Become a Member

Membership supports PLF’s greatest need and includes benefits by gift level.

Become a member of the Point Lobos Foundation and enjoy exclusive benefits that deepen your connection to the stunning Point Lobos State Natural Reserve—all while supporting vital conservation, stewardship, and educational work.

Your membership includes:

  • Monthly E-Newsletter: Get the latest updates on the Reserve, along with engaging activities to explore Point Lobos in new ways.
  • Point Lobos Magazine: Delivered to your door twice a year, showcasing breathtaking photography, stories, and insights into the Reserve.
  • Annual Moonlight Walk: Member appreciation event magical after-hours event at Po.

Additional benefits offered by gift level:

  • Special Edition Magazine: A unique collector edition with stunning imagery.
  •  Events:
    • Family Event: A special day with curated activities at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve for families.
    • Exclusive Donor Event: A more intimate event at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.
  • Priority Event Parking 

table illustrating member benefits

Your Membership Makes a Difference

By joining, you’re helping us protect Point Lobos State Natural Reserve for generations to come. The Point Lobos Foundation, alongside our California State Parks partners and dedicated docents, has made significant impacts on accessibility, habitat protection, and educational outreach. Thanks to members like you, we continue to create lasting change through trail restoration, erosion management, facilities upkeep, and much more.

  • The dynamic Point Lobos docent program to inspire and educate visitors and students.
  • Essential work to keep trails safe and accessible.
  • Restoration work to repair areas sustaining impacts by natural and man-made causes.
  • The preservation of Point Lobos State Natural Reserve through strategic planning initiatives.
  • Point Lobos passed on from generation to generation in perpetuity.

Become a member today and be part of the legacy of Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.

PLF Docent helps family at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Photo credit: Scott Whitman.

Donation without membership benefits

The Point Lobos Foundation is grateful to accept donations from individuals and groups that would like to support Point Lobos Foundation, but prefer not to receive the benefits of our membership program. All gifts are 100% tax-deductible.

Memorials or honorariums can be attributed to a donation and will be recognized in the Point Lobos Magazine.

Photo of Point Lobos Reserve wildflowers in bloom above sea lion cove. Photo credit: Mary Conway.

Point Lobos Foundation Special Funds

Sister Anna Voss Fund

Sister Anna Voss had a lifelong passion for learning and teaching. She held a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and a Masters of Science in Biology, both from Stanford University. She taught high school and college students in Hawaii and California, creating the statewide science program for all Hawaii Catholic schools. When Sister Anna retired after teaching for 50 years, she brought her passion to her second career as a volunteer at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. A pioneer for the Point Lobos Docent Association, Anna graduated with the first docent class in 1981 and helped develop the docent-training program and accompanying training materials. Many of those materials are still in use today.

In 2011, Carl and Carol Voss and Dave and Caroline Appling created a memorial fund for Sister Anna. Today, this fund has grown to support the Point Lobos Docents and programs educating young people at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Your support of this fund honors Anna’s legacy, her spirit, and her devotion to this very special place. The Point Lobos Docents are a group of highly trained volunteers, working to foster a connection between visitors and our natural world and help people form a positive, sustainable relationship with their environment. Docents are the backbone of the wonderful interpretive and educational programs found within Point Lobos, acting not only as volunteers but also as visionaries to constantly improve and expand on the educational opportunities offered to visitors. The following programs were inspired or developed by docents:

Experience Point Lobos is a program for local fourth graders that helps to support and achieve California Science Content Standards. With two components, a presentation provided by a docent at the school prior to the visit, and a field trip to Point Lobos afterward, the program instills enjoyment, appreciation, and awareness of our natural environment. Schools receive a grant covering the cost of transportation, removing any fees associated with the program, and allowing all students to participate. More than 1,000 students from low-income schools in Gonzales, North Monterey County, Salinas, and Soledad visited the park last year as part of this program, some of who had never seen the ocean.

Easy Access Adventures was created after docents recognized the need for a different interpretive format for people who are elderly or living with physical or developmental disabilities. Rather than leading a walk, which is challenging for a group of people who move at very different paces, docents station themselves at key locations throughout a trail with interpretive equipment like specialized scopes and pelts. This allows visitors to move through the trail at a comfortable speed, often with the help of a caregiver, and spend as much time as they would like at any specific station. In the first year, Easy Access Adventures has served more than 900 people.

The “MINT” program, is a mobile station that is utilized by docents to allow them to interact within the Reserve using a wide selection of interpretive resources. MINT locations might be determined by seasonal events like nesting season at Bird Island or the blooming of spring wildflowers, or it may be staffed in conjunction with special events like school group visits. In testing over the past two summers, we know to expect 100-150 visitors during each 2-hour shift.

Sister Anna would be proud of the incredible contributions that the Point Lobos Docents are making at the Reserve. Please ensure that her legacy lives on by making a gift to the Sister Anna Voss Fund today.

Carmel River State Beach Fund

CRSB M.Vigna

Photo credit: Monica Vigna

The Carmel River State Beach fund exclusively supports habitat and trail restoration projects at Carmel River State Beach and provides a funding stream for a volunteer coordinator position to focus work in the beach area designated in the Carmel Area General Plan that encompasses Carmel River Beach, Middle Beach, and Monastery Beach.

This opportunity to protect a significant section of our precious coastal treasure was made possible through the dedication and commitment of Mike and Ellen Turbow, who recognized the need to expand the reach of PLF’s work to include the connected ecosystem along the three beach areas.

All gifts made to the CRSB fund in memory or in honor of a loved one will be listed in the Point Lobos magazine.

Tributes are a special way to show gratitude or honor a loved one. Tributes can be made to the Point Lobos Foundation with our without membership benefits. Tributes with membership require a minimum donation of $50. Donations are 100% tax-deductible and will be recognized in the Point Lobos Magazine.

Types of Tributes:

In appreciation: Thank someone.

In celebration: Celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or occasion.

In honor: Honor someone.

In Memory: Remember someone.

The Point Lobos Foundation has established the Cypress Circle to honor and acknowledge supporters who have made a legacy gift commitment by including the PLF in their estate plans for the benefit of Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Gifts of all sizes are welcome and ensure the preservation and protection of Point Lobos for generations to come.

If you are interested in joining the Cypress Circle, have already included PLF in your estate plans, or would like more information about making a planned gift, please contact Tracy Gillette Ricci, Development Director, at tracy@pointlobos.org or 866-338-7227, ext. 107.

Cypress Circle logo

Point Lobos Reserve Old Veteran from Cypress Cove. Photo credit: John Drum.