Site Description: The Dana Point Headlands Preserve consists of 29.4 acres within the city of Dana Point, Orange County, California. The Preserve contains one of the last undeveloped coastal promontories in Southern California, and consists of a steep coastal bluff that rises from the Pacific Ocean. The Preserve lies between Dana Point Harbor to the south and Strand Beach to the north.

Conservation Purpose: The CNLM Dana Point Preserve was created to protect the federally threatened coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) and endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus). The Pacific pocket mouse was thought to be extinct before it was discovered on the CNLM Dana Point Preserve in 1993. To date, the only other location where Pacific pocket mouse have been found is within three different geographic areas on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. In addition, eight rare plant species have been documented on-site including California box-thorn (Lycium californicum), Cliff spurge (Euphorbia misera), and prostrate spineflower (Chorizanthe procumbens).

Habitat Types: The dominant plant community on the Preserve is coastal sage scrub with coastal bluff scrub along the bluff face.

Management: The primary management goals on the CNLM Dana Point Preserve are to maintain habitat for the Pacific pocket mouse, coastal California gnatcatcher, rare plant species, and other sensitive species that utilize coastal sage scrub and coastal bluff scrub. Due to the small size of the Preserve, and its degree of isolation from similar habitats, CNLM will monitor the rare and listed species and habitat on-site to help identify threats and population declines, and then work to rectify the problem(s). The most serious threat to the Preserve at present is non-native predators to the Pacific pocket mouse and coastal California gnatcatcher. These predators include domestic cats and dogs. Degradation of habitat by off-trail use, trash, and non-native plants are also a significant threat. Much non-native vegetation has been removed and treatment of remaining plants continues via contractors to Headlands Reserve, LLC.

Public Access: A ½ mile public trail has been constructed on the Preserve that follows along the top of the headlands promontory. The trail will be open to the public daily from 7 am to sunset. It is a 4-foot wide dirt trail that has a 100-foot elevational change with stairs in one section. There are five overlooks with benches. The trail is designed for pedestrian use only with no dogs allowed (on or off-leash) and no bikes. The trail can be accessed from the end of Dana Strand Road in the City of Dana Point, California and the Nature Interpretive Center parking lot at 34558 Scenic Drive, Dana Point. The Nature Interpretive Center is owned and managed by the City of Dana Point and is opened Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00am to 4:00pm.

Click to view the Dana Point Preserve Newsletter Spring 2009 - PDF

Manager: The Dana Point Headlands Preserve is managed by Lee Ann Carranza.

For information and inquiries please contact:

Lee Ann Carranza
Preserve Manager
e-mail: lcarranza@cnlm.org

For volunteer opportunities please contact:

Jeff Rosaler
City of Dana Point Natural Resource Protection Officer
e-mail: jrosaler@dantapoint.org