Coconino County, Trust for Public Land Helps Protect 488-Acre Gonzalez Ranch for Public Open Space and Outdoor Recreation in Williams
Williams, AZ. – Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Coconino County, in partnership with the City of Williams and generous donors, today announced the protection of the 488-acre Gonzalez Ranch property in Williams, Arizona. The forested landscape, which includes ponderosa pine forest, open meadows, and Gonzalez Lake, will become a new public open space and outdoor recreation area for residents and visitors alike.
Trust for Public Land facilitated the project by receiving a majority of the ranch, 366 acres, as a donation from a family with roots in northern Arizona. An adjacent 122 acres was also purchased by TPL with a generous donation by extended family members. TPL was then able to donate the entire 488 acres to Coconino County, where it will be managed by the County Parks and Recreation Department.
Located adjacent to Interstate 40 and sharing a 1.5 mile boundary with the Kaibab National Forest, Gonzalez Ranch offers significant opportunities for outdoor recreation, preservation, and public access. Future uses may include recreational trails connecting to the nearby national forest lands, outdoor education and wildlife and nature viewing for example.
“Gonzalez Ranch represents an extraordinary opportunity to protect open space, expand outdoor recreation access, and preserve the natural character of Williams for future generations,” said Michael Patrick, Senior Project Manager at Trust for Public Land. “By working together with the donors, Coconino County, and the City of Williams, we’re helping transform a property once considered for intensive development into a lasting public resource where residents and visitors can connect with nature, explore the outdoors, and experience the landscapes that make northern Arizona so special.”
The protection of Gonzalez Ranch preserves the property from potential large-scale commercial development.
“On behalf of Coconino County, I want to express our sincere gratitude to the families who entrusted the Gonzalez Ranch to Coconino County and to the Trust for Public Land for helping make this remarkable conservation effort possible,” Coconino County District 3 Supervisor Tammy Ontiveros said. “This donation ensures that the ranch’s natural beauty, cultural heritage, landscape and wildlife habitat will be protected and enjoyed for years to come. We are honored to accept this gift and the responsibility that comes with preserving this special place for our community and future generations.”
Williams, a rural community of approximately 3,500 residents located west of Flagstaff along Interstate 40, has long branded itself as the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon.” Outdoor recreation and tourism play a major role in the local economy, supported by the city’s historic downtown, the restored Fred Harvey hotel, and the Grand Canyon Railway, which connects Williams to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The City supports the planned uses of the land as County Park open space and recreational property for its residents and visitors. For a number of years, the community faced concerns the ranch could be developed for a variety of other uses, which included residential development, solar farm, and an amusement park.
I strongly feel that this is the best use of this property for our community,” said Don Dent, Mayor for City of Williams. “I believe it is the best news we have had in many years. We are so grateful to the generosity of the families that donated this land and to Coconino County and Trust for Public Land for this successful outcome.”
In 2022, the principal of the entity that owned Gonzalez Ranch helped spearhead the vision for conserving the property for public use by contacting Coconino County and the City of Williams with the idea of donating the land for public open space and recreation. Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit with a long history of completing complicated land protection projects, was then engaged to help complete the transaction and realize the shared conservation vision.
The landowner said, “This land is a gift from God to the people of Williams and northern Arizona. Our family is grateful that its beauty will be preserved and enjoyed by the residents and many others for generations to come.”
County Parks and Recreation plans to work with the City of Williams, recreational user groups, and other community members to develop a master plan for the future uses of the land. The department also seeks to further leverage the value of the land donation to secure additional outside funding for recreation improvements, including potential support from grant applications.
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
