State Parks | featured news

Private donors, foundations and other entities have come forward to help keep 11 of 70 parks threatened with closure open for one to three years, McGrath State Beach among them. California has struck deals to keep 11 state parks open and more reprieves are in the works, whittling the number of parks that will be closed this summer because of budget cuts, officials said Tuesday.

With parks across state needing $1.3B in repairs, Calif. will close 70 parks to save $22M over next couple yearsCalif.

California Assemblyman wants to study making a state park out of Michael Jackson's storied Santa Barbara County estate. The parks department seems uninterested in such an acquisition.

Smiling docents, green-clad rangers, music piped in everywhere — for Michael Jackson fans, Neverland State Park would no doubt be a thriller.

California lawmakers on Thursday will consider what is believed to be the nation's most far-reaching smoking ban in state parks as a way to get unsightly cigarette butts off the beach, eliminate second-hand smoke and reduce the threat of wildfires....