ABOUT THE RANCH
Nestled in the rolling hills of Cayucos and overlooking the Pacific Ocean is where you’ll find Swallow Creek Ranch. 617 acres of grazed ranch land is home to about 60 head of happy cattle, hundreds of nesting cliff swallows, a beautiful colony of Monarch butterflies, several species of raptors including golden eagles and great horned owls, coyotes, the occasional badger, a long list of additional wildlife, and the Waddell-Grafton Family.
I feel very fortunate to call the Central Coast and Swallow Creek Ranch home. My dad, Duane Waddell raised me on this ranch. He began running cattle here in the 1980's, continuing the land’s long legacy of agricultural use. But Duane further executed his responsibility as steward of this land through restoration of Swallow Creek and the riparian area, planting 100s of trees on the ranch. He was also involved with the Cayucos Land Conservancy, which helped acquire the land that is now the Estero Bluffs State Park, directly across the highway from Swallow Creek Ranch.
My husband Paul and I were married on the ranch in 2004. We have expanded our love with our children, Odin and Trilby who we are raising to be stewards of this sacred land. After our celebration of love we decided to transform part of the ranch into a wedding venue.
Jonna and Reid Kitchen, experienced property managers and lifelong friends, who attended our wedding long ago, now oversee the wedding venue as our site managers. We all love sharing this very special property with you and can’t wait to chat about your upcoming celebration! Cheers to “love, laughter and happily ever after! Kyla Grafton
SUSTAINABILITY AND CONSERVATION
We take our role as stewards of this land very seriously and make habitat preservation and conservation a priority. We have fenced off and restored much of the Swallow Creek riparian area and replanted thousands of native plants. In addition to these efforts, we have obtained a Safe Harbor Agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and work in conjunction to protect California Red-legged frogs and Western Pond Turtles, two species of special concern.
Swallow Creek Ranch is also a working cattle ranch producing grass-fed, hormone free beef. We understand the delicate balance between grazing and a more natural and native habitat. Therefore, we focus on sustainable practices and have partnered with the Natural Resources Conservation Council and Cal Fire to eradicate invasive plant species, enhancing the range land while encouraging regrowth of native bunch grasses.
HISTORY
Carolyn and Ulisse Filipponi - 1929
There is a rich history on this land that extends back millennia to Native American Chumash settlements. In 1769, the first Spanish land expedition was recorded here referring to the area as Estero. This land became part of the Mission San Luis Obispo and now includes Estero Bluffs State Park.
Later, the large Ranchos were subdivided and sold off. Many Italian speaking Swiss immigrants came to coastal California in the mid and late 1800's. In 1890, Celestino Filipponi purchased the ranch and raised dairy cattle here. Three generations of Fillipponi's contributed to the agricultural development of the ranch and most of the historic buildings on site were constructed under their ownership. The old creamery, restored and now serving as the bridal suite, was used to hide rum during prohibition and during renovation, an old still was found!