Own Your own Airport in
Scenic Bonny Doon!
Bonny Doon Village Private Airport
A little about Bonny Doon
Bonny Doon is a small residential community found near the Pacific Ocean on the California Coast. Located in Santa Cruz County, slightly northwest of the namesake city of Santa Cruz, Bonny Doon has a quite lengthy and fascinating history that has left behind a substantial amount of archeological and cultural sites. Bonny Doon was populated by Native Americans for more than two thousand five hundred years, and was first settled by Europeans in the middle of the nineteenth century. At this point, Bonny Doon was founded in the 1850’s in the interests of furthering the logging industry, which was the backbone of the region’s economy. Bonny Doon takes its name from a line of the song “The Banks O’Doon”, evidence of the area’s strong Scottish heritage. The main road passing through Bonny Doon is State Route One, while additional transportation options are offered by the local private use airport. Bonny Doon is relatively sparsely populated, although it does offer plenty of modern amenities such as high speed internet and cable television. Bonny Doon is surrounded by redwood forests consisting of massive sequoia trees, and some residences in the area offer spectacular views that combine the mountains, the forest, and even the ocean.
Bonny Doon Beach is highly rated by local newspapers for its cleanliness, tranquility, waves, and sand. Although Bonny Doon is a relatively small community, some notable local attractions are nonetheless located nearby. Some points of interest include the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Wilder Ranch State Park, the Boardwalk Bowl, and the Nickelodeon Theatre. Bonny Doon strikes a great balance between a quiet and peaceful setting and a convenient location, especially to the substantially larger county seat of Santa Cruz. Other communities located close to Bonny Doon include Capitola, Scotts Valley, Watsonville, Amesti, Aptos, Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Corralitos, Day Valley, Felton, Freedom, Interlaken, Live Oak, Opal Cliffs, Rio Del Mar, Soquel, and Twin Lakes.
The Airport
The Bonny Doon Airport is located on Ben Lomond mountain at the 2000 feet elevation, about 8 miles NW of Santa Cruz.
The airport property is a colorful and a unique landmark of the Bonny Doon area. The first use of this property as a landing field dates back to 1936 when Mr. Zeigler, owner of race horses and stables, used it for his private planes. A flying service from Oakland also used the field for week-end passenger sight-seeing rides. The stables have since been remodeled into the existing Sky Ranch Apartments, and are no longer part of the property. The large 40 x 50 ft hangar of these early days is still in use on the airport.
During World War II the field was designated as an emergency landing field for coastal patrols and training aircraft. In 1957 a real estate broker, Mr. M.H. Nichols, upgraded the airport by paving the runway and constructing a business office/residence on the property, near the frontage road, Empire Grade. The airport has been in continuous operation since this time.
On June 11, 2008, a fire broke out at the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve, The Martin Fire, as it was named, burned 520 acres and destroyed three residences and eight outbuildings. During the Martin Fire, firefighters were allowed to use the FAA-approved airport as a staging area for their aircraft and water tankers, saving lives and property in the Bonny Doon area.
A little more than one year later, on August 12, 2009, a second fire started in the Bonny Doon area, near the Lockheed facility off Empire Grade. The Lockheed fire burned 7,817 acres, and destroyed 13 outbuildings. More than 2,000 residents had been evacuated as the blaze spread from Swanton south toward Bonny Doon. Again, the Bonny Doon airport became a staging area and was vital to the success of saving lives and property.
Airport Data
1. Approximately 23.45 acres; prime, level, with several groves of beautiful redwood trees.
2. Roadway frontage on Empire Grade
3. 8.6 miles from Santa Cruz; 5 miles from Felton
4. Elevation – 2,000 feet
5. Runway 2200’ x 35’ asphalted
6. Metal hangar 40’ x 50’ with interior shop
7. Cottage Residence – approximately 1200 square feet
8. California Transportation Airport Permit
9. Aircraft allowance – 5 permanently based
10. Two water wells
11. One septic tank
Airport For Sale
Airport, hangar, and 1957 remodeled cottage
Custom buildable lot 3 acres with airport access
Custom buildable lot 3 1/2 acres with redwoods & airport access
3,000 sq ft home and taxi way to runway
Contact us for more details!
J. Rockcliff Realtors
Diane Sass and Tom Bramell
www.dianesass.com
(925)699-9508
(925) 963-8685
Fax (925)889-3614
