Findel Ranch is a 30 acre preserve in central Alpine, adjacent to Wright’s Field. Once a large tract of land ranched by some of Alpine’s original residents, this land, like many of the sprawling pioneer homesteads, was sold off piece by piece until eventually only a small portion of the original homestead remained in the ownership of a single family, the Findel’s. Now protected as native habitat land, the Findel Ranch property is dominated by oak woodlands, coastal sage scrub, and patches of native grassland. This area is the headwater basin for the North Fork of the Sweetwater River, with a deeply-incised waterway running from west to east that carries a seasonal creek down to Loveland Reservoir. In addition to the pioneer history on the property, there are several areas containing Kumeyaay grinding stones under the large oak trees along the creek.