POST Acquires 183-Acre Property in
Half Moon Bay
February 22, 2005
The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has acquired 183 acres of scenic land on the San Mateo Coast that may one day serve as a link in an extensive trail network from Skyline Ridge to the Pacific Ocean.
Rising between Lobitos and Tunitas creeks four miles southeast of Half Moon Bay, the property climbs up wooded valleys and grassy slopes, culminating in a long, narrow ridge with ocean views. The sloping land features scrub-covered knolls, lush meadows, redwood groves, eucalyptus stands, and a winding, willow-lined creek. It was purchased from a private owner for $2.25 million as part of POST's $200 million Saving the Endangered Coast campaign.
"We are extremely pleased to be protecting the natural integrity of this land," said POST President Audrey Rust. "If POST had not acquired it, two sprawling trophy homes could have been built on the flat areas along the ridge top. Any development would have been highly visible from neighboring ridgelines and would have impeded possible future hiking connections between the Bay Area Ridge Trail and the California Coastal Trail."
POST succeeded with the purchase and is now focused on raising funds through its Saving the Endangered Coast campaign to cover the cost of acquiring this land. POST hopes that a donor, or group of donors, will come forward with a major contribution and create an opportunity to name the parcel.
"This is exceptionally beautiful land that presents a perfect opportunity for someone who values open space protection to make a real difference," said Rust. "It's a fitting legacy for anyone committed to preserving the wild and rural character of our local natural lands for all time."
The property was originally part of the Cañada de Verde Y Arroyo de la Purisima Spanish Land Grant in 1865. The property's upper reaches offer dramatic views of the ocean, Lobitos Ridge, Bald Knob, and the Lobitos and Tunitas creek valleys. Irish Ridge, the windswept divide between the two creeks, crosses the southeast portion of the property at an elevation of about 1,200 feet. Most of the land lies on the northwest flank of this ridge, which slopes down steeply to Lobitos Creek.
The property is adjacent to two other open space parcels: POST's Lobitos Ridge property across the creek, and the Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD). A striking diversity of habitats flourishes here, including open northern coastal scrub, a mixed redwood and Douglas fir forest, eucalyptus plantings, and a half-mile riparian corridor, which provides important steelhead trout habitat and spawning areas. Portions of the property have previously been logged.
The acquisition adds to the growing network of protected lands on the San Mateo Coast. The property is a likely addition to MROSD's Purisima Creek preserve, which already contains 7.2 miles of trail from Skyline Ridge all the way down to the property. In the future, another 4-mile trail addition could extend through the new acquisition, continuing out to the coast, where it would connect with the California Coastal Trail.