Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

This national monument expansion provides deeper protections for land critical to protecting and supporting our communities, ecosystems, and endangered species. 

What is Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument?  
 

Two people sitting among a grassy hill side with purple flowers and trees in the distance

 

Designated in July 2015, Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is a geological wonder that hosts incredible amounts of biodiversity and provides a haven for recreation only an hour away from the Bay Bridge. This landscape is a perfect spot for camping, hiking, birding, and horseriding only a short drive away from the Bay Area.

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument peaks at over 7,000 ft above sea level, providing habitat for a large variety of threatened and endangered species, ranging from the northern spotted owl to Northern California steelhead fish. You might even spot (hopefully from a safe location) black bears, mountain lions, and condors on your visit!

With it’s designation and expansion, the additional 13,696 to the Monument's original 330,000 acres of land were given deeper protection, and the shared resources were managed by the combined efforts of the both Bureau of Land Management and local community stakeholders. From its astounding mountains and rock formations to the large offering of recreation, the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is a treasure for all to experience and enjoy in Sonoma County. 

 

Why is the expansion important? 
 

Image of the rocky ridge of Molok Luyuk with a view of trees below and sun rising/setting among the mountains in the distance
Molok Luyuk, “Condor Ridge” in Patwin, is only 13 miles away from the entrance of Berryessa Snow Mountain  Monument. Molok Luyuk is just one part of the historical land of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and Hill Patwin peoples. This land provided critical access to cultural and subsistence resources and served as a gathering site and trading route. There still remains many grave and village sites on this land. 

This serpentine soil and rocky terrain have also become the perfect habitat for mountain lions, tule elks, and the endangered Condor! Expanding the monument is an opportunity to protect a rare and rugged landscape that is sacred to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and critically important to conserve in the face of a changing climate. This expansion by the Biden administration is one of the few national monuments enabling in the United States the co-stewardshipwith its Indigenous stewards.

Under this national monument expansion, this land has been provided ongoing protection from development and irreparable ecological destruction. It has also given Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument the resources it needs to continue thriving for generations to come. Please express your appreciation for the expansion of this monument and push for more monuments below!
 

How can I visit Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument?
 

Image of golden yellows and yellow-green grass shrubby and leaves on smaller trees, a stream among the rocky walking path and rolling hills in the backdrop
To the east of wine country and northwest of Sacramento, Berryessa Snow Mountain is spread among Napa, Yolo, Solano, Lake, Colusa, Mendocino, and Glenn counties. To visit Berryessa Snow Mountain, enter from the 505 freeway and transfer onto Highway 16 freeway and follow the signs to the National Monument. You can also take the 5 freeway and transfer onto Highway 20. 

Molok Luyuk is located north of Highway 20 northeast of Clear Lake and is reached by the graveled Walker Ridge Road, which is accessible to cars with high clearance when dry. From the ridge of Molok Luyuk  you can see the grand sweep of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument from the Putah Creek gap to Snow Mountain Wilderness and all the views from Mt Konocti to the Sierra Nevada crest to the east.

 

Red claret cup cactus just off the trail to lower Calf Creek Falls in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

What is a National Monument?

National monuments are significant lands and waters designated for permanent protection. Unlike national parks, which only Congress can designate, monuments can either be established by Congress or by the President under the authority of the 1906 Antiquities Act. National monuments can only be created on land that is already federally managed.

Poppies at Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in Northern California

What is Sierra Club doing to protect and expand National Monuments?

Sierra Club chapters and volunteers are supporting locally and Tribally-led efforts across the country to urge President Biden to designate more public lands as national monuments in 2024. Protecting public lands as national monuments will keep drilling and logging from polluting our air, filter out existing pollutants, protect wildlife, and safeguard cultural landscapes and historic sites.

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