Location
Green Oaks Creek Farm & Retreat is an educational, organic farm and retreat center located in Pescadero, CA.
Nestled against the Santa Cruz Mountains, Green Oaks is replete with riparian zones, rolling meadows, coastal live oaks, redwoods, hiking trails and ocean views. It is located a half hour drive south of Half Moon Bay, CA. The multifaceted goal of the farm is to create beauty in sustainable, low-impact, ecologically friendly, simple living; to teach awareness and responsibility through example; and to create and interact with an ever- expanding community of people through food production and education.
Carpools
In order to reduce our travel impact, we will set up a community Google spreadsheet online so festival participants can coordinate carpools. We highly encourage carpooling as there is limited space in the lot and it’s good for the environment! Even better…
Bike to the Farm!
Howard will be leading a biking crew from the city to the farm! We’ll be leaving the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station at 12 noon on Thursday. Email us if you want to join the bikers!
Driving Directions
Directions to Green Oaks Creek Farm & Retreat (from the farm’s website)
Download directions (and a packing list) here.
Because we live on dirt roads off of Hwy. 1, you cannot find us by using Map Quest or other map programs on the Internet.
Green Oaks is located off of Hwy. 1, approximately ½ an hour south of Half Moon Bay and ½ an hour north of Santa Cruz.
From San Francisco
You can 1) take Hwy. 1 south, or 2) take either 101 south or 280 south to 92, and take 92 to Half Moon Bay. From Half Moon Bay, drive south on Hwy. 1 and continue beyond the turn off to the town of Pescadero. After you pass Costanoa on your left and the sign for Rossi Road, there will be a passing lane. As this passing lane narrows into one lane again, slow down and look for a street sign on your left that says “Green Oaks way” and a small brown sign that says “Green Oaks Creek Farm” (between Costanoa and our turn off you will pass Cascade Ranch and Rancho Siempre Verde which are on your left. (If you get to Año Nuevo State Reserve you’ve gone too far.). This sign is placed between two parallel dirt driveways: take the southern of the two driveways. Soon after you turn onto the dirt road there is a turn off to the left – stay to the right. Proceed 4/10th of a mile (you will pass through a stand of eucalyptus trees) until you reach a distinct Y in the road. Take the left fork of the Y (there is another sign here that says “Green Oaks Creek Farm”), drive through the deer fence gate (please shut it behind you) and drive 3/10th of a mile until you see a parking sign on your right. Please park in the designated parking area.
From the East Bay
You can take either 92 to Half Moon Bay or 84 to San Gregorio, both of which connect to Hwy. 1. If you are taking 92, start your odometer at the junction of Hwy 1. Drive south on Hwy 1, past the turn off to the town of Pescadero (Pescadero Creek Rd), 15.5 miles. After you pass Costanoa on your left and the sign for Rossi Road, there will be a passing lane. As this passing lane narrows into one lane again, slow down and look for a sandwich board that says “Pie Ranch” and a small brown sign that says “Green Oaks Creek Farm” which are on your left, another 11.3 miles, or 26.8 miles total. (If you get to Año Nuevo State Reserve you’ve gone too far.). This sign is placed between two parallel dirt driveways: take the southern of the two driveways. Soon after you turn onto the dirt road there is a turn off to the left – stay to the right. Proceed 4/10th of a mile (you will pass through a stand of eucalyptus trees) until you reach a distinct Y in the road. Take the right fork of the Y (there is another sign here that says “Green Oaks Creek Farm”), drive through the deer fence gate (please shut it behind you) and drive 3/10th of a mile until you see a parking lot on your left. Please close the gate behind you after your park.
From Santa Cruz
Drive north on Hwy. 1. You will pass the town of Davenport, Wadell State Beach, and Año Nuevo State Reserve. After you pass the Reserve (approx. ½ a mile), our dirt driveway is the first right after the highway opens to two lanes. You will see a small sign on your right that says “Green Oaks Creek Farm”. This sign is placed between two parallel dirt driveways: take the southern of the two driveways. Soon after you turn onto the dirt road there is a turn off to the left – stay to the right. Proceed 4/10th of a mile (you will pass through a stand of eucalyptus trees) until you reach a distinct Y in the road. Take the left fork of the Y (there is another sign here that says “Green Oaks Creek Farm”), drive through the deer fence gate (please shut it behind you) and drive 3/10th of a mile until you see a parking sign on your right. Please park in the designated parking area.
More About the Location…
The Farmers
Paul Pfluke and Stephanie Jennings are the owners and resident farmers at Green Oaks. Before starting their farm, they worked on farms in the Santa Cruz area and in Costa Rica. They also taught environmental education for several years. One day they decided to combine their love of farming and environmental teaching and to start an organic, educational farm. To achieve this goal, they earned Masters of Science degrees in Plant and Soil Science. They have since completed course work in Holistic Resource Management and Permaculture Design. In 1999 they started Green Oaks Creek Farm & Retreat. Now they divide their time between the farm and raising their two daughters, Sienna and Anna.
History of the Land
The land, which was originally inhabited seasonally by the Ohlone Native Americans, was cleared and settled by the Steele Family in the early 1900′s. I.C. Steele built the farm house (that now houses us in 1906 (yes, during the big earth quake) and started an extensive apple orchard. Over the decades, the Steele family also raised flax for the war, dry beans, beef cattle and hay, among other crops. The farm house, a small barn, and two sheds are the original buildings that stand today. It is with respect and gratitude that we pay homage to all of the hard work and commitment of our predecessors.
The Farm Today
We are blessed to own a 63-acre parcel of the original Steele Ranch. This parcel is nestled against the Santa Cruz mountains, borders Green Oaks Creek, and is replete with riparian areas, rolling meadows, coastal live oaks, redwoods, hiking trails and ocean views. We are a half hour drive south of Half Moon Bay, CA and overlook Ano Nuevo State Reserve.
We cultivate three acres of organic vegetables, strawberries, herbs, and flowers. Our farm is certified organic by Global Culture. We also rotationally graze a small herd of sheep, a llama, and two draft horses on 6 acres of pasture. Mack and Margarita, our gentle Percheron horses, help us with our cultivation.
Income on the farm is generated from the sale of produce to the Palo Alto farmer’s market, the Pacifica farmer’s market, a few local restaurants, a health food store in Santa Cruz, groups that stay at our retreat center, and from a subscription market program. This program, also called a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), provides local community members with a box of fresh produce once a week throughout the growing season.
We generate most of our electricity with an array of photovoltaics and heat our domestic water with solar water panels. Future plans include converting our tractor and farm truck to run on vegetable oil and creating a living machine for processing waste water. We also want to raise meat chickens on pasture which would enable us to produce more of our own soil fertility, thereby using less fossil fuels (by eliminating the trucking in and spreading of compost).
