22-04-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Well-kept secret' Highway 1 beach property will be conserved
A hidden ranch south of Half Moon Bay, with a half mile of shoreline and a little-publicized clothing-optional beach, is being purchased by a Bay Area conservation group, adding to the vast network of protected lands along the San Mateo County coast.
Peninsula Open Space Trust announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to pay $10 million for the 195-acre oceanfront property at the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 84. POST officials say their intention is to keep the mix of bluffs, sand dunes and marsh from being developed and expand public access at the site.
Known by some in the area as San Gregorio Ranch, the land is currently owned by a family trust and managed by a couple of ranch hands who have generally allowed people to come and go for a small fee. Beach walkers, fishermen and clothing-free sunbathers are among the regulars. There's also a perennial herd of cattle on the property, and two small dwellings.
'It's a pretty well-kept secret,' said EkOngKar Singh Khalsa, senior land transaction manager for POST, on a recent visit to the ranch. 'You have to know when it's open. You have to know what number to call.'
The Palo Alto-based Peninsula Open Space Trust, which is in the business of preserving land, pursued the purchase of San Gregorio Ranch after its owner, Walter Bridge, died and the future of the property became less certain. Bridge had donated a conservation easement to POST decades ago, seeking to limit development on the property, and the purchase agreement, POST officials say, cements that objective.
In the short term, POST officials say they don't plan to make major changes to how the place is run. Visitors will be able to continue going to the beach, whether to lay in the sun, marvel at the vast stands of American dune grass or check out the 'driftwood condos' — play structures that people have built out of beached wood, sometimes two stories tall.
Over the long run, POST officials foresee easier and greater access to the gated property. In addition to welcoming people to the beach, they say the bluffs could become part of the route of the California Coastal Trail, the 1,200-mile chain of trails that's being pieced together along the coastline.
POST is also hoping to eventually transfer the property to a permanent steward, in keeping with its mission of seeking out lands for state and local entities to manage for public use. San Gregorio Ranch borders San Gregorio State Beach, to the south, making the California Department of Parks and Recreation a candidate for future ownership. State Parks has been supportive of POST's acquisition and in communication about the property's future.
'We're always looking at what the best long-term options are,' said Gordon Clark, president of POST. 'We're trying to set this property up for ecological health and meaningful public access.'
Under the agreement between POST and the Bridge family trust, the sale of the ranch won't be finalized until May of 2026, giving both parties additional time to prepare.
POST has begun a fund-raising campaign to collect $14 million to cover the purchase of the land as well as future maintenance and planning expenses. The organization has been working to protect lands on the San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay since 1977. The group has been part of the longtime effort to keep the San Mateo County shoreline largely free of development.
