For 25 years I've owned a little bit of The Sea Ranch, and I never tire of its beauty, nor of discovering its gifts. These ten miles of spectacular unspoiled coastline must be some of the most beautiful places on the planet.
"Spring at the Ranch" Photo by Rozanne Rapozo NatureAsISeeIt.com
Historically, it was the last frontier for Spain and Mexico. The Pomo Indians were the first settlers before the Spanish, Mexicans, Russians and Americans arrived in the 1800's. Sea Ranch was part of the El Rancho German land grant given to Ernest Rufus, a German native while California was still under Mexican jurisdiction.
The lumber mills that dotted the countryside, and shipping along the coast played an important part in the development of The Sea Ranch. During the Prohibition era, The Sea Ranch was favored by smugglers, and was considered a good place to hold wild parties with little risk of being caught. The calm pace of coastal life returned when Prohibition was repealed.
In 1964 Hawaii-based Castle and Cooke purchased the 5,000-acre ranch that was to become The Sea Ranch, and in 1968, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved The Sea Ranch for development. Today, The Sea Ranch consists of 10 miles of coastline between Stewarts Point and the Mendocino County line. It's bounded on the north and east by the South Fork of the Gualala River and to the west by the rugged coastline of the Pacific Ocean. The Sea Ranch features beaches and ocean bluffs, redwood forests, recreation centers with pools and tennis, a private airstrip, championship-length 18-hole golf links, and several points for limited public access to the ocean, beaches and tidepools.
Approximately 90 miles north of San Francisco, traveling by auto takes about 3 hours, the last hour of which is filled with sweeping vistas, charming places to stop, and sometimes even cows grazing on the country road. Most people make the trip by car, but flying in is an option, with a briefing for the private airstrip available on The Sea Ranch Association Website. |
