The Novillo line camp is one of the last remnants of the The Dunn Ranch. So that cattle could be worked all over the island, Dunn built a series of three line camps at 15 mile intervals: Novillo, Black Hill, and Green Hill. The 15 mile interval was the distance cattle could be rounded up and driven in one day. (a day starting at 4:00 am and lasting until dusk). Each line camp consisted of a large trap, a bunkhouse for the vaqueros (cowboys), a private bunkhouse for himself, an outdoor kitchen, and smaller traps and corrals. Furniture and building materials for the camps came from driftwood and shipwreck debris found on the beaches.
Today, the Novillo Line Camp is largely intact with a collection of small buildings, a pump well, wind mill with concrete water holder, and barbed wire and board corrals. After you pass the entrance station, you will see a road on the right that goes to Bird Island Basin. Look to your left to see the Novillo Line Camp.
The camp is not easily accessible, but the park has plans to create a boardwalk to the camp.
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