Duck Cove, the bayside community of 10 homes in the Point Reyes National Seashore that was mostly vacated about four years ago after leases expired, will be soon demolished, probably this summer or fall, the park said. “Once the work is completed, Duck Cove will be a fantastic opportunity for public access. The area is a beautiful natural cove on Tomales Bay that for the first time will go from exclusive use to public use,” said seashore spokesman John Dell’Osso. He did not yet know the cost of the project, as contracts have not yet been signed. The homes were built between the late ‘50s and early ‘70s, many with broad windows and porches that offer bucolic views of the bay. When the park purchased the land in 1972, most homeowners received 40-year reservations of use and occupancy. One, however, negotiated a 50-year allowance. Most did not live there full-time, but they visited often and maintained the road. In 2011, nearing the sunset of most reservations, many in the community lobbied for 10-year extensions, to align with the single longer lease. Some also saw the disrepair and disintegration of Lairds Landing—which has been empty since longtime resident, fisherman and artist Clayton Lewis, died in 1995—as evidence that there were no federal resources or money to manage the site. But the park declined the request, arguing that such a move would be “contrary to the long-range development plans for public use of the national seashore.” Mr. Dell’Osso also emphasized that the homes were mostly vacations homes and did not have a sustainable supply of water, which was always trucked in. Yet at least one leaseholder told the light in 2011 that his parents lived there full-time for many years. These days, signs of abandonment are everywhere at Duck Cove. One house is widely tagged, with spray-painted figures—a monkey, a bear, Simpson characters—and messages covering the walls and windows, a jarring contrast to what was once a well-crafted wood home. At other sites the signs are more subtle: ferns peek through the wooden slats about walkways or the fresh green tips of fir tree’s new buds brush up against sliding glass doors.