Notorious Bay Area beach with wicked reputation to open as free public park
From party to park.A piece of real estate owned by a 90s crooner will shed its dubious reputation when it opens as a free oceanfront park on August 17th.Don Horsley County Park at Tunitas Creek Beach, located 8 miles south of Half Moon Bay, will become the first major new public beach in the San Mateo County parks system in nearly 60 years.
A company linked to Chris Isaak, known for the burning ballad “Wicked Game,” purchased the sprawling 58-acre property in 1998 for $3.1 million.In the ensuing years, trespassing ran rampant as Tunitas Creek Beach became known for all-night raves and bacchanal bonfires when the wildness of the landscape was outmatched by the lawlessness of revelers.Carousers were known for using the creek as a bathroom during their parties, and for leaving behind kegs, mattresses, and other detritus of their good times.
While the beach has always been public, until now there were no official public access points; visitors instead relied on a network of unofficial trails, including those that traversed Isaak’s property, to reach the shore.The trespassing became a serious liability, underscored by the property’s water system routinely failing during winter storms.In 2016, a San Jose man drowned at Tunitas Creek Beach after being hit by a rogue wave in the wee hours of the morning.Perhaps owing to these circumstances, Isaak’s trust sold the property for $5 million in 2017 to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), a Palo Alto environmental group.
In 2020, the environmental group sold the property to San Mateo County for the heavily discounted price of $3.2 million.Isaak, a native of Stockton, CA, has reportedly never been spotted on the property and has never publicly spoken about its reputation or sale.
“We had overnight camping, people living on the beach, massive raves,” Scott Lombardi, San Mateo County Parks superintendent, told Mercury News.“It was unbelievable.
Thankfully that has been put to bed.”The putting to bed of the ...