Memorial Park (San Mateo County, California)

In the early 20th century, the area that became Memorial Park was known as Camp Eden, an old-growth redwood forest in Harrison Canyon used as a roadside encampment by local residents, whose children attended the nearby Wurr School; San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Roy W. Cloud is credited with initiating the preservation of the area after a visit to the Wurr School in spring 1923. Cloud was equally enchanted by the natural beauty and alarmed by its impending destruction; at the time, it had just been acquired by a lumber company which intended to harvest the trees.[1]^:9–10 Cloud approached the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, recommending the area be purchased and preserved as a park; the Board appointed a committee of prominent citizens to investigate the possibility, and the committee unanimously recommended preservation after their tour, comparing the site favorably with Big Basin. In total, 314 acres (127 ha) were acquired from the lumber company at a cost of US$70,000 (equivalent to $1,050,000 in 2019) in 1923.[1]^:10–11

Supervisor Thomas L. Hickey proposed that prominent trees in the newly-acquired grove be named for the San Mateo County men who died in World War I; during the park's dedication ceremonies on July 4, 1924, the names of 52 men were read aloud to designate an identical number of redwood trees in Legion Flat. Bronze plaques were added later to each tree by local Boy Scouts.[1]^:12–13

The Boy Scouts were the first large-scale users of Memorial Park; they built the 11-acre (4.5 ha) Camp Pescadero in 1926 to accommodate up to 200 Scouts and partially dammed Pescadero Creek to form a large swimming area.[1]^:14 During the Depression, a camp for approximately 300 workers of the Works Project Administration (WPA) was established within Memorial Park to build many amenities and structures. At the same time, a separate camp for approximately 150 runaway girls was also established on-site; the WPA men were responsible for logging while the women handled cooking and washing. WPA activities were largely completed by 1937, setting much of the park's present configuration.[1]^:15–16

Map of Memorial Park

Memorial County Park is popular for overnight camping; all 300 campsites were occupied when it was dedicated on July 4, 1924, and on a typical summer night, more than 1,500 people are camping within the park. Starting in October 2019, the San Mateo County Parks Department began the first major renovation and upgrades to overnight camping facilities in the park since its opening in 1924; it is expected to reopen for camping in spring 2021.[6]

There are 158 camp sites in the park, divided into named camp areas; the park also has day use areas, a visitor center, a camp store, and two campsites reserved for youth groups (Homestead Flat and Redwood Flat). Publicly-accessible amenities and campsites are south of Pescadero Creek Road; most of the hiking trails are in the hilly region north of the road.[7]^:1–2

Trails within the park include:

Today, the park is part of a larger group of county parks known as the Pescadero-Memorial Park Complex,[8] formed by nearby land acquisitions:

1. Memorial Park (1924)
2. Sam McDonald County Park (acquired 1958, established 1970)
3. Heritage Grove Trail
4. Pescadero Creek County Park (acquired 1968)

They are adjacent to Portola Redwoods State Park and close to several areas preserved by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, including the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve and the Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve.

• "Memorial Park". Dept. of Parks, San Mateo County. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
• Map of park itself