As noted on the Seashore’s website the federal process began in 1935, when Conrad Wirth, the Assistant Director of the National Park Service, recommended that 53,000 acres of Point Reyes be purchased "because of the peninsula's exceptional qualities and…accessibility to the concentrated population of Central California."

Later, in the 1950s, President John F. Kennedy’s announced his conservation agenda that included the creation of two national seashores and the adoption of the Wilderness Bill.

This work was accomplished thanks to the efforts of the Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, Sierra Club executive director David Brower, Clair Engle, Clem Miller, and author Harold Gilliam, and others. Following the publication of the book, Island in Time, by the Sierra Club and author Harold Gilliam, the Congressional floor debates for the Point Reyes Authorization Act took place and on September 13, 1962, the President signed the Act into law. It took another eight years before the final appropriations of funding to acquire the 53,000 acres, thanks to community advocate, Peter Behr, and his organization, Save Our Seashore, championing the effort.

An additional 23,370 acres of wilderness lands and 8,003 acres of potential wilderness were established as the Point Reyes Wilderness on October 18, 1976. Wilderness areas ensure, “without impairment of its natural values, in a manner which provides for such recreational, educational, historic preservation, interpretation, and scientific research opportunities as are consistent with, based upon, and supportive of the maximum protection, restoration, and preservation of the natural environment within the area.”

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• Seashore’s History

The Seashore is a unique coastal habitat sanctuary that includes pristine beaches, estuaries, intertidal, sand dunes, rolling grasslands, and forests. The Seashore is along important migratory routes for marine mammals, birds, and other wildlife. The Seashore’s wildlife webpage notes, “Current inventories document approximately 80 species of mammals, 85 species of fish, 29 species of reptiles and amphibians, and thousands of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate species. Nearly half the bird species of North America, 490 species, have been spotted here. Over fifty species of animals at Point Reyes are listed by the state or federal government as threatened, rare, or endangered. To help us better protect some of these species, the park uses remote wildlife monitoring cameras to gather information about the presence of species, the numbers of individuals, and their behaviors and habitat selection.”

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• Seashore Animals

The Seashore’s diverse habitats support a variety of plant life making it a popular destination for migrating wildlife and plant enthusiasts. The Seashore’s plant webpage notes, “Point Reyes National Seashore is a jewel in the California Floristic Province—one of 25 regions of the world where biological diversity is most concentrated and the threat of loss most severe. Unique geology, soils, and climate conditions make for a highly variable landscape within a relatively small land base. The Seashore encompasses over 70,000 acres of dunes, sandy and rocky beaches, coastal grasslands, Douglas fir and bishop pine forests, wetlands, chaparral, and wilderness lakes. The broad range of plant communities supports over 900 species of vascular plants—pretty amazing! This number represents about 15% of the California flora. Three plants are considered endemic to Point Reyes.”

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• Seashore Plants

Before the Europeans came to California, the Coast Miwok people were the inhabitants of what we now call Marin and southern Sonoma Counties. They knew and blended with this bountiful land for thousands of years, developing a rich economy based on gathering, fishing and hunting. Village communities of 75 to several hundred people developed in sheltered places near fresh water and plentiful food. "Kule Loklo" (meaning "Bear Valley") is a recreated village. It stands where no village ever was, but where one might have stood.

Learn More about the Coast Miwok:

• Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (co-management partners with the Point Reyes National Seashore)

• Coast Miwok Tribal Council

• Alliance for Felix Cove

• Seashore’s Coast Miwok information webpage

The Point Reyes peninsula is remarkably covered with numerous layers of human activity that have left sometimes overt, other times subtle changes on the landscape. Those changes, imposed upon a rugged coastal environment, were filtered through the lens of cultural values, traditions, lifeways, economies, and technologies of people who emigrated from small and great distances over a period of several millennia though current time.

The National Seashore has identified twelve historic cultural landscapes within its boundaries and the north district of Golden Gate National Recreation Area administered by Point Reyes. Over time, each is being documented, evaluated and, where necessary, rehabilitated, following guidelines of the National Register of Historic Places.

Learn More:

• Historic Landscapes of Point Reyes

• European Explorers

• Maritime History

• Ranching History

Today, the Seashore hosts more than 2.5 million annual visitors! The Seashore was established to preserve and protect wilderness, natural ecosystems, and cultural resources along the diminishing undeveloped coastline of the western United States.

The Seashore is a sanctuary for myriad plant and animal species and for the human spirit—for discovery, inspiration, solitude, and recreation—and exists as a reminder of the human connection to the land.

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• Plan Your Visit

• Learn about the Park

• Calendar