Quail Hollow Ranch County Park 800 Quail Hollow Road • Felton • California 95018

Most of us who live in California are familiar with Sunset magazine, also known as “the Magazine of Western Living.” Nowhere was this lifestyle more enthusiastically embraced than at Quail Hollow Ranch, where Sunset publisher Laurence Lane and his family lived the robust outdoor life celebrated in the magazine for over 100 years. Once part of an 1833 Spanish land grant known as Rancho Zayante, the land was purchased in 1866 by Joseph and America Kenville. They built the ranch house and outbuildings that still stand today, and farmed the land successfully for 35 years. In 1937, the Lane family purchased the property, where many of the ideas and philosophies found in the magazine took shape amid the glorious California scenery.

A narrow, winding road leads you to Quail Hollow Ranch, where you are first greeted by a circle of gargantuan eucalyptus trees, said to be 300 feet tall! Just beyond, an immense lawn, dotted with picnic tables and shaded by a spreading live oak, separates the rambling white ranch house from the stables. Look past the white fence that encloses the compound, and see verdant meadows, woodlands, and tree-shrouded hills rising in the distance. A short walk from the house, a still pond almost hidden by willows beckons to you. Though it’s mostly used as a backdrop for photographs, you can have a pond-side ceremony during warm, dry weather.

The ranch house is a handy and homey complement to the outdoor spaces. Flower-sprinkled wall paper, rag rugs and comfy furnishings constitute the simple and rustic decor; the collection of memorabilia and family photos make it seem as if the Lane family still lives here. On hot summer days, the house provides a cool, quiet retreat, or an out-of-the-way play spot for the kids.

Quail Hollow Ranch is not only historically significant, it’s also ecologically notable. The surrounding county park provides miles of trails that allow your guests to view the park’s diverse habitats (such as riparian, maritime chaparral and mixed evergreen), as well as an occasional endangered species like the golden eagle, western pond turtle, and Rattans monkey flower.

So if you’re looking for a secluded, unspoiled spot for your event that’s chock-full of natural beauty, at a price that will make you think it’s 1937, take a stroll around Quail Hollow Ranch. Who knows, you may be inspired to start your own magazine!