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157-Acre Golf Course Set to Be Brand New Nature Preserve

Non Profit bought defunct Bay Area golf course in West Marin to turn into a public park, revive creeks and restore salmon runs
By - posted 7/13/2022 No Comment

Thanks to SFist for letting us know about the defunct 157-acre Marin County golf course that’s being “rewilded” into a brand new nature preserve open to the public to be renamed “San Geronimo Commons”

The prior owner of the former San Geronimo Golf Course put the property up for sale a few years ago and The Trust for Public Land purchased the property in January 2018 for $8.85 million.

Where is San Geronimo Commons located?
The former golf course turned public park is located along Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in between Woodacre and San Geronimo in West Marin. It’s about 8 miles west of San Rafael.

Marin Open Space Trust and The Trust for Public Land are partnering to place a conservation easement over 135 acres of former golf course lands along San Geronimo and Larsen Creeks, opening the way for future floodplain and wildlife habitat restoration and to support the community’s desire to enjoy open space and educational access to the property’s meadows, trails, and woodland areas. The conservation easement does not include the 22 acres of land around the former clubhouse building and community garden on the property.

Can I visit the park now?
The short answer is, yes! Currently the space is open to the public, but it’s not very pretty (yet). The golf turf has long died off, weeds and have moved in, but native grasses have yet to be planted. The public is welcome to enjoy the property for passive recreation. Get out for a walk with family, friends or neighbors, ride your bike on the paths, toss around a Frisbee. The old fairways are now covered in flowers. Old sand traps are pop-up playgrounds. Just don’t expect it look amazing just yet. IAn exact timeline for the fully re-wilded park hasn’t yet been released.

The nonprofit aims to preserve the property as open space, prioritize fire safety and transform it into a public park and revive creeks. The project also aims restore the Bay Area’s last great salmon run, and the Lagunitas Creek watershed, completing critical wildlife linkages by creating and enhancing wildlife corridors.

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