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Park Stories
Georgina, Shingletown
Ide Adobe State Park
I am a volunteer there at Ide Adobe and we were recently on the closing list. This park is my life! When I heard that we were taken off, I was so relieved and ecstatic that I almost cried. This park is small, but very important. They have a big school program where 4th and 5th graders come and learn about the history firsthand with living history docents. This park is also very beautiful, quiet, and restful. There was one man who came up to me at a craft demonstration who absolutely felt like he had stepped into 1852 and loved it. He is now a total fan, I believe, and is definitely coming to Ide Adobe Day on the 16th of August. I just want to thank Debbie Chakarun, the park interpreter, for influencing my life in such a positive way!
Nancy, San Bernardino
Carlsbad State Beach
Fond days of summer and my youth; campfires at night and the pounding of the waves that never ended; cool sand between my toes and the call of seagulls above as we dug for sand crabs and searched for shells; the list could go on and on, as the memories in my older person's mind is as vivid as the days when I played there as a child.
Gene, Benicia
Benicia SRA
When I heard the Governors announcement in January I became very angry. The park that I had taken for granted could be closed. On May 10 we held a rally in our park, and I found that I now belonged to a community. A community that shares the same value I have of publicly accessible open space for all. The rally was attended by people from Benicia and Vallejo, young and old, fishermen and cyclists, politicians and students, who I now consider to be my friends.
I usually go to parks to hike and be alone. Through this budget mess, I now know I can go to parks to be with friends. Happily our Park will remain a part of our community (with today’s announcement from the Governor that the State Parks will not be closed). But you can count me in to continue making friends in our state parks so that we never have to go through this mess again.
Rebekah, Aliso Viejo
Crystal Cove State Park
I believe Crystal Cove State Park is one of the gems of Orange County. I moved to Orange County from San Diego ten years ago and this state park was recommended to me early on. I used to take my Mom hiking with me in El Moro Canyon and in the springtime. It is so beautiful with the wild mustard growing along the trails. Also the wideness and wilderness feel of it takes you away from the busyness and hectic atmosphere of the Orange County freeways and local streets. I also enjoy walking the beach at Crystal Cove. It is very relaxing and also helps you to be removed from the stresses of the modern day world. I had friends visiting me from Christchurch, New Zealand about 7 or 8 years ago and I took them to Crystal Cove State Park and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience. So now that the Crystal Cove Cottages are being marketed as a place to stay someday I'd like to stay there for a week or even a weekend.
Terri , Santa Rosa
Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve & Austin Creek Recreation Area
This is a tribute to the one park that has been my sanctuary, my cathedral and my spiritual place of healing and renewal for my entire life. I have been visiting this park first with my own parents in the 1950's and 60's, and then with my children in the 70's & '80s, and now with my grandchildren in the 90's to this day. My children and I have ridden our horses through this beautiful grove and have camped many times at Manning flat in Austin Creek State Recreation Area, which is accessible by horseback and on foot only. In high school, I attended Shakespeare’s play, A Mid-Summer Night's Dream performed on the Redwood grove amphitheater stage. It was a magical and memorable night that I will NEVER forget for the rest of my life! My best friend has played Sunday concerts in the Redwood Theater, and she told me that they never even needed to use their electronic equipment because the natural acoustics in the Redwood Theater were so fantastic! Why not reopen the Redwood Theater to host plays and concerts again if income from this park is an issue? I'm sure people would flock to the shows in droves, and this park could be making a lot more money just from this ONE source!
The Armstrong Redwoods are at the spiritual heart of Sonoma county residents, and the park also receives over 1,000,000 visitors annually from around the world! PLEASE DON'T LET THEM CLOSE ARMSTRONG WOODS OR AUSTIN CREEK TO VISITORS! Write to your legislative representatives and let them know how YOU feel about YOUR park’s upcoming closure! The parks belong to the PEOPLE, not to the "state" entity. They are OUR PARKS and we need to STAND UP FOR THEM, NOW, before it is too late!
Kathleen, Benicia
Benicia State Recreation Area
I have run five times per week in this park for over 20 years. My 4 children, who are college age, grew up running, biking and skating in this park. I have met lifelong friends here. Please don't close our park.
Gary, Salinas, CA
Fremont Peak State Park
For the last four years, I have invited the top readers(and their families) of my third grade class for a special "expedition" hike to the top of Fremont Peak followed by an exploration of our galaxy using the giant telescope in the observatory run my amateur astronomers. And every year, my students, and their families come away enriched and enthralled in a way that no textbook could give, by enabling them to actually touch, feel, and experience firsthand the wonders of nature on this earth as well as beyond. To take this away, if this park were to close, would be an immeasurable loss that could never be calculated in dollars and cents!
Linda, Morro Bay
Montana De Oro State Park
As a resident of Morro Bay and a member of the Central Coast Natural History Association, my husband and I have long enjoyed the freedoms of exploring this pristine area of coastline on the Central Coast. Montana De Oro State Park is one of those hidden treasures of natural beauty for everyone to enjoy. We've been visiting it now for 20 years and introduced it to all that come to visit us here, there are now people from as far away as Massachusetts that tell their friends that they MUST see this glorious place called Montana De Oro, its true to the translation of its name, a real Mountain of Gold. Please help the generations of future visitors to this place, able to see it and wonder of its beauties.
Marc, NY, NY
All ofthe redwoods state parks
My family and I have been using the state parks for recreation and education my entire life. I remember the camping in the redwoods with my parents and my sister. We need these parks.
Joann, Los Banos
New Brighton State Beach
When I was younger, and when we lived in the Bay Area, my parents used to take us to New Brighton Beach on random weekends. I remeber preparing our gear the night before as we would spend an entire day there; from 7 AM to dusk. I remember jumping out of our family car, racing to find the perfect picnic table that was closest to the trail that led to the beach!
Alex, Winnetka
All State Parks
I travel all over this State. I always take my annual state park day time parking pass with me. I hike in Topanga and Will Rodgers, I stop to see the elephant seals in San Simion, Go to Morro rock to fish,I just two weeks ago went to the state park at Tomales Bay, and I have stories like that, for many of other parks on the closure list. I go to many of the beaches on the lifeguard reduction list as well. The truth be told, I love California, and always have felt great about, and taken comfort in, the fact that no matter where I am in this great state that I can find a state park to relax in, have a BBQ, surf, hike swim, see nature, and enjoy myself. I have to many stories of enjoying myself, in state parks. Starting all the way back in the early 80's when my father used to take my 3 brothers and I to state parks like Mount Diablo and Natural Bridges. When we moved to Simi Valley from the Bay, one of the first things we did is go to some state parks like Santa Susana, Topanga, and Leo Carrillo. Many wonderful stories in my life revolve around the state parks. I think we need more state parks and not less. The people of California, especially the children, deserve better.
Lynn, Occidental
Armstrong Redwoods State Park
This letter is written on behalf of Harley, Skylar, Steven, and of course Anna, in the hopes that it will save one of Anna's most beloved places on earth. Needless to say, Anna's family has suffered a tremendous loss, not only because they lost Anna at such a young age, but also because Anna was no ordinary woman. She was unequivocally AMAZING. And not just amazing in the afterglow of her death or the exaltation of memorializing the departed. She lit up any space she was in with her positive energy and adventurous spirit. The loss of this vibrant spirit on earth is almost more than any of us can endure. But now their family is about to be dealt a second blow, unless we receive some help.
The most sacred place in Anna's life was a beautiful old growth redwood forest in Guerneville, California called Armstrong Woods. Anyone who was touched by Anna was brought to these redwoods. They hiked to the top of a path that overlooks a valley of redwoods that stretches as far as the eye can see towards the ocean, and then were told in Anna's ethereal, breathless, whisper with a twinkle of divine knowing in her eyes that "This is the place where angels fly!" It was a magical moment that many of us were graced to share with her, and especially so for her daughters. They spent many hours in that sacred place with their mother and on the day she left this world it was the first place the girls wanted to go. Unfortunately, this precious place is about to be taken from them as well.
We are trying to save Armstrong Woods-for the sake of Anna's two beautiful daughters Harley and Skylar, and her grief-stricken husband Steve. We want to save it so that ANYONE who needs to commune with their personal angels will have it available to them. We hope that out of this tragic loss of such a beautiful spirit will grow a legacy of saving someplace eternal and extraordinary.
Sandra, McConnell State Recreation Area
Delhi
This park and campground are used by families that enjoy taking their evening meals on hot summer days as well as many campers enjoying the beauty of the Merced River at all times of the year. It is near our home and very accessible. Where would all of us go if it closes?
Mark , Modesto
ALL STATE PARKS
Our state parks are a vast resource of education for our youth as well as a place to enjoy the outdoors and learn what it offers, it is a DISSREVICE to Californians to close these parks especially when there are other areas where there is a great deal of monies wasted. We visit State Parks all the time and they are a pleasure to go to. Everyone should have a voice in this closure matter not just the Governor.
David, Gloucester , MA
Portola Redwoods State Park
When I was a young boy living in San Jose my father took me camping at Portola Redwoods State Park. Dad was originally from Kansas and the redwood forest was a new environment to him also. We hiked together for hours making new discoveries around every turn. Like two wilderness explorers in a strange and beautiful land.
I'm now in my mid-forties and live over 3000 miles away. But, I am instantly transported there when I think of my dad and me seeing our first banana slug together. We're waiting patiently for the tentacles with little eyes at the ends to reemerge. We're watching the sunlight fall in narrow shafts of filtered light through the forest canopy. We're listening to the jays warning of our presence. We're walking along the babbling creek and laughing when I get my feet wet. I'm learning how to skip stones. We're peering into deep pools where miniature lobsters, called crayfish, are scavenging the bottom. With just a thought I am once again that five-year-old boy full of wonder for natural world and sharing it all with my best friend, Dad. I can smell the campfire now, can't you?
Katherine, San Francisco
Armstron Redwoods State Park
Armstrong Woods is on the closure list, and it is the only old-growth, peaceful park in the Bay Area readily accessible to seniors and the disabled for group events. My parents retirement group meets annually in Armstrong Woods for a large picnic event. It is the only park where they can drive up to the picnic site and use wheelchairs on a relatively smooth terrain. It is the only time most of these seniors have the opportunity to linger and relax in the wilderness.
When your mobility is limited, you are a prisoner of a very limited area. You cannot walk along the sand of a beach. You cannot manage even the most mild narrow hiking trails. Your freedom is compromised. It would be horrible to take the freedom of Armstrong Woods away from these people. I am certain there are other parks in California that serve this same liberating function.
It is very hard for seniors and the disabled to get away from the noise and hectic atmosphere of crowded areas. Parks allow that. They diffuse the noise and the visiting population, so they can actually hear what people are saying to them, let alone hear the birds and the wind in the leaves. It is a comforting and refreshing oasis at a difficult time of life.
Another problem to consider is the removal of security and patrols in the parks, which has a profound effect on the surrounding neighborhoods. Leaving the parks vulnerable to vandals, and other more dangerous criminals, endangers residents. These residents include seniors and children, who are already at a vulnerable stage of life. It also brings down property values at a time when the housing market is in a steep decline and cannot afford another hit. A vast majority of seniors rely heavily on the value of their home to pay for in-home care or moving to an assisted living facility.
We must do everything we can to preserve these parks. There are too many good reasons to save them.
josephine , Los Angeles
All State Parks
I know how much I love the outdoors, and how much fun I've had visiting California’s beautiful state parks. I hope and pray that all of us (our children, adults and elders) will have the same chances I've had to appreciate God's loving wonders. Please help save what God has given us.
Sarah, Santa Monica
Will Rogers State Historic Park
This is an all around great park - for short hikes with kids, longer hikes or trail runs into the hills, hanging out on the grass. Please don't close!
Elaine , Rocklin
Sutters Fort and many more
I think it is unthinkable to let 48 state parks go. Our children and adults need to have parks where they can learn history and it makes you feel good to visit parks where you don't have to pay a lot of money to enjoy yourself.
Susan, Occidental
Armstrong Redwoods State Park
I walk in Armstrong Redwoods all the time and view it as one of the greatest places on earth. The last time I visited, there were campers from Italy and Canada swapping stories and kids from the River who really need a place to go. This is not only a stunning site but an economic resource for our community. These huge redwood groves must be saved.
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