Sam McDonald County Park
Sam McDonald was an African American man who worked at Stanford University and lived in the mountains above La Honda. He loved the land with a devotion that transcended employment, and when he died, 400 acres of redwood forest he had acquired were donated to San Mateo County. The park that bears his name, established in 1970 from land acquired in 1958, now encompasses 867 acres of redwood forest, mixed woods, and open meadows between La Honda and Loma Mar. Trails climb to ridgelines offering views across the Pescadero Creek valley, Butano Ridge, and the Pacific Ocean.
A Man and His Mountain
McDonald's story is one of quiet dedication. Working at Stanford in an era when African Americans faced systematic barriers to land ownership and professional advancement, he nevertheless managed to acquire a substantial property in the Santa Cruz Mountains. His attachment to the forested hills above La Honda was genuine and deep, and his decision to ensure the land would become public parkland rather than private development reflects a generosity that the park's visitors benefit from daily. Heritage Grove, a stand of old-growth redwoods preserved within the park, is a particularly notable feature.
Ridgeline to Ocean
The park's trails climb from the redwood-shaded valley floor to ridgelines that open up views in every direction. To the west, the Pacific Ocean glitters beyond the Coast Range. To the east, the Pescadero Creek valley drops away in layers of forest. The park borders Pescadero Creek County Park through the Old Haul Road trail, and connects to the broader network of county and state parks that create a continuous corridor of protected forest across the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Heritage Grove, a pocket of old-growth redwoods, survives within the park's boundaries as evidence of what the entire forest once looked like before logging.
The Gift Endures
Sam McDonald County Park operates as part of the Pescadero-Memorial Park Complex, managed by the San Mateo County Department of Parks. The park's relative obscurity compared to nearby state parks means it often sees lighter use, offering solitude that the more famous parks cannot match. McDonald's legacy lives not in plaques or monuments but in the continued existence of the forest he loved -- a forest that might have been logged or developed without his intervention. Every hiker who walks these trails benefits from a gift made decades ago by a man whose name most of them have never heard.
From the Air
Sam McDonald County Park is at 37.30°N, 122.27°W in the Santa Cruz Mountains between La Honda and Loma Mar. The park's forested terrain is part of the green corridor visible along the mountains. Nearby airports: Half Moon Bay (KHAF), San Carlos (KSQL). Best viewed at 3,000-5,000 ft AGL.