There are 116 privately owned acres of woodland, grassland and coastal scrub abutting Tilden park with incredible views in all directions, a waterfall and evidence it was once home to prehistoric three-toed horses and human cultures spread across the centuries.
And a conservation group wants to buy it and let you in.
The John Muir Land Trust (JMLT) launched a campaign earlier this fall to buy Johnson Ranch, a natural area in the East Bay hills — just a few minutes walk up Seaview Trail from the steam train.
The land trust describes privately owned Johnson Ranch, owned by a single family for generations, as “the critical missing piece in a natural wildlife corridor of thousands of acres.”
Linus Eukel, the land trust’s executive director, said the group needs to raise $7 million by Dec. 31, 2027, to acquire and permanently protect the area as natural open space.
“This one is special,” Eukel said. “Johnson Ranch checks all the conservation boxes. The land nurtures vital habitat and feeds clean water into our reservoirs. Protecting it mitigates the risk of wildfire in a very high severity zone.”
Eukel said acquiring the land could offer spectacular new recreation opportunities. “Even seasoned hikers will be taken aback by its incomparable views of the East Bay’s beautiful rolling hills and sparkling waters,” he said.
The Johnson family used the land for horses (which are still on the property), cattle and poultry at different times, Eukel said. There are a few small ranch buildings that remain maintained, including a cabin formerly used by workers the trust could eventually turn into a meeting spot for hiking groups or some kind of clubhouse.
“It has a lot of charm,” Eukel said.
Tilden Regional Park, part of the East Bay Regional Park District, is directly adjacent to Johnson Ranch on its Berkeley side. The property borders East Bay Municipal Utility District land to the east.
Multi-use trails lead into the property from both sides, with no motor vehicle access.
Though JMLT would own and manage the 116 acres, Eukel said he considers both public districts “great partners” for the project. Officials haven’t worked out public access details yet, but Eukel said access would likely come on existing trails or roads.
“The land is so rich, and public access is one of the benefits,” Eukel said. “I think public access will mostly hold to existing ranch roads. They’re already in the right places.”
Year-round Wagner Creek runs through the property, with at least one drop steep enough to be considered a waterfall.
“It’s a very wet property and there’s a waterfall,” he said. “I can’t say at this moment we’ve decided how to provide access to it yet. We’re still working on it.”
Public access is just one benefit of keeping the space open. Johnson Ranch is zoned for residential development, which Eukel said he believes will likely happen if the property isn’t protected.
There’s also severe wildfire risk if the property isn’t properly managed.
“It needs abatement for fire,” Eukel said. “The fuel load is really significant, and we look forward to managing it.”
“Lying within a critical wildland-urban interface area, Johnson Ranch’s steep terrain, vegetative cover, and proximity to surrounding neighborhoods make thoughtful land management especially important,” Jeff Isaacs, the chief of the Moraga Orinda Fire District, said in the JMLT statement. “Long-term conservation of the property, combined with active vegetation management and ongoing maintenance, can help reduce wildfire risk and protect neighboring developed parcels.”
Water from the area feeds the Pinole Valley watershed basin.
“Permanently protecting Johnson Ranch offers a unique opportunity to secure an important piece of the San Pablo Creek Watershed and ensure the continued health of the natural systems that support our region’s water supply,” said Clifford Chan, EBMUD’s general manager, in the statement.
Max Korten, general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District, also expressed support for JMLT’s effort to purchase the land in the statement.
The land trust said the ranch’s terrain supports a remarkable range of ecosystems: 58 acres of cismontane woodland, 30 acres of valley and foothill grassland, 24 acres of coastal scrub plus riparian woodlands, springs, seeps, and seasonal wetlands. It’s home to 15 special-status animal species — like the Alameda whipsnake, northern harrier and dusky-footed woodrat — and 13 special-status plant species, JMLT said.
Eukel said UC Berkeley researchers found fossil beds on the property more than a century ago. They discovered remains of a small, three-toed horse-like animal in 1922, Eukel said is from the Hipparion genus, which lived 16 million to 781,000 years ago.
They also found bones of an ancestor of beavers that were among the smallest mammalian fossils ever found in California.
Evidence of Native Americans and early Chinese immigrants have also been found on the property, as have rock walls, possibly used by Basque shepherds to manage herds of sheep.
“It goes without saying it’s culturally significant,” Eukel said.
The property is still private, Eukel stressed. He said he expects about half the necessary purchase price to come from major donors and public grants. He hopes the other half will come from individual donations.
John Muir Land Trust acquired nearby Wagner Ranch about a year ago
Johnson Ranch is about 2,000 feet of trail away from the Wagner Ranch Nature Area to the east in Orinda, which the John Muir Land Trust acquired in December 2025.
The land trust took public input and is in the early design phase, still raising about $5 million to reopen the 16-acre area next to Wagner Ranch Elementary School.
Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahn secured a $1.5 million grant from the state to the Orinda Unified School District, which retained two acres from the original 18-acre parcel.
“It’s a small, but beloved nature area,” Eukel said. “The public was very concerned that it doesn’t get developed (for homes).”
The land trust launched a campaign in late 2025 to restore the property as a community resource and outdoor classroom for children.
Three initial concepts for Wagner Ranch, released in April (click or tap to enlarge). Courtesy: John Muir Land Trust/Restoration Design Group
The group plans to build at least one bathroom, a small amount of parking and staging space, signage and interpretive material, and possibly a small greenhouse for native plant projects.
It hopes to reopen the space for public use in two to three years, Eukel said.
Though closed for years, the land trust said thousands of past students discovered the natural world at the site. The group is developing a multi-year plan for restoration and ongoing maintenance, and for engaging program partners.
