Stunning Bay Area coastal ranch with nude beach to become part of state park
California State Parks will expand its holdings along the San Mateo County coast with the acquisition of a rare half-mile stretch of undeveloped beach and bluffs, known as San Gregorio Ranch.
The site, about 10 miles south of Half Moon Bay, is perhaps best known for its isolated sandy shores where hardy groups of Bay Area sunbathers have long convened in the buff. But beyond the nude beach, the 240-acre ranch is home to swaths of dunes, marsh and prairie as well as a pond with sweeping views of the Pacific.
The Palo Alto-based conservation group, Peninsula Open Space Trust, bought the coastal property last year to protect it. The nonprofit announced Monday that it will donate its $10 million purchase to the state.
"The location and the viewshed there are absolutely outstanding," said Chris Spohrer, superintendent of the Santa Cruz district of State Parks, which will manage the site. "You look out from what is going to be the trailhead and the parking area, and you see nothing but ocean, beach and bluffs."
As part of the deal, the property will open to the public on July 29 as an extension of the adjacent San Gregorio State Beach - even before State Parks takes official ownership. The new parkland will increase the size of the existing San Gregorio State Beach by more than 50%. Day-to-day operations will be managed by the nonprofit group Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. State Parks personnel will regularly patrol the area.
The land, which was once owned by a dairy farmer and periodically opened to the public by a couple of ranch hands, was closed off for repairs after POST inked a deal to buy the property in April of last year.
The nonprofit group proceeded to improve and expand a trail that connects the spot where visitors have historically accessed the property, near the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 84, to San Gregorio State Beach to the south. Improvements have also been made to roads, the parking area and beach-access trails.
Along with continued upgrades, the site is intended to provide a future link for the California Coastal Trail, the network of public access corridors planned to run the entire length of the state's 1,200-mile coastline.
"Protecting this property and ensuring its long-term stewardship as part of the California State Park system fulfills POST's mission and vision on multiple levels," said Gordon Clark, POST's president, in a statement. "Not only is this land great for human visitors, but it is home to a rare stand of native dune grass and other important habitats that many species rely on."
POST has worked to protect natural lands on the San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay since 1977. The group raised more than $16 million for the purchase of San Gregorio Ranch, the recent improvements and the establishment of an endowment for State Parks to continue managing the site.
The park will be open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset, consistent with the hours of the adjacent state beach.
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