A former private beach property near Half Moon Bay once owned by musician Chris Isaak is opening Monday as a new 58-acre public park, giving visitors official access to Tunitas Creek Beach for the first time.Located about 8 miles south of Half Moon Bay, the new Don Horsley County Park includes tower ing coastal bluffs, new trails, an 80-space parking lot, restrooms, and a ranger station, as Bay Area News Group reports. The $19.6 million project also provides accessible paths to Tunitas Creek Beach, which was previously only accessible by unofficial trails, including some that crossed the private property.“It’s a welcoming place for everybody,” said Emma Gonzalez, interim director of the San Mateo County Parks Department. “The view. The bluffs. There is so much to take in. It’s breathtaking.”Although Isaak owned the 58-acre property for nearly two decades, locals say the singer was never seen there. The property includes cliffs more than 100 feet high along its northern edge, along with dunes and the creek itself, where endangered steelhead trout have been found. Brown pelicans, California gulls, and sandpipers are among the birds that can be seen along the shoreline.“This new park is a jewel,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, whose district includes the park, in a press release. “It is also a place where we can protect sensitive coastal natural resources while creating new opportunities for people to connect with nature.”Construction began in late 2023, with the county adding the parking lot, restrooms, ranger station, a small amphitheater for ranger talks, interpretive signs, and wide trails designed to accommodate visitors with disabilities, per the News Group. The opening was delayed after winter storms triggered two major landslides along the cliffs, requiring additional work to stabilize the area and keep an emergency access route open.A company tied to Chris Isaak purchased the bluff-top property, including a modest 1950s-era house and much of the sand on the beach, for $3.1 million in 1998. The beach became particularly notorious for large, clandestine parties and overnight raves beginning about 15 years ago, with hundreds of people leaving behind piles of trash. A San Jose man also drowned there in 2016.“We had overnight camping, people living on the beach, massive raves,” said Scott Lombardi, San Mateo County Parks superintendent, speaking to the News Group. “It was unbelievable. Thankfully that has been put to bed.”Isaak’s business entity eventually sold the property to the Peninsula Open Space Trust, or POST, for $5 million in 2017. POST then sold it to San Mateo County for $3.2 million in 2020, making the eventual public park possible.The News Group notes that the effort was spearheaded in part by former County Supervisor Don Horsley, who aimed to keep the property from being acquired for private development, like with nearby Martins Beach, where billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla closed the gates to his property and cut off public access to the oceanfront.“We are standing along a strip of beach that I truly believe will become known as one of the great public beach parks in California,” Horsley said during a 2018 visit.After Horsley, who was also a former San Mateo County sheriff, died in November 2023 at age 80, the county named the new park after him.According to the News Group, the project took years to complete, with planning slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire, several wet winters, and the landslides that pushed the opening back further. The park will be open seven days a week, with no admission charge. Dogs, alcohol, and camping are prohibited, and there will be no lifeguards. County rangers are warning visitors that the beach can have strong rip currents, particularly dangerous for inexperienced swimmers.Related: Silicon Valley Billionaire Wants $30 Million For His Beach Access, National Media Shames HimImage: County of San Mateo ...read more read less