Hit the Dunes on California’s Central Coast

A magnificent complex of dunes spanning 18 miles of the state’s Central Coast has a new name and a new visitor center.

A part of the dunes was designated Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge last year to protect the habitat of endangered or threatened species, such as the California least tern and the red-legged frog. The Dunes Center, an organization dedicated to preserving the sandy landscape here as well as promoting scientific research and educating visitors, opened an interpretive facility last year a couple of miles inland from the refuge.

The center, in the Santa Barbara County farming hamlet of Guadalupe, is well worth a stop before continuing to the dunes for a hike. The building is a piece of local history, a restored 1910 Craftsman house.

Kids will enjoy hands-on interactive computer exhibits that offer an entertaining and educational tour of the landscape and its birds, amphibians and reptiles. Other exhibits give insights into the history of the dunes, which have been known by several names: Pismo, Callender, Oceano, Guadalupe and Nipomo.

The set constructed for director Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 epic motion picture, “The Ten Commandments,” is buried in the sand here. You can learn about plans to unearth huge statues of pharaohs and the rest of what is thought to be one of the largest sets made for a silent film.

Anyone interested in the epic (and ongoing) dunes preservation efforts will enjoy a new book, “Defender of the Dunes--the Kathleen Goddard Jones Story,” by Virginia Cornell (Manifest Publications, 2001). It’s an engaging biography of a gutsy conservationist who began a 30-year struggle to save the dunes when she was nearly 60. (Goddard Jones died earlier this month.) A longtime Sierra Club activist, Goddard Jones worked to prevent PG&E; from building a nuclear power plant amid her beloved dunes.

The Dunes Center sponsors an ambitious schedule of hikes with names such as the “Oso Flaco Sunset Hike,” “Cecil B. DeMille Birthday Hike,” “The Fascinating World of the Western Snowy Plover,” “A Scavenger Hunt for the Senses” and “Evening Hike to Mussel Rock.” Other docent-led interpretive walks focus on botanical and animal life, bird-watching and dune photography.

On the recommendation of the Dunes Center, my family recently enjoyed a guided walk around Black Lake, one of a few small freshwater lakes found in the troughs between dunes. The two-mile hike circled the lake and explored a preserve under the stewardship of the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County. Birds were abundant in this hidden jewel, which lies north of the Guadalupe-Nipomo wildlife refuge.

If you prefer a self-guided hike, the Dunes Center is close to the two best hiker-friendly spots. From Guadalupe, follow Main Street five miles west to Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park, which lies just south of the wildlife refuge. Or drive three miles north on California 1, then turn west on Oso Flaco Lake Road and go three miles to a splendid boardwalk path to Oceano Dunes.

Local conservationists are raising money for a trail that would lead from the new Guadalupe center to the sand. Such a path would boost the center’s conservation efforts, hiking program and the town of Guadalupe.

Directions: From U.S. 101 in Santa Maria, exit on Main Street and drive nine miles west to California 1. Turn right (north) on California 1 (also called Guadalupe Street here) and drive a mile to the edge of town. The Dunes Center is on the west side of the street.

For more information: The Dunes Center is at 1055 Guadalupe St., Guadalupe, CA 93434; call (805) 343-2455 or visit https://www.dunescenter.org. Hours are noon to 4:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

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For more of John McKinney’s tips, visit https://www.thetrailmaster.com.