About the Tamalpais Conservation Club

Mount Tamalpais is located in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco. The Tamalpais Conservation Club's primary purpose is to protect the natural features of the mountain, and its slopes and spurs. The club is known as the Guardian of the Mountain in recognition of its activities to preserve the wild and scenic character of Mount Tamalpais. The club supports retention of these lands as a public park and nature preserve, and aids in the acquisition of open space.

Tamalpais Conservation Club: A History

From the 1890s, when the little community of Mill Valley and its railroad spur were established at the southerly base of Mount Tamalpais, hikers flocked to the mountain to partake in the pleasures of vigorous hiking on its many trails. Most hikers came by ferry from San Francisco and Oakland. Many did day hikes, while others camped overnight on the mountain.

At that time, farmers were using the lower slopes and valleys for grazing dairy cattle. With increasing numbers of hikers, tempers between hikers and the farmers flared up. Hikers had a tendency to leave gates open, allowing cattle to wander off. Camp sites and picnic spots became littered with trash. Deer were poached near hiking trails. And there was always a concern that the careless camper would inadvertently start a wild fire in the dry chaparral and grasses, or pollute the free-flowing streams that ran down the mountain slopes.


Formation of the Tamalpais Conservation Club

Back in 1912, the year the club was founded, the world was changing rapidly. Horse-drawn carriages were being replaced by automobiles. The population of Marin County was growing rapidly as a result of the San Francisco earthquake and fire six years earlier. The Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway took increasing numbers of people on excursions to the mountain's summit. The first Mountain Play was being rehearsed. It was in this setting that the first meeting of the Club took place.

Since all lands on Mount Tamalpais were privately owned, many hikers became concerned that landowners would deny them access to the trails that crossed their farm lands, unless the conflicts were resolved. In 1912, a group of hikers representing various Bay Area hiking clubs got together to solve the problem. As a result, the Tamalpais Conservation Club (TCC) was formed, and all hikers were invited to be members. The new club was an immediate success. In its first year of existence, 1300 enthusiastic members joined, including Alice Eastwood, Ernest J. Mott, and Gifford Pinchot.