Historic San Mateo County Nude Beach to Become Part of New California State Park
A stunning slice of San Mateo County coastline with a popular nude beach will be added to California State Parks later this year — though clothing will no longer be optional.
Nonprofit land trust Peninsula Open Space Trust, which purchased the 238-acre property west of U.S. Highway 1 last spring, announced plans to donate the land to the state park system this year and will officially open the beach on July 29.
“We didn’t want to let that process get in the way of opening the property for public access,” POST President Gordon Clark said.
San Gregorio Ranch, just north of nearby San Gregorio State Beach, has sweeping ocean views, grasslands full of native plants and animals, a 3-acre pond, beach access and is “teeming with birds,” Clark said.
The ranch is also considered one of the first nude beaches in the state, according to Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, which will manage the day-to-day operations of the beach.
In general, nudity is not allowed at state parks, said Bonny Hawley, the group’s executive director. She said the parks system will educate the public about the rule change.
“As is the case for other beaches in California, the property line ends at the high-water mark,” Clark said.
The nonprofit has had its eye on the parcel since 1996, when the prior owner worked with POST to give up future development rights for conservation, Clark continued.
When the new owners of the property approached the nonprofit to sell, POST jumped on the chance to open up a new stretch of the San Mateo County coast.
“It’s a great opportunity to expand the existing state beach, and we’re just so excited for people to have the opportunity to get out there and to see it,” Clark said.
For the past year, the property has been closed for repairs and access improvements in preparation for its reopening. POST is also exploring future opportunities to route the California Coastal Trail through the property, Clark said.
“It’s still a long way off, but it’s something that we’ve had some conversations with state parks about,” he said.
This isn’t the only local state parks land the nonprofit has transferred this year. In April, the organization added 133 acres to nearby Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, tripling the size of the park.
Both of the transfers were made simpler due to a state law, passed last year, that streamlines the process for state parks to acquire land adjacent to existing state parks, Clark said.
First-time visitors to this stretch of beach, he said, should always bring layers and “not assume that hot days in the valley mean that the weather is going to be hot on the coast.”
And he encouraged visitors to get out there, as it’s “rare to have opportunities to open up stretches of the San Mateo coast and California’s coast more generally.”
The beach’s hours will be 8 a.m. to sunset. Parking will cost $8. Dogs will not be allowed on the beach but will be allowed on leash on trails and in parking lots and picnic areas only, according to Friends of Santa Cruz State Beaches.
“This is a spectacular property,” Hawley said. “The view from the cliff over to the ocean, the view up the coast toward Half Moon Bay, is just stunning.”