Hiking Trails in Glenn County, California: Complete Trail Guide

Glenn County is flat Sacramento Valley agricultural land centered on Willows and Orland, and it won’t be anyone’s primary hiking destination. However, Black Butte Lake, a 40-mile-shoreline reservoir just outside Orland, and quiet eastern access into Mendocino National Forest both offer real reasons to stop and explore the few Hiking Trails in Glenn County, especially for anyone already driving I-5 between Sacramento and Redding.

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Hiking in Glenn County: Sacramento Valley trails and Mendocino Forest access

Glenn County’s real hiking centers on Black Butte Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir near Orland with more than a dozen miles of trail through oak woodland and basalt terrain.

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex adds birdwatching access near Willows, and the county’s western edge touches Mendocino National Forest’s eastern slope, including approach routes to Snow Mountain Wilderness that see far less traffic than the Lake County side of the same forest.

None of this makes Glenn County a hiking destination on its own, but it’s a worthwhile detour rather than a pure highway pass-through. That same Sacramento Valley farmland continues south into Colusa County.

Best hiking trails at Black Butte Lake, Glenn County

Black Butte Lake formed in 1963 with the completion of Black Butte Dam on Stony Creek, and its 4,460-acre surface (at high water) is ringed by 40 miles of shoreline and black basalt buttes that give the lake its name, creating striking terrain for a reservoir this close to the flat valley floor.

Buckhorn Trail: Glenn County’s best oak woodland day hike

A 5-mile round trip through rolling oak savanna from the Buckhorn Recreation Area, with lake views and a real spring wildflower show: poppies, blue dicks, and owl’s clover typically peak March through April, turning the hillsides colorful for a few weeks each year.

A $5 day-use fee applies, and the trail is open year-round, though spring and fall both beat summer’s valley heat for comfort, since the exposed oak savanna offers limited shade through the middle of the day.

Waterfall Trail: Glenn County’s best short seasonal nature walk

A 2-mile round trip on the lake’s north shore to a seasonal waterfall that flows best February through April after winter rain, passing through oak woodland canyon with interpretive signage along the way explaining the local geology and wildlife.

It’s flat and family-friendly apart from one moderate creek crossing, with the same $5 day-use fee as the rest of the recreation area, and it’s a good pairing with the Buckhorn Trail if you want two different short hikes in one visit.

Wildlife refuge trails in Glenn County

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex includes several units in and around Glenn County, though public access varies significantly between them, a distinction worth understanding before you plan a specific visit around one.

Sacramento and Delevan National Wildlife Refuges: Glenn County’s best birdwatching access

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, the complex’s flagship unit near Willows, offers a real auto-tour route and short walking trails with a visitor center, making it the better bet for an actual on-foot birding experience and the one most visitors searching for “wildlife refuge hiking near Willows” actually want.

Delevan National Wildlife Refuge, also in Glenn County near Maxwell, is mostly closed to general public access: viewing is limited to public roads (Maxwell Road, Four Mile Road) plus hunting and reservation-only photography-blind access, not a walkable trail system, so don’t plan a hiking trip specifically around Delevan.

Both units see waterfowl numbers peak from October through February, with counts regularly topping 300,000 ducks and 100,000 geese across the complex during the Pacific Flyway’s winter peak, making this stretch of the Sacramento Valley one of the most significant wintering grounds for waterfowl on the entire West Coast.

Mendocino National Forest trails accessible from Glenn County

Glenn County’s western edge offers a quieter, eastern approach into Mendocino National Forest through the Elk Creek and Stony Creek area, including access near East Park Reservoir. Black Rock Mountain is reachable via a roughly 5-mile round trip from the remote trailhead, climbing into the rugged eastern slopes of the Coast Range.

It is significantly less visited than the same forest’s western approach through Lake County, making it an option for hikers who want Coast Range terrain without Coast Range crowds. The access roads into this part of the forest are rougher and less signed than a typical national forest trailhead, so a paper map or downloaded offline route is worth having before you head out, since cell coverage disappears fast once you’re off the main county roads.

If you’re building broader hiking skills, our trail difficulty guide can help you match these trails to your experience level, and reading a trail map is worth practicing before venturing into Mendocino National Forest’s less-signed eastern slopes.

Glenn County isn’t a hiking destination in its own right, but Black Butte Lake’s oak-woodland trails and the Sacramento Valley’s wildlife refuges both earn a stop if you’re already passing through on I-5. Check current fire and heat conditions before a summer visit, since valley temperatures here run hot with little shade on most of the county’s open trails, and plan wildlife refuge visits around the October-through-February peak season if birds are the main draw.

Frequently asked questions about hiking trails in Glenn County