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Carmel Valley's Hidden Gem San Clemente Rancho Entices with Rustic Charm San Clemente Rancho Entices with Rustic Charm B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y K E L L I U L D A L L or such a small geo- graphical region, the Monterey Peninsula area is home to a lot of secrets. One such is San Clemente Rancho, a private- ly owned 2,600-acre tract located near the end of Robinson Canyon Road, south of Carmel Valley. This is the site of 100 cabins, owned by "members," con- centrated on only 160 of the acres. The remainder is a bucolic, remote and serene vacation spot, but one with many conveniences and recreational facilities. There are swimming pools (with an awesome water slide), tennis and basketball cour ts, a miniature golf course, a fish- ing and boating lake, a vast clubhouse building and miles and miles of hiking trails. There's even a ridgetop landing strip for those who care to drop in by air. The core of the property was cobbled together in the early 20th cen- tury by Charles and Della McFadden under the Homestead Act of 1862. That act of Congress, intended to ensure the population of the then- unsettled (by European-descended people, at least) western United States, granted 160 acres to anyone willing to settle on and develop the land for five years. The McFaddens staked their claim, and enlisted several others to do so, with the caveat that the couple would purchase their land after the five year waiting period. All but one lived up to the agreement, and in the 1920s the newly named McFadden Ranch was home to grazing cattle and a few ramshackle, rustic cabins as par t of a hunting and fishing club operated as a sideline. Mike Dormody had grown up in Carmel Valley and knew the area well. He made his living operating a small ear th-moving business, opening up roads for clients from Big Sur to Cachagua. For a time, he had a mem- bership at another hidden gem, the White Rock Club. "Mike wasn't very pleased with the way White Rock was organized," his wife Donna says. The couple decided they could do better, and purchased 1,802 acres from the McFaddens on June 21, 1960. "We didn't have any money, but we got a loan on our Ford Victoria and plunged in. We signed the papers at the McFaddens' house on the corner of Wave Street and David Avenue," she recalls. That house still stands, now par t of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's administrative offices. The Dormodys immediately renamed the property San Clemente Rancho. "There was nothing here," says son Bruce. "There was just a dirt road or such a small geo- graphical region, the Monterey Peninsula area is home to a lot of F 136 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 The Dormody family — (from left) Erik, Dan, Hank, Donna, Joshua and Bruce — has owned the vacation home development San Clemente Rancho since 1960. Photo: Kelli Uldall