Set on the southern end of the massive Sultan Sea, California’s largest lake—and surrounded by sprawling agricultural operations—is the nearly 38,000-plus acre Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. One of the most important bird migration spots on the Pacific Flyway, more than 400 species of birds have been sighted in the refuge including many endangered and at-risk species.
The Salton Sea was accidentally formed in 1905 when Colorado River-fed irrigation canals in the Imperial Valley burst, sending floodwaters into a desert sink. The sea expanded to 400 square miles launching a recreation and a real estate boom. But since the 1970s it’s been shrinking (currently at 343 square miles), plagued with high salinity, and polluted by agricultural runoff.
USFWS Pacific Southwest Region
Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
Alarmed conservationists and government officials initiated several actions to save the dying lake. Sixties pop singer (with then wife Cher) Sonny Bono who served as neighboring Palm Springs mayor in the late 80s and later as the district’s congressman, championed restoring the Salton Sea. The national wildlife refuge established in 1930 to protect bird habitat, was renamed for Bono in 1998 (after his untimely death) honoring his commitment to the lake’s recovery.
Public domain
Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
A crucial feeding stop for many birds migrating from the Arctic to South America as well as a wintering ground for scores of species; the refuge consists of thousands of acres of shoreline, wetlands, desert scrub and farmland. At an elevation of 227 feet below sea level, temperatures here in the Colorado Desert rival those of Death Valley to the north. It can be brutally hot in the summer. But in winter with agreeable temperatures and birds present in great numbers, you’ll want to visit.
The refuge consists of two managing units with two trails open year round for hiking and wildlife observing. Near the refuge’s visitor’s center is a one-mile trail that traverses all of the refuge’s habitat types on its way to Rock Hill. From this small volcano, take in sweeping views of the massive lake and Imperial Valley.
The Hardenberger Trail allows for more intimate birdwatching with its observation tower and route right along the edge of cattail marshes and wetland pools. On my recent visit, I stood mesmerized watching scores of elegant white-faced ibises and black-necked stilts; and thousands of cackling wintering snow geese. Sandhill cranes, tundra and trumpeter swans, eared grebes, white pelicans, ruddy ducks and Yuma rails also winter here. With more than 90 percent of California’s original wetlands lost, the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge has become one of the most important stopovers and nesting sights on the Pacific Flyway.
Learn more at fws.gov/refuge/sonny-bono-salton-sea. Plan your trip at visitcalifornia.com.