In the 1860s, two Swiss families acquired two former Spanish land grants,
which stretched from Scott Creek in the north to Laguna Creek in the south. They formed the Coast Dairies & Land Company.
By the 1920s, these families had moved back to Switzerland, but they and their heirs continued to lease land to local farmers and dairy operators.
Much of this stretch of coast remained more or less as it had been in the 19th century. Plans to develop this area in the 1960's
were ultimately quashed by Proposition 20 (1972) and the Coastal Act (1976). In 1998, the Trust for Public Lands acquired the land,
and in 2009 completed the transfer of the land to the State of California, to be managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).
In addition, in October of 2012, the rail corridor which runs directly through this area, was acquired by the
Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission.
Together, this means that the vast majority of land in this area is now publicly owned.
Along the coast, this land has remained primarily in agriculture — and this is appropriate since the historical character
of this area is inextricably interwoven with the area's farms. The farms are also important economically, and of course because they provide
humanity's fuel — food.
But the DPR's focus is public access and recreation. So, while maintaining the agriculture, it also encourages
compatible uses of coastal trails along the ocean and parallel to the railroad corridor for public recreation and transportation.
The goal of the Run by the Sea is to highlight the incredible resource that now lies in the public trust, and to encourage
this and other sustainable recreational uses that allow the broader community to experience the area in harmony with the farms.
