For decades, beachgoers at San Gregorio Ranch — a privately owned stretch of coastline in San Mateo County — could sunbathe naked on one of California’s most scenic beaches.
But that era will come to an end in two weeks when the beloved ranch dubbed “Bare Bottom Beach” is taken over by the state and becomes part of the San Gregorio State Beach.
The announcement, made by state park officials Monday — a day before National Nude Day — drew mixed reactions from conservationists and naturists, the preferred term for people who enjoy being nude in public settings.
State Parks Director Armando Quintero and conservation advocates said the expansion is a boost for public access and the long-term protection of the state’s coastline.
“We’re expanding opportunity, protecting the places that define our state and building a healthier, more connected and more resilient California for generations to come,” Quintero said in a written statement.
But naturists and nudists view the change as the loss of a beloved beach that for generations has remained untouched and helped define California’s role in the nation’s modern nudism movement, according to the American Assn. for Nude Recreation.
“I’m not happy about it,” said Bob Morton, who has visited the beach. “And the reason is that the state park system has decided that all their parks are going to be clothed because God intended you to wear swimming trunks at the beach?”
“It seems counterintuitive,” he added. “You go there to be one with nature.”
The changes began in April when the Peninsula Open Space Trust, a private nonprofit land trust that aims to protect open space on the Peninsula and in the South Bay, purchased the 238-acre ranch site from its owners for $10 million.
The group said it plans to donate the land to the state parks later this year. In doing so, state park officials say, the no-cost transfer would make it one of the largest park expansions since Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in April that he planned to expand the state park system by adding three new parks and expanding existing ones by 30,000 acres by 2030.
“San Gregorio Ranch is a stunning coastal property, with incredible views of the Pacific and our impressive coastline,” Gordon Clark, president of the trust, said in a written 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.”
San Gregorio Ranch, located five miles south of Half Moon Bay, includes a narrow beach dotted with driftwood and flat-top bluffs that provide a sweeping view of the coastline.
It is considered one of the earliest nude beaches in the state. It was here where Jeff Poland, one of the pioneers of the “Free Beach Movement” of the 1960s and ‘70s, was arrested, according to the National Assn. for Nude Recreation.
His case went before the California Supreme Court in 1972, which declared that nudity was not in itself illegal unless accompanied by “lewdness.” The ruling allowed for naturists to take over areas of the beach and move along when other beachgoers objected to it.
In 1996, the previous landowner donated a conservation easement to the trust with the intention of protecting the land’s mix vegetation and wildlife that includes the California king snake, California red-legged frog and the acorn woodpecker.
The most significant change came in April, when the trust purchased the land.
The ranch section of the state park will open July 29 under a new agreement between the trust, state parks and the nonprofit operating partner Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, which will support day-to-day park operations, including visitor services staffing and entrance fee collection.
State Parks Santa Cruz District Superintendent Chris Spohrer said in a written statement that the expansion of public access is rare and he looked forward to managing the property.
“San Gregorio Ranch has been a beloved beach property on an informal basis for decades,” he said, “and State Parks is grateful for POST’s partnership in helping make it a permanent feature of the beachgoing experience on the San Mateo County coast.”
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