Nonprofit's Land Purchase Helps Complete California Coastal Trail

By Bay City News Service:

A nonprofit has announced the purchase of 21 acres that will complete a segment of the Coastal California Trail in San Mateo County, officials said.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) purchased the land along Pillar Point Bluff and the land will complete a section of the Coastal California Trail that goes along the bluff. The nonprofit previously purchased other land along the bluff and this most recent purchase is between two of the previously purchased parcels.

“This is the fulfillment of a decade-long dream to preserve Pillar Point Bluff,” POST president Walter T. Moore said in a statement. “This is a spectacular piece of the California coast and we are thrilled that people can now take an uninterrupted hike on this property and enjoy the incredible scenic beauty of this place.”

The bluff is known for its views of the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve reefs and the Pacific Ocean. It provides habitat for the threatened California red-legged frog and the endangered San Francisco garter snake.

The property is made up of coastal scrubland and coastal terrace prairie and may be a site for nesting raptors.