Guadalupe Dunes Preserve consists of 600 acres of coastal active dunes, with undeveloped native habitat and sensitive plants and animals, including western snowy plover and California least tern. It features a towering 550-foot high dunes (the tallest on the West Coast), two miles of beach, the Santa Maria River estuary, fore dunes, back dunes and riparian.

In January of 2023 the Santa Maria River shifted off its natural path following heavy rains and washed out a long stretch of the preserve's primary access road. The preserve remained closed for seven months until Seamair Construction was brought in to do repairs to the roadway following the storm damage.