Jack London State Historic Park, a Wine Country treasure, marks a milestone

San Francisco Chronicle​

18-05-2025

Brandon and Lindsay Tiffany were at the entry kiosk for Jack London State Historic Park on Sunday morning when they were advised by the volunteer attendant that the 1 millionth visitor would be coming through that day, and that it could very well be either Tiffany or their daughter, Ayla, 4, or son, Noah, 1.
'That would be cool,' said Lindsay, who entered the drawing for a prize basket that contained an annual pass to the Sonoma County park, a copy of 'The Call of the Wild,' London's most famous book, plus other swag. The drawing was at the end of Call of the Wild Day, an all-day free event to celebrate the overwhelming success of the first state park to be operated by a nonprofit organization, which goes back to 2012 when Jack London Park Partners was formed to keep the park, created in 1960, from possible closure during a state budget crunch. Admission is by the carload, at $10 per, which made it impossible to designate the exact moment when the millionth person came through.
But at an average of 2.5 passengers per car, they were able to narrow it down to sometime in May and for the sake of the celebration, narrow it further to one of the 2,000 people expected on Call of the Wild Day.
'At some point, who knows when that point will be, the 1 millionth person will come through,' said Lindsay, who lives in Santa Rosa and was trying not to be greedy. 'We'd be happy just to get the one-year pass.'
That would mean her family would not have to pay the $10 fee, which was waived for all cars on Call of the Wild Day. Also free were hayrides around the Beauty Ranch, a blacksmith demonstration, art projects for kids, wine tasting, country music at the picnic grounds, and food for sale at the Tri Tip Trolley for those who forgot their own picnics.
'We treat everyone like they are the 1 millionth visitor,' said Kristi Lanusse, associate director of donor relations and marketing.
The Glen Ellen park operates on a $1.75 million annual budget, with car admission fees and gift sales accounting for about $250,000. The rest comes from donations, grants and community programs, which are enough to keep the park open every day except for Christmas. Every day is staffed by a rotating cast drawn from a pool of 250 volunteers.
'This place doesn't pencil out without the volunteers,' said Matt Leffert, executive director and chief hayride tractor driver. Leffert is aware of the standard Jack London sets as the first nonprofit to fund and operate a state park, and other parks have sought out the same formula, though without the same success.
'The Bay Area is rich in partners for state parks, and ours works exceptionally well,' he said on a break from tractor driving. 'We live in a generous and philanthropic community with a capacity to give.'
It helps that the park is in the Sonoma Valley Wine Country with vineyards along the road that leads to the 1,500 acres that the author accumulated in pieces after moving to an existing winery in 1911. In the five years before his death, in 1916 at age 40, he developed it as a working ranch with an innovative circular barn called the Pig Palace, all while writing his quota of 1,000 words a day.
Lauren and Colin Hart of Santa Rosa had read more of these words than most visitors, having both finished 'The Call of the Wild,' but also the more obscure and autobiographical 'Martin Eden.'
But neither had been to the state park since a school field trip when they were growing up in Healdsburg. Sunday was the fourth annual Call of the Wild Day, and the winds that were howling Saturday had magically stilled, leaving a scrubbed blue sky, so they loaded up their daughters, Nora, 4, and Robin 1.
On their way from the hayride to the shaved ice stand, they learned that the 1 millionth visitor was on the premises.
'It could be us,' Lauren said. 'That would be quite the surprise given that we didn't even know it was happening.'
The drawing for the prize basket would not be until after the event ended, at 5 p.m. but Lindsay Tiffany would be willing to wait if not for her two antsy kids.
'I love it out here,' she said, in the shade of the eucalyptus that London had planted as one of his schemes. 'It's beautiful and a nice, family-friendly place that is walkable.'
In the ultimate compliment, she even planned to recommend a London novel to her Santa Rosa moms book group. ''Valley of the Moon' would be cool,' she said.