Hearst Ranch

Conserving a Legendary California Ranch

At 82,000 acres, the extraordinary Hearst Ranch is the largest working cattle ranch on the California coast.  In 2006, ALC was honored at the State Capitol as recipient of the prestigious Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for the Hearst Ranch Project.

Assembled by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, the ranch stretches from the Pacific to the Santa Lucia Mountains. It encompasses the Julia Morgan-designed Hearst Castle, and contains nearly every type of habitat found in California, including grasslands, chaparral, oak and pine forests, as well as seven watersheds. The ranch’s 18 miles of coastline include a world-renowned windsurfing beach, the spectacular San Simeon Point, the historic Piedras Blancas Light Station and an enormous elephant seal rookery.

Working with The Hearst Corporation, California Rangeland Trust, and the State of California, ALC negotiated a conservation agreement to ensure the continued stewardship of the land’s scenic, ecological, cultural and agricultural values, while creating access to an 18-mile segment of the California Coastal Trail.

  Video Feature: Hearst Ranch Project

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