Lawsuit Filed Over Public Trail Near Reagan Ranch

The Young America’s Foundation (YAF), a conservative nonprofit that has owned the Reagan Ranch since 1998, has sued Santa Barbara County over a proposed public hiking trail that would cross onto ranch property. As part of the West Camino Cielo Crest Trail, the proposed section would help connect Refugio Pass to Gaviota Peak, as outlined in the county’s Gaviota Coast Plan.

YAF is concerned that the trail, sited to run along the ranch’s private driveway, would attract unwanted sightseeing and perhaps vandalism of the 688-acre property, a vacation home for the late president. Additionally, court documents contend that the trail section was drawn without appropriate analysis of the property as an “irreplaceable historical and cultural resource.”