King Mountain Summit Could Open To Public In Marin County Under Conservation Deal

MARIN COUNTY, CA — A long-inaccessible summit on King Mountain could soon become public open space under a proposed conservation deal headed to the Marin County Open Space District Board of Directors next week.

The board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on agreements that would allow the Marin Open Space Trust to purchase the 161-acre property and donate it to the Open Space District, expanding the King Mountain Open Space Preserve from 108 acres to about 269 acres.

If approved, the acquisition would open the mountain's 32-acre summit to the public for the first time while permanently protecting it from residential development.

The nonprofit Marin Open Space Trust negotiated the purchase, with funding provided by the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund. In addition to covering the purchase price, the fund has pledged a $2 million stewardship endowment to help pay for invasive species management, signage, trail improvements and other maintenance for at least the next decade.

"This extraordinary gift will permanently protect a treasured portion of the King Mountain ridgeline and preserve its natural beauty and ecological value for future generations," said Chris Chamberlain, Marin County Parks director.

The summit property sits between existing sections of the King Mountain Open Space Preserve west of Larkspur and Corte Madera. While hikers have long been able to cross portions of the property using a trail easement, the summit itself has remained closed to the public.

"This King Mountain acquisition fills a gap between three discontinuous parcels of public land and achieves the objective of securing the whole mountain for open space," said Bill Long, Marin Open Space Trust chair. "It feels good to wrap this up without using any public funds."

If the board approves the agreements, the trust expects to complete the purchase and transfer the property to the Open Space District by Sept. 8.

The board meeting begins at 9 a.m. July 14 at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, though the King Mountain item is expected to come later in the morning. Meetings are open to the public and streamed live on the county's website.