This is from an article in the SF Chronicle. It is written by Chuck Squatriglia.
(07-28) 04:00 PDT Davenport, Santa Cruz County -- One of Northern California's largest parcels of privately owned coastline -- 5 miles of rocky shoreline north of Santa Cruz -- is being given to the state in what conservationists call the biggest expansion of the region's public beaches in a generation.
Tucked among the rugged outcroppings of Coast Dairies Ranch are seven beaches popular with tourists and surfers who probably never knew they were trespassing. The ranch, about 10 miles north of Santa Cruz, is seven times larger than Golden Gate Park, and its acquisition ensures public access to a nearly uninterrupted 13-mile stretch of coastline.
"It's very exciting," said Dave Vincent, director of the Santa Cruz district of the Department of Parks and Recreation. "People have been working a long time on this dream."
The gift by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land is the most significant addition to public beaches in the north coast since 1975, when the Parks and Recreation Department acquired 4.8 miles of coastline along the Sinkyone Wilderness in Mendocino County.
"We're thrilled that with this acquisition, the people of California will have public, legal access to the beaches," said Reed Holderman, regional director of the Trust for Public Land. "It's a strategic link in building a state seashore and fulfilling the dream of a coastal trail."
The land looks a lot like it did when the Respini and Moretti families founded Coast Dairies and Land Co. in the 1860s after emigrating from Switzerland.
The rolling hills feature stands of coastal redwoods, oaks, firs and pines. Snowy plovers nest along the coastline, and raptors soar overhead. Meandering through the property are six creeks containing steelhead trout, coho salmon and red-legged frogs.
"It's right out of a Monet painting," said Noah Buchanan, a painter teaching a UC Santa Cruz art class that was visiting the coastline near Davenport this week. "It's so inspirational."