State Parks in the News
New Reservation System Coming to California State Parks This Summer
Starting this August, Californians will make their state parks camping and tour reservations through a new, faster, easier to use reservation system that features more open access to data.
Snowy plover breeding means increased patrols at beaches, parks
The breeding season of the western snowy plover started this month, prompting state park officials to increase patrol efforts to protect the bird.
State Parks official: Make Monastery Beach safe? Hire more lifeguards
A day after a 9-year-old boy died at Monastery State Beach, the public safety superintendent for California State Parks in the area said the best solution to keeping the site nicknamed “Mortuary Beach” by locals safe would be to staff more lifeguards.
L.A. State Historic Park to Reopen April 22
After a three-year renovation — about two years longer than originally slated — the 34-acre Los Angeles State Historic Park near Chinatown finally has an opening date.
Lawmaker Seeks To Ban Smoking On California State Beaches, Parks
Levine’s bill, AB 725, has cleared one key committee, but still must go before the Assembly Appropriations Committee before the entire Assembly can vote on it.
After summer’s wildfire and winter’s heavy rains, five coastal parks in the Big Sur area remain closed indefinitely
f your spring break plans include hiking in the Big Sur area, it’s time to activate plan B. California state parks in the area received a double whammy in the past eight months that have kept popular coastal sites closed. More than 130,000 acres around Big Sur were scorched by the Soberanes fire that burned from July to October last year. Heavy rains in February brought flooding and slides to the burn area, compounding the damage. Some parks are closed indefinitely because of the fire, flooding or both.
Surfers fear road-erosion solution could change San Onofre beach forever
The state wants to fix a crumbling road that leads into San Onofre State Park, but the Surfrider Foundation opposes the plan because surfers fear the upgrade could change the area’s famed waves and lead to long-term erosion.
Changes afoot in management of Lake Tahoe’s federal, state lands
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Amid a national conversation on what to do with the nation’s public lands, agencies in the Tahoe Basin are making changes to better manage state and federally owned land.
Coastal Commission grants permit to renovate the last of 46 beach cottages at Crystal Cove State Park
The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday approved a $30-million proposal to renovate the last of 46 oceanfront cottages at historic Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County.
New California license plate features redwoods, needs 7,500 orders by May
California’s spectacular state parks system — which ranges from statuesque redwoods to vast deserts and sweeping beaches — has hit some rough patches over the past five years with threatened parks closures, budget problems and even a famous drive-through giant sequoia tree falling down this winter in heavy storms. But parks lovers are trying to inject some new visibility and money into the venerable system of 280 parks with a proposed commemorative license plate. For the state Department of Motor Vehicles to begin producing the plate, which features an image of a redwood forest, it needs 7,500 pre-paid orders by May 18.
Photo Credit: Julianne Bradford