Sutter Buttes in the Central Valley is a remote state park without public access. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

While it’s called Peace Valley, in some ways it is still contentious land. That’s because this state park in Northern California is surrounded by private property; and some owners would just assume the state not be involved.

The park doesn’t even have a name even though the state has owned the nearly 1,800 acres since 2003. It’s referred to as the State Park at Sutter Buttes. It’s been known as the Sutter Buttes since 1927; and is considered the smallest mountain range in the United States.

On the last Tuesday of April a group of hikers with OLLI were led on about a 4-mile excursion by a State Parks’ employee.

This was my second hike in the Buttes. Four years ago I hiked North Butte with the Middle Mountain group, a nonprofit that leads interpretive hikes in the Sutter Buttes. The only way to access the Buttes and the park is to know someone or be with an organized group.

On the more recent trek, beyond the natural beauty, it was the wild pigs and the Pugh homestead that captured my attention.

It’s surmised these animals were introduced by landowners in the 1970s. They are prolific reproducers, with 2.5 litters a year the norm, with seven to 11 in a litter. One problem is there is not predator for the pig, so the population easily grows.

“They can rototill an area overnight,” the docent said. “If you can’t control the pigs, you can’t do restoration.”

While it’s been three years since this park had uncontrolled cattle grazing, the cows and pigs have damaged natural springs, with the pigs continuing to destroy the land.

This park has no dedicated funding; it gets about $85,000 a year. So, a true concerted effort to control the pigs has not happened. Some trapping has occurred. Pig hunts have been talked about. The answer to this pig problem is still unresolved.

While we saw two groups of pigs, it was at a distance. Along parts of the hike we saw various spots where they had left their mark.

John Sutter was the first white person to lay claim to land in the Buttes. Part of the hike was along the old road that took wagons into Marysville.

Aaron Pugh put up stakes in this valley in about 1830 when he was in his 30s. For his third wife Pugh built a nine-room house that was perfect for entertaining. Water was piped in from a spring. Remnants of the structure are still visible. Pugh owned about 2,000 acres in the Buttes when he died; almost all of the land that now comprises the state park. A family cemetery sits on hill with a gorgeous view.