California Town Gets New National Monument With Miles of Beautiful Hiking Trails

Santa Cruz, California will be home to a new national monument with 19 miles worth of beautiful oceanfront hiking.

At a Glance

  • Cotoni-Coast Dairies, an old dairy farm, will become a new national monument.
  • The region will be open to hiking as soon as the end of 2022.
  • Eight days prior to leaving office, President Obama declared Cotoni-Coast Dairies a part of the California Coastal National Monument.

California National Monument Promises Beautiful Hiking Trails

President Obama chose Cotoni-Coast Dairies to become a national monument. He designated the area as a result of its historical value as the homeland of the Costanoan and its status as the natural habitat for several endangered species, including the California red-legged frog.

Additionally, the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship is assisting in the construction of the trails. Ideally, the first trails will be completed by the end of 2022. Moreover, the final project will include 19 miles of hiking, biking, horseback riding, and ADA-accessible trails.

“A lot of our development relies on us fundraising for the project,” the organization explained. “We’re about halfway to our goal of $2.7 million for all Cotoni-Coast Dairies trails.” Cotoni-Coast Dairies contains 5, 785 acres. It stretches along California’s Highway 1. Among its attributes are scenic ocean views and beautiful redwood forests.

Obama Designates California National Monuments

In addition, President Obama declared five other California landmarks national monuments. These also include: Trinidad Head, the Lost Coast Headlands and Waluplh-Lighthouse Ranch , Piedras Blancas, and the Orange County Rocks and Islands. The Sempervirens Fund is a land trust which focuses on preserving the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz.

“In signing the monument proclamation, Obama endowed the landscape with special conservation status and brought presidential recognition to its incredible ecological, cultural, and historic values,” the organization’s website explained. “Without this monument designation, the landscape might never be available for the public to enjoy or restored to its full ecological richness.”

The site also describes the scenic ranch: “South of Davenport, the Coast Dairies property on the Santa Cruz north coast is shaped by rugged and beautiful terrain including vast coastal terraces, rolling hillsides, and mountain ridgelines that plunge into deep riparian canyons. Six creeks flow through the property and into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary offshore. A rich diversity of vegetation includes coastal grasslands, oak woodlands, and redwood forests. The property’s diverse ecosystems provide habitat for a variety of rare or special-status species.”

“The long and winding path to this destination has been arduous, and it has been worth the journey,” Sempervirens Fund website further continued. “Thousands of community members, business leaders, and local government representatives made this possible. We thank each and every one of you who wrote a letter, made a call, sent an email, made a donation, attended a meeting, or supported this campaign in other ways. Cotoni-Coast Dairies will forever protect spectacular and essential natural and cultural resources in Santa Cruz County.”