About Us

Photo By: Anela Kopshever, NPS

We partner with the National Park Service to create opportunities for all people to experience, enhance, and preserve Point Reyes National Seashore for present and future generations.

Our Vision

As a national leader in coastal conservation and environmental education, we transform park visitors into park stewards.

Our Values


History of Point Reyes National Seashore


.

A century ago the National Park Service (NPS) was created by citizens who believed there are unique places of beauty, wilderness, and history in the United States that belong to all and deserve to be preserved and enjoyed forever. Point Reyes National Seashore is one of these places. Home of the Coast Miwok people who stewarded this land for nearly 10,000 years before the establishment of the NPS, the Seashore is full of majestic scenery and bountiful history. Point Reyes is located less than 30 miles north of San Francisco, and encompasses 100 square miles of coastal wilderness providing habitat for an astounding diversity of flora and fauna. As the only federally protected seashore on the west coast, Point Reyes National Seashore includes 80 miles of undeveloped shoreline, historic ranches still in operation and more than 150 miles of trails that offer access to beaches, wetlands, forests, meadows and historic landmarks.

In 1962 the Point Reyes peninsula was incorporated into the NPS thanks to the collaborative work of community and government advocates. Nearly 60 years later, in 2021, Point Reyes National Seashore entered into a co-management agreement with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, the federally recognized tribe that includes Coast Miwok members.

In 1964 the Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA) was formed to help the NPS preserve and enhance the Seashore’s extraordinary natural, cultural and recreational resources. PRNSA is a cooperating association, which means we are the park’s official nonprofit education partner. We raise funds to support critical resource preservation projects and offer year-round environmental education programs that engage the public in accessing, enjoying and understanding Point Reyes National Seashore. Since our founding, PRNSA has raised millions of dollars to support park projects and environmental education programs that enhance the visitor experience, protect the park’s resources, improve wildlife habitat and make a profound difference in the lives of children and adults.

Our Impact

Thanks to the support of our members and volunteers we:

  • Improve park trails and open space
  • Engage nearly more than 6,000 youth and adults annually through our environmental education programs
  • Bring 2,200 underserved youth to the park annually with the help of scholarships and free programming funded by individuals and foundations
  • Promote scientific research
  • Restore native habitats and protect threatened and endangered species
  • Acquire new parcels of land for the National Seashore

Explore, Discover & Support Point Reyes National Seashore

Become a PRNSA member or make a financial contribution
Take a class from the PRNSA Field Institute
Attend Dinner on the Pacific Plate, our annual fundraising event
Volunteer with PRNSA or Point Reyes National Seashore.