Año Nuevo State Park is located in San Mateo County, approximately 25 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 25 miles north of Santa Cruz on HWY 1. It rests on the coastal edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains and is a easy day trip from the cities of San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco.

The park preserves and protects the scenic, biological, ecological, and cultural values of the central California coastline, including Año Nuevo Island and properties on the western slope of the coast range inland from Año Nuevo Point. The Natural Preserve within the park protects and interprets the pinniped rookeries and significant wildlife habitats on Año Nuevo Island. The park also contains sensitive native dunes and coastal terrace prairie habitats, and a diversity of inland plant communities, including old growth forest, freshwater marsh, red alder riparian forest and knobcone pine forest. Its four perennial streams support steelhead trout and coho salmon, and its wetlands are habitat to the rare San Francisco garter snake and red-legged frog. Cultural resources include the remnants of Native California Indian Ohlone occupation of the area and a number of restored historical buildings from the nineteenth century Dickerman/Steele dairy ranch.