The five scheduled Sutter Buttes hikes at this year's California Swan Festival have about 84 seats between them, and registration opens October 12. The festival runs November 12 through 15, 2026, but for anyone in Sutter County who has spent years looking at the Buttes from Highway 20 or Live Oak without walking them, October 12 is the date that matters. The regular guided hikes in the Buttes cross privately owned land under agreements with the landowners. Sutter Buttes State Park is listed by California State Parks as closed, with no public access into the park. That makes a guided, registered outing the realistic way in, and the festival packs several of them into one weekend.
A festival without a building
This is the second year the Swan Festival has run without a central hub. In 2023 the hub was at the Yuba County Government Center at 915 8th Street in Marysville. It filled the boardroom with retail, conservation and agency booths, and the building also held speakers, workshops and live-animal presentations. In 2024 the hub moved to Yuba College at 2088 North Beale Road. In 2025 the Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust dropped the hub and its presenters entirely and went "all-in on guided tours," as Territorial Dispatch reported.
The 2026 festival follows the same model. The homepage says there will be "no central indoor hub and no stationary presenters," with staff and board out at every tour instead. Each tour emails its meeting directions to the people registered for it.
Without a building there is nothing to drop in on. If you want to attend, you need a seat on a specific tour, and every tour has a cap. That turns the festival into something you book ahead, and several of the most sought-after tours meet on the Sutter County side of the Buttes and the rice country.
The Sutter Buttes side of the schedule
Here are the outings that go onto Buttes land or start from Sutter County, as listed on the festival's tours page.
| Tour | When | Cap | Cost | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #101 Sunset, Swans, and Rice at Montna Farms | Thu, Nov 12, 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. | 25 people | $20 | 2 |
| #202 Exploring State Parks: Peace Valley | Sat, Nov 14, 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | 12 people / 10 vehicles | $30 | 4 |
| #203 Hike on Shaeffer Ranch | Sat, Nov 14, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | 20 people / 10 vehicles | $45 | 3 |
| #207 Shaeffer Ridge with Cordi Winery | Sat, Nov 14, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. | 20 people | $20 | 3 |
| #301 Nature of the Sutter Buttes: Hike on Dean Place | Sun, Nov 15, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | 20 people / 10 vehicles | $45 | 3 |
| #303 Exploring State Parks: Peace Valley | Sun, Nov 15, 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | 12 people / 10 vehicles | $30 | 4 |
The five hikes that go into the Buttes have about 84 seats combined. The Friday kick-off party, by comparison, has room for 75. On a festival weekend that draws birders from across the region, the Buttes hikes come close to being the smallest offering on the schedule.
Peace Valley, the one State Parks route
The two Peace Valley hikes are led by California State Parks staff Rosie Blackburn and Chaye VanKeuran. They are the only festival outings that go into the state park property, which State Parks otherwise lists as closed. These are also the hardest hikes of the weekend. The listing rates them a 4, calls them strenuous on steep, uneven ground, and recommends them only for experienced hikers ages 12 and up. There is a restroom at the trailhead but no trash cans and no drinking water. High-clearance vehicles and carpooling are recommended. Each day takes only 12 people, so the whole weekend has 24 seats into Peace Valley.
A festival outing does not mean the park is opening. Both Peace Valley hikes are registered, guided special events. State Parks' own page still says there is no public access into the park.
Shaeffer Ranch, two ways
On Saturday the festival runs two separate tours on the Shaeffer property. Ty Shaeffer leads the harder all-day hike on the north side of the Buttes, on land that "has been in the same family since the 1860s." Depending on visibility, the route includes views of North Butte, Peace Valley and an old Titan Missile site. The listing names Golden Eagle, Phainopepla, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Mountain Bluebird and Varied Thrush as possible sightings.
Carolyn Brown leads the easier afternoon walk, which starts and ends at Cordi Winery at 10401 Ingram Lane in Live Oak. It runs about two hours, and the goal is a view of the Titan Missile site. The listing still warns of moderate elevation gain, "lots of cross-country hiking or hiking on animal trails," and no open-toed shoes or Crocs. Both Shaeffer tours end with an optional tasting at Cordi for $10 per person, paid to the winery. November 14 is not among the open weekends Cordi currently posts, so for most people the festival is the only way to taste there that Saturday without booking an appointment.
Dean Place, inside the Buttes
On Sunday Carolyn Brown leads the Dean Place hike, a three-mile walk into the interior of the range at what the listing calls the "100-year-old Dean Place Cattle Ranch." The listing describes it as access "to an area normally not open to the public." The focus is the birds of the Buttes, and with luck, geese and swans flying high over the peaks.
Montna Farms, from the rice side
The Thursday tour at Montna Farms looks back at the Buttes from the valley floor. Montna Farms is in Dingville, just south of Yuba City. Jon Munger, the farm's president, leads the tour with David Rosen and walks through how rice moves "from field to fork," from growing through drying, storing, milling and marketing. The group then heads to flooded fields to look for Tundra Swans, geese, ducks, White-faced Ibis, herons, egrets and raptors. At $20 and difficulty 2, it is the easiest of the Sutter County outings.
The dates that decide it
When the outings are this small, the deadlines matter more than the festival weekend:
- Around October 7. Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes usually posts its fall and winter schedule around this date. As of September 30 its page still reads "FALL/WINTER HIKES COMING SOON!"
- October 12. Swan Festival registration opens on the land trust's Givebutter page.
- October 30. Registration closes early for the Birding at Beale Air Force Base tour so base staff can screen participants.
- November 11 at 9 a.m. Registration closes for most other tours, including every Buttes hike.
- November 12 to 15. The festival itself.
Middle Mountain matters here because it keeps the Buttes open after the festival weekend. Its guided hikes usually run on weekends from late October through April, on private land under agreements with landowners. Right now those are Dean Place, Shaeffer Ranch and Brockman Canyon. Its general pricing is $45 unless a listing says otherwise. Registration runs through SignupMaster, and you can book up to six people. Middle Mountain's 2026–27 dates and prices are not posted yet. If you miss a festival seat, Dean Place and Shaeffer Ranch are both on its list of regular properties.
Weather, refunds and the kick-off venue
November in the valley can mean rain, and the festival's policy is clear about it:
Rain does not automatically result in cancellation; however, certain tours may be cancelled due to rain or other adverse weather conditions, depending on the activity and conditions.
If you decide to skip a tour because of rain and the tour still goes ahead, you will not get a refund. If the land trust cancels a tour, you can choose a substitute activity of equal value, donate the fee, or take a full refund minus processing fees. All cancellation requests go through the Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust by email at [email protected] or by phone at (530) 755-3568. You cannot cancel online.
The Friday kick-off party runs November 13 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. and costs $55, with member discounts that depend on membership level. It includes local food and wine, a silent auction, and a historical and cultural presentation by Jon Munger and Shelly Covert of the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe. The festival's pages disagree on the venue. The homepage and the Festival Events page name Montna Farms at 12755 Garden Highway in Yuba City. The tours page names Munger Family Vineyard, which is listed separately at 2144 Irwin Avenue in Sutter. Check your registration email or ask the land trust before you drive out.
Cordi's other weekends
Cordi Winery calls itself a family-farmed and family-operated vineyard and winery at the base of the Sutter Buttes. Its tasting page currently lists open weekends from noon to 5 p.m. on October 3 and 4, October 17 and 18, November 7 only, November 21 and 22, December 5 and 6, and December 19 and 20, without printing a year, so confirm a date by phone before going. Tasting is $10 per person on open weekends and $20 by appointment, which you can book at (530) 695-1785. On Saturday, October 3, at 1 p.m., Cordi is hosting a Barn Owl Paint & Sip, and tickets are required.
If spending time out by the Buttes this fall has you curious about the ranch and farm country around them, Jennifer Giffin is always glad to talk about the land, the roads out there and what owning property in that part of Sutter County involves. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
