San Mateo County describes Sam McDonald as an 850-acre park about 3 miles west of La Honda on Pescadero Road, split between two very different environments. Its northwest half, nearly 400 acres, is mostly lush redwood forest. The southeast portion, about 450 acres, is open ridge, grassy knolls and patchy brush, with views of the Butano and Skyline ridges and the Pacific Ocean.
Who was Sam McDonald?
Emanuel B. "Sam" McDonald was born on Jan. 1, 1884, in Monroe, Louisiana. His grandparents had been enslaved. His family moved to California in 1890. After working on a river steamer and driving horses for the Palo Alto Stock Farm, McDonald began working at Stanford by 1903.
He first saw the redwoods along Alpine Creek near La Honda on a 1917 vacation and began buying land there in 1919, building a lodge he called Chee-Chee-Wa-Wa. When he died in November 1957, he left the property, by then more than 400 acres, to Stanford. San Mateo County bought it in 1958 for $67,000 and opened Sam McDonald Park in 1970. Another 450 acres were added in 1976.
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2026.
Connected parks
Sam McDonald is part of the Pescadero-Memorial Park complex. Through Pescadero Creek County Park, it connects to Memorial County Park and Portola Redwoods State Park. Next door, the 37-acre Heritage Grove Redwood Preserve protects old-growth redwoods along Alpine Creek.
On horseback
Horseback riding is popular in the park, and many riders use the Jack Brook Horse Camp.
Also on the Skyline: Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.