While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to keep California State Parks open, he didn’t stress how drastic some changes would be to deal with the 14.2 million dollar reduction in the Park budget.
A summary of the service reductions in store for most of California’s 278 state parks was created by the park superintendants to highlight the major changes that will take place. The list of common changes, as provided by a California State Parks press release, are as follows:
– Reduce days of operation by two or three weekdays at selected parks. Other parks will close a portion of a campground or outlying day use areas
– Close and consolidate some park offices and/or reduce hours of operation
– Reduce off-season lifeguard levels at some beaches
– Remove some trash cans and fire rings from the beach and close roughly half of the restrooms at some beaches
– Close many park visitor centers two or more days every week
– Reduce the number of school tours and interpretive programs at many parks
So while we should all be thankful that all 278 parks are staying open, keep in mind that Gov. Schwarzenegger also took 22.2 million out of the 2010-2011 State Parks budget. That’s 8 million more than what the parks are cutting right now.
For example, Fort Ross State Park, including its visitor center and fort compound will be closed Monday through Thursday. Castle Rock State Park will have reduced days, restroom closures, reduced cleaning, and less trash service. Since all 278 parks are going to be affected, Sierra Journal urges its readers to check with local State Parks to learn about specific changes.
So let’s all be happy that no parks will be closed for good, but keep up to date with your local parks to transition smoothly into revised schedules For a complete summary of all State Parks, provided via SF Gate, click here.
Here’s a shot taken at Castle Rock State Park just a couple weekends ago – home to some great single-pitch/top-rope rock climbing and TONS of beautiful hiking trails for all you Bay Area folks. If you go, try the Saratoga Gap Trail.
