Scenic coastal bluffs that stretch for more than a mile near one of the Bay Area’s most dramatic coastal landmarks, Pigeon Point Lighthouse, would be added to California’s state parks system under a proposed deal unveiled Monday.
Under the agreement, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, a non-profit environmental group based in Palo Alto, will donate 132 acres of oceanfront coastal property just south of the lighthouse in southern San Mateo County to the California Department of Parks and Recreation.
The group, known as POST, has owned the property since 1997. Abutting the northern end of Año Nuevo State Park, it was was once zoned for luxury houses.
Instead the transfer would increase the size of Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park from 75 acres to 207 acres. The park is home to the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast, a towering 115-foot-tall white brick structure built in 1871 that has been beloved by millions of visitors for generations, and offer an opportunity to expand public oceanfront hiking trails.
On Monday state parks officials disclosed their interest in obtaining the property at a public meeting and said they are under negotiations now to take title.
“It’s a property with incredible views of the coast,” said Darla Guenzler, chief of acquisitions and real property at state parks. “It’s also great chunk of the California coast that would be available to the public.”
State parks officials did not announce a date the deal will close, but it and several others discussed Monday are expected within the next few months, sources said.
The deal was one of six transactions totaling 934 acres to expand five state parks that Guenzler and several state parks district superintendents outlined Monday at the meeting.
They also announced an effort to expand Mount Diablo State Park in Contra Costa County by acquiring a 101-acre property on its northern edge called Black Point Slope from CEMEX, a Mexican building materials company that owns a quarry nearby and has offered to donate it to the park since 2022. The property already had a popular hiking trail through it.
“We’re just thrilled,” said Ted Clement, executive director of Save Mount Diablo, an environmental group that has worked for decades to expand and protect the 3,848-acre East Bay peak. “This is a very lovely property and it will be an outstanding addition to Mount Diablo State Park.”
The property, defined by oak woodlands and scenic views, has been on state parks’ radar for a while, officials said.
“The trail there is well used and well loved by visitors,” said Clint Elsholz, district superintendent of state parks’ Diablo Range District. “This potential acquisition would help ensure that the trail remains protected and available for public use in the future.”
The proposed acquisitions come after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last year, SB 630, that streamlines the process for state parks to accept donations of land, or buy properties for less than $1 million, that are adjacent to existing state parks or surrounded by them entirely.
Over the past 15 years, California has added almost no new land to its state parks system, despite a growing population. The state has established only one new state park, Dos Rios near Modesto, since 2009, when the last one, Fort Ord Dunes north of Monterey, was opened on the former Fort Ord Army base.
The new law that Newsom signed, which was pushed by land trusts and environmental groups, and authored by State Sen. Ben Allen, D-El Segundo, was seen as a way to help improve and expand California’s parks system without adding significant new costs.
Before the law’s passage, small acquisitions, even of land donated, required multiple approvals from the state Public Works Board, Department of General Services, Department of Finance and other parts of the Sacramento bureaucracy.
“There were way too many bureaucratic hurdles,” Clement said. “They would slow up the process so much that many of these deals died. The landowners didn’t want to wait that long. The new trend is very significant. It’s an exciting time. We should celebrate and be grateful. It’s the start of a new era.”
The new law required a public meeting before state parks can accept new lands.
A drone view of the 132 acres of oceanfront coastal property just south of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, top left, in Pescadero, Calif. on Monday, March 16, 2026. The Peninsula Open Space Trust, a non-profit group based in Palo Alto, will donate the 132 acres to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of the 132 acres of oceanfront coastal property just south of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero, Calif. on Monday, March 16, 2026. The Peninsula Open Space Trust, a non-profit group based in Palo Alto, will donate the 132 acres to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse looking south in Pescadero, Calif. on Monday, March 16, 2026. The Peninsula Open Space Trust, a non-profit group based in Palo Alto, will donate 132 acres of oceanfront coastal property, seen in top of photo, just south of the lighthouse in southern San Mateo County to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero, Calif. on Monday, March 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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A drone view of the 132 acres of oceanfront coastal property just south of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, top left, in Pescadero, Calif. on Monday, March 16, 2026. The Peninsula Open Space Trust, a non-profit group based in Palo Alto, will donate the 132 acres to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Under Monday’s meeting, the first of its kind since the law took effect Jan. 1, state parks officials also outlined plans to acquire the Potter and Mortensen properties, which together total 31 acres, to add to Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz County. The parcels, located near the Saddle Mountain area of the park just off Highway 236 on its eastern edge, will be used as part of the rebuilding effort after the 2020 CZU Lightning Fire, which burned 97% of Big Basin, including ranger housing, the visitor center and campgrounds.
Also at the meeting, they announced they are working to complete donations of 217 acres to add to South Yuba River State Park which the Bear Yuba Land Trust, a non-profit in Grass Valley, has offered to give to the park. That property will help expand Independence Trail, which is said to be the first wheelchair-accessible nature trail ever built in the United States.
And they said they are moving forward with plans to accept a donation of 453 acres from Save the Redwoods League, based in San Francisco, to expand Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve near Ukiah, a 16% increase to that park.
The proposed Pigeon Point additions come as work crews are winding down a $16 million renovation of the historic lighthouse. They have replaced cracked mortar, fabricated new iron works, and made other major repairs. The lighthouse, which has been closed for 25 years to the public, should reopen by the end of the year, said Chris Spohrer, superintendent of the Santa Cruz district of state parks.
“The sweeping vistas that include the lighthouse are absolutely spectacular,” he said. “Having new coastal access is going to be impressive.”