The winter months, especially November through March, offer high concentrations of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds such as pintails, western grebes, willets and godwits, sandpipers, and many more birds following the Pacific Flyway. Up to 70 different species may be counted on a winter day!

The Bolsa Chica includes over 1200 acres of undeveloped wetlands, Lowlands, and lower Mesa. This area is rich with history, from its early beginnings with the Native Americans who lived atop the mesas to the oil production of the twentieth century.

 

The Bolsa Chica is also an important stop for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway, including some endangered species and threatened species, and more than 200 species of birds have been sighted at Bolsa Chica.

Bolsa Chica Tours
The Amigos de Bolsa Chica organization provides off-site programs and guided tours of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve for thousands of schoolchildren and adults. Trained docents lead all Amigos de Bolsa Chica tours.

The FIRST SATURDAY TOUR offers an exceptional on-site presentation of the Bolsa Chica Story. On the first Saturday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., docents gather at the south lot of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, across the street from the main entrance to Bolsa Chica State Beach. Tours are stationed on the footbridge, a truly magnificent entrance to the restored Bolsa Chica wetlands. Tours begin every 15 minutes and five areas of interest are included in the presentation: history, birds, endangered species, ecology and restoration. This free tour operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and is a wonderful opportunity for vacationers, students, small groups and local citizens to visit a valuable eco-resource. 

 

Similar in nature to the First Saturday Tour is the FOOTBRIDGE LECTURE TOUR, a reserved private group tour. Cost for this tour is $1 per person with $25 minimum fee. Tours are approximately 1 to 1¼  hours in length, with a maximum tour size of 80 people. Popular with school groups, Scouts, birders, and first-time visitors to Bolsa Chica, this tour is also recommended for visitors with special needs and younger visitors. 

 

The MESA TOUR offers an opportunity for visitors to hike the Mesa Trail while listening to the Bolsa Chica Story. For those who have visited Bolsa Chica before and love an adventure, this is a way to enjoy the area from a different point of view. Overlooking the Bolsa Chica Lowlands, Bolsa Chica State Beach and the Pacific Ocean, the Mesa provides a dramatic view of the entire ecosystem. The Mesa has been of particular interest to archaeologists who have found various artifacts that are several thousand years old from Native American cultures. Visitors park at the north lot of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve on Warner Avenue (near the Warner/PCH intersection), at the site of the Bolsa Chica Interpretive Center. Cost for this tour is $1 per person with $25 minimum fee. Tours are approximately 1 to 1 ¼ hours in length. All tour participants must be at least 7 years old, and there is a requirement of one adult per ten children. Please wear closed-toe shoes and be aware that wildlife will be present. 

 

The OVERLOOKS TRAIL TOUR starts on the footbridge, where visitors observe underwater life, then continues on the renovated 1 ½-mile Overlooks Trail to see marsh plants and a wide variety of birds. While walking along the trail, visitors will hear the Bolsa Chica Story and see a fabulous view of the Bolsa Chica Lowlands from two raised overlooks along the Trail. The Mesa Trail and a third overlook farther along the trail can be accessed after the scheduled docent-led tour. Visitors are encouraged to bring binoculars and wear comfortable closed-toe shoes. Cost for this tour is $1 per person with $25 minimum fee. Tours are approximately 2 hours in length. This tour is popular with bird watchers, Scouts, first-time visitors and devoted followers of the Bolsa Chica who desire to Rediscover Bolsa Chica.

 

 

The Amigos de Bolsa Chica is one of the oldest and most successful environmental preservation organizations in California. The mission of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica is

“For over 33 years, our volunteers have recognized the importance of restored wetlands in Huntington Beach, California and what that would mean to our community. From the very beginning, the Amigos’ de Bolsa Chica group saw the value of saving the wetlands and now it is one of the largest in California; extremely vital to our community, county, and even the nation,” says Dettloff.

 

In 1997, the Amigos spearheaded an effort that resulted in the state's acquisition of 880 acres of wetlands with principal funds provided by the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. With an additional 41 acres purchased by the state in 2005, the public now owns over 1200 acres of wetlands/lowlands.

 

The Amigos de Bolsa Chica closely monitors the wetland restoration project and future wetland management. The $110 million Bolsa Chica Lowland Restoration Project, financed almost entirely by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as part of the mitigation for their expansion, opened to much fanfare from the press and public on August 24, 2006.  

August 24, 2006: newly constructed tidal inlet is opened at 6:00 am. Crews worked through the night during the low tide to remove the sand dam that stood between the ocean and the Bolsa Chica Lowlands Restoration Project area.

For the first time in 107 years, the tide was once again flowing into parts of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands that had been cut off from the ocean in 1899. It was an historic occasion for Amigos de Bolsa Chica who have worked for over 30 years to acquire, preserve and restore the wetlands. 

If you are interested in insuring the future well-being of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands and would like to become a member of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, print, fill out and mail in a membership application available at www.amigosdebolsachica.org.

 

There are also opportunities for volunteering your time, becoming a docent, leading tours of the wetlands and general information regarding the Wetlands and the organization on the website.

About the Bolsa Chica Land Trust
The Bolsa Chica Land Trust was formed in 1992 by a small group of Californians who believed that one of the last standing wetlands ecosystems in Southern California was worth preserving for future generations. The Land Trust now includes more than 5000 members from throughout California and twenty other states.

The mission of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust is to acquire, restore and preserve the entire 1700 acres of the mesa, lowlands and wetlands of the Bolsa Chica, and to educate the public about this natural treasure. The Land Trust conducts educational programs to build awareness about the role of the Bolsa Chica wetlands system in the natural and urban environment, and tell the story of its rich history. The Land Trust's Bolsa Chica Stewards have been working since 1996 on the mesa re-vegetation project. Over 2000 volunteers have spent thousands of hours replanting the mesa. More than 8,000 native plants have been planted at the Bolsa Chica Mesa. Over 15,000 volunteer hours have been logged. Volunteers of all ages are bringing the Mesa back to life.

The Bolsa Chica Stewards, the restoration team of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, have two work days each month. Working on the Reserve for the past 13 years, the Stewards focus on restoring native plant habitat on the Mesa. Workdays are the first Sunday and the third Saturday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Meet at the Reserve North Parking Lot located at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach (across from the fire station). Please “dress for mess” with long pants and closed toe shoes (like sneakers) and plenty of sunscreen. For more information, please contact director Kim Kolpin at 714-717-6304 or check our website at www.bolsachicalandtrust.org.