Continuing Conservation for Castle Rock
Since first helping to establish Castle Rock State Park in 1968, realizing the vision of Dr. Russell Varian, a pioneer of x-ray and radar technology, Sempervirens Fund supporters have expanded the park, purchasing 36 properties and protecting more than 4,000 acres. In recent years, and in response to fears that Castle Rock State Park might close, Sempervirens Fund stepped in, guiding Castle Rock into a new era, planning and funding top-notch facilities and a sustainable funding model at the Robert C. Kirkwood entrance. In 2023, the Robert C. Kirkwood entrance and five more protected properties were officially added to Castle Rock State Park. Today, we continue to protect priority land, like Castle Rock Hollow, to help expand the park for people and wildlife to enjoy for generations to come.
Larger connected areas of protected lands provide greater recreational opportunities as well as healthier habitats ensuring wildlife have what they need to survive and thrive. Adding these properties to Castle Rock State Park ensures that they both continue to be well-managed for conservation and resiliency—augmenting California’s 30x30 and climate, wildfire, and community resiliency goals—and formally expand the park’s incredible recreational experiences into new lands, habitats, and vistas. Here are some of the most recent lands that Sempervirens Fund supporters have protected forever and added to Castle Rock State Park:
Robert C. Kirkwood Entrance
The park’s new entrance opened in 2019 and offers safe parking lots, electronic pay stations, a 60-seat amphitheater, trail connections, new restrooms, bicycle racks, a native plant garden, and a picnic area. The Native Plants Garden, tended by the Muwekma Ohlone and Amah Mutsun Tribal Bands, shares the importance of local plants and their uses by the Native Americans who lived on the land for centuries.
Sempervirens 236
Nestled between Big Basin Redwoods and Castle Rock state parks, is Sempervirens 236, a 110-acre property Sempervirens Fund purchased in 2010 to protect thick groves of old-growth and second growth redwoods from logging. The property serves as a restoration and wildlife monitoring laboratory in the Santa Cruz mountains, with projects including invasive species removal, restoration forestry, and prescribed burns.
Castle Rock West
One of the last remaining inholdings of Castle Rock State Park, this 50-acre property was purchased by Sempervirens Fund in 2018. Along the western boundary of the trail runs the 31-mile Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail. Read More about Castle Rock West
Saratoga Toll Road Properties
At the headwaters of the San Lorenzo River and along the historic Saratoga Toll Road—one of the first logging roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains—three properties have been protected known as Ahlgren (14 acres), Butler (10 acres), and Gee (5 acres). These three properties, once clear-cut over a century ago, now showcase healthy thriving second growth redwoods.
Panorama Ridge
Panorama Ridge is 40-acres of spectacular ridge-top views of Monterey Bay, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and the Pacific Ocean. Sempervirens Fund and the owner protected the land in 2005 with a special life-estate agreement to allow the owner to continue living in his home on a 5-acre portion of the property that is off limits to park visitors while sharing its beauty with the public. Thanks to this partnership, people and wildlife will continue to enjoy this breathtaking place in Castle Rock State Park.