In February 2023, the Marin Open Space Trust (MOST) purchased and then conveyed the 60-acre Bald Hill property to the Marin County Open Space District (MCOSD). The land, which includes Bald Hill’s iconic, scenic summit and the hill’s eastern face, is now part of the Bald Hill Open Space Preserve.

For decades, Bald Hill had been a top acquisition priority for local towns, the Marin County Open Space District, and land conservation organizations. MOST launched a $2.1 million campaign for the acquisition: the MCOSD purchased the land from MOST for $850,000 and MOST worked with Ross residents Elizabeth Robbins and Dan Kalafatas to raise the $1.25 million balance. Many generous individual donors, the Towns of Ross and San Anselmo, and the Tamalpais Conservation Club contributed to the campaign.

Highly visible, 1,132-foot Bald Hill is a spectacular backdrop to the Ross Valley. The 360-degree view from Bald Hill’s summit is phenomenal—to Mt Tamalpais and all of Marin, to San Francisco and San Pablo Bays, and to the prominent peaks in the East and North Bay. The property borders Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) lands to the west and south, and is a gateway to more than 100,000 acres of protected land. Worn Springs Road, a MMWD fire road, traverses the western section of the land, making the summit accessible from trails originating in many of Marin’s communities. The land is habitat for fox, bobcat, and other wildlife, and features grassland, chaparral, and native forests of redwood, oak, bay, buckeye, and madrone.

With permission from the Marin County Open Space District, in July 2023 MOST hired contractors to clear nonnative vegetation from the Upper Road West fire road leading to Worn Springs Road, making this route to the summit more accessible to the public. Additional restoration projects are planned in the near future.