are two campgrounds and more than 20 miles of hiking trails in
the park. For more information visit the California State Park
Salt Point site.
The inland portion
of the park features both grassland and forest areas. As the
terrain rises northeast of Highway One, coastal brush and
grasslands blend into lush growths of bishop pine, Douglas fir,
madrone, tanoak, groves of second growth redwood and quiet
meadow areas. At the top of the coastal ridge, at about 1,000
elevation, there is a large open prairie and pygmy forests.
The park encompasses one of the first underwater parks in
California. Fishing is permitted throughout the area with the
exception of Gerstle Cove Marine Reserve, where the marine life
is completely protected.
Salt Point History
1853, Samuel Duncan and Joshua Hendy established a sawmill on
the ridge behind Salt Point. Two years later, they signed a
lease authorizing a San Francisco company to quarry sandstone
here which was used to construct San Francisco’s streets and
buildings, as well as the naval facility at Mare Island.
Quarried rocks with visible drill holes can still be seen along
the marine terrace north of Gerstle Cove. In 1870 Duncan sold
his property to San Francisco businessmen Frederick Funcke and
Lewis Gerstle. The Funcke & Co. ranch shipped about 5,000 cords
of wood annually, and used the surrounding land for cattle
grazing. Their period of ownership, 1870-1881, was the most
active in Salt Point's history. A small village known as
Louisville developed around Salt Point's shipping facilities at
Gerstle Cove. The Salt Point Hotel was built in 1870. The hotel
had fifteen rooms and a large hall; it collapsed in 1923. The
citizens of Salt Point Township organized parties and holiday
celebrations that brought in guests from the ridge and coast.
Salt Point Natural History
Salt Point is named for the
cliffs and crevices of the rocky shoreline where salt from ocean
water crystallizes in sandstone depressions. The Native Kashaya
Pomo gathered salt here for centuries. One of the most unusual
and beautiful features of the sandstone along these sea cliffs
is the honeycomb-like network called tafoni.