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Offers the visitor interpretive displays and exhibits explaining the uniqueness of the Carrizo Plain and the adjoining Elkhorn Plain. A gift shop sells merchandise ranging from stickers and magnets to posters, books and tee shirts. A ranger is available to answer questions. Informational maps and brochures are available at the front door when the Center is closed. The Visitor Center driveway may be closed if road conditions are too muddy for vehicles. Visitors are welcome to hike in during these times. Handicapped accessible restrooms at the Visitor Center remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the year.
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About 3,000 – 4,000 years ago, Native Americans began to paint their sacred images within the alcove of the rock, and the sandstone formation has drawn the attention of Carrizo Plain visitors ever since. From March 1 to July 15 Painted Rock can be visited only via BLM guided tours; no other form of public visitation is allowed during this time period. From July 16 to the end of February self-guided tours are allowed by permit only. A tour reservation or permit can be obtained online or by calling 1-877-444-6777, and can sometimes also be obtained at the Goodwin Education Center.
Soda Lake is a normally dry lakebed that covers an area of about 3,000 acres, and is one of the dominant geographic features of the Carrizo Plain. A crust of sodium sulfates and carbonates are the result of evaporating mineral-laden surface water. The Soda Lake trail begins at Soda Lake Road, across from Overlook Hill, and takes visitors to the edge of Soda Lake. Round trip, the trail is .9 miles. Soda Lake is dry much of the year but during the wet season, you may see wildflowers, fairy shrimp, sandhill cranes, avocets, stilts and other shore or aquatic birds.
Wallace Creek (dry most of the year) crosses the San Andreas fault and provides evidence of the motion of earth over the past 3800 years. An interpretive trail shows how the once-straight creek was twisted by large earthquakes every few hundred years, resulting in the right-angle bends in the creek today; geologists call this feature an offset channel. The interpretive trail is a total round trip of 1.4 miles.