San Mateo County celebrates 100 years of parks 

Though he said much has changed — the bathrooms are a lot nicer now — he has fond memories of his parents making huckleberry pies over the fire with freshly picked berries, and of all of the times he has taken his four children and grandchildren out camping. For his 90th birthday, the family returned to the park for a picnic celebration. 

Wyant is just one of many who can speak to the memories made at not only Memorial Park, but any of the county operated public parks. The original 310 acres bought for $70,000 in 1924 was the beginning of County Parks, now nearing 16,000 total acres across 24 parks that serve almost 3 million visitors annually. 

The park’s name was dedicated to the 57 county resident lives lost in World War I, showing the prescience of past supervisors to have the first park in the county to honor those before us, Supervisor Ray Mueller said at the celebration. 

“It’s an incredible history built on the memory of those we lost and built on the theme of leaving it all behind you, concentrating those things important in our heart,” Mueller said. 

All county parks are free to veterans, one of the many ways the department hopes to pay tribute to those who have served. This limits any barriers for veterans to have access to a place that’s “important for your mind, body and soul,” Brandon Jones, vice president of the Veterans Commission said. Memorial Park urges all visitors to keep those who have served in mind, he said. 

“They exist in our collective memories,” Jones said. “How lucky we are to have a place like this to keep them in our thoughts while we explore these woods.” 

Under towering redwoods with the sounds of the Pescadero Creek in the background, and little cell service, Memorial Park serves as a palace of refuge and relief, Muller said. With “so much noise” in the world, he said parks create a sense of serenity that can turn down the volume. 

“I think the reason why that is is the trees,” he said. “When you look at the trees around you, you just see history in them. There’s a sense that comes over you that they’ve seen it all and they’ve persisted. In that nature, it gives you hope and it settles you down and allows you to concentrate on the things important to you.”

Over 100 years, the county Parks Department has been dedicated to preserving natural resources while providing recreational and educational opportunities to visitors. Honoring its history while also preparing for the future, infrastructure improvements are constantly underway, by support of the San Mateo County Parks Foundation and the county. Improving accessibility has been a main focus, foundation Executive Director Michele Breasley said, and a current focus is upgrading the Nature Center attached to the ranger station. 

To honor its centennial, infrastructure improvements have focused on Memorial Park to make it sustainable for many years to come, an example of how Parks Director Nicholas Calderon hopes to look to the future.  

In its 100th year, County Parks is slated to open Tunitas Creek Beach in Half Moon Bay this fall, reinvigorating a former privately-owned beach and making it available to the public. 

“Our founding was based on the principle that the environment is ours to steward and care for,” Calederon said. “Just as the county did 100 years ago with Memorial park, we will do it again at Tunitas Creek Beach by protecting land for the enjoyment and the benefit of future generations.” 

This centennial year is the best time for a first visit, Calderon said.  

“As we enter our second century, we will continue to advocate that parks are for everyone from everywhere,” Calderon said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, our parks are for you.”