, treeless shoreline, fields of wildflowers and beautiful oak forests, all overseen by the dramatic cliffs of the Orland Buttes. Black Butte itself has inspiring views, taking in many of Northern California’s most notable landmarks, including Mount Shasta, Lassen Peak, the Yolla Bolly Mountains, Shasta Bally and Bully Choop Mountain, Snow Mountain, the Sierra Nevada, the Sutter Buttes, and the Sacramento Valley itself.
Black Butte Lake at sunset looking off to the southwest from our camping spot in the Buckhorn Campground, site #3.
The Army Corps of Engineers have done a great job of developing the trails on the northwest side of this Lake. Jeff and I hiked the Bobcat Trail from the Buckhorn Campground to the Ranger Entrance Station with our two dogs. It was a great 2 mile hike and we saw a herd of ten deer along the trail.
After our afternoon hike it was time for a nap in the camper! Jeff and Summer hard at it!
Jeff and I took a nice drive through some of the ranch area and orchards just north of Black Butte Lake and came upon a herd of about 80 buffalo at Black Bison Ranch. This guy was just walking along minding his own business, not paying attention to us at all.
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