Tomales Bay State Park
Encyclopedia
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
in Marin County, California. It consists of approximately 2,000 acres (8 km²) divided between two areas, one on the west side of Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay is a long narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles long and averages nearly 1.0 miles wide, effectively separating the Point Reyes Peninsula from the mainland of Marin County. It is located...
and the other on the east side. The main area, on the west, is part of the Point Reyes
Point Reyes
Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula, the region bounded by Tomales Bay on the northeast and Bolinas Lagoon on the southeast...
peninsula, and adjacent to Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California, USA. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as a nationally important nature preserve within which existing agricultural uses are allowed to continue...
, which is operated by the U.S. National Park Service. The park is approximately 40 miles (64 km) north of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
History
The area was the habitat of the Coast MiwokCoast Miwok
The Coast Miwok were the second largest group of Miwok Native American people. The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Point and eastward to Sonoma Creek...
people for several thousand years before the arrival of Europeans. British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
explorer Sir Francis Drake landed in the area in 1579. About 25 years later, Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno
Sebastián Vizcaíno
Sebastián Vizcaíno was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Philippines, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan.-Early career:...
landed in the area and named it "La Punta de Los Tres Reyes" ("Point of the Three Kings"), a reference to the Feast of the Three Kings. The name was later anglicized to Point Reyes.
Most of Point Reyes remained undeveloped because of its remote location; the main part of the peninsula hosts a number of agricultural uses, particularly dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
operations. Some of the beach areas on Tomales Bay began to be purchased by private parties, and in order to secure public access to the Bay, conservation groups
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
and the state of California also purchased property, and the state park was opened on November 8, 1952. When most of the rest of Point Reyes was incorporated into Point Reyes National Seashore, Tomales Bay State Park remained in the state park system.
Facilities
The west area of the park contains four beach areas: Indian Beach, Heart's Desire Beach, Pebble Beach, and Shell Beach. Only Heart's Desire is reachable by road, and has two parking areas, picnic grounds, and rest rooms. The other beaches are accessible only by trail or boat. The east area of the park is mostly unimproved, and the only facilities are a picnic area and rest rooms at Millerton Point.Indian Beach has an interpretive program on the Miwok people, including two reconstructed Miwok dwellings.
Proposed for closure
Tomales Bay State Park is one of the 48 California state parks proposed for closure in January 2008 by California's Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
as part of a deficit reduction program.