Happy Earth Day

We are feeling a little extra love for our state parks today … today being officially Earth Day.

We say officially because last Saturday, April 13, we had CSPF’s Annual Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup. We hold this event every year in which we coordinate projects in state parks across the state and bring out awesome sponsors and volunteers to work in their local park for the afternoon.

This year we had Earth Day events at 24 state parks. 2,580 volunteers came out to work in those parks, and they did an incredible job! The volunteers planted 116 native trees and 1,740 native plants. They also removed a lot of non-native plants: 402 bags, 902 cubic yards, 3,000 square feet, 975 gallons, 8 truckloads and 10 tarps full. Not to mention 408 bags of trash and 49 bags of recycling.

See them in action:

Angel Island

Auburn

Benicia State Recreation Area

Candlestick State Recreation Area

Candlestick State Recreation Area

Folsom Lake

Forest of Nicene Marks

Half Moon Bay State Beach

Jack London State Historic Park

Malibu Creek State Park

Montana de Oro

San Clemente State Beach

San Onofre State Beach

Sonoma Coast State Beach

We are so grateful for our volunteers and sponsors. A big thank you to PG&E, Chevron, Oracle, SoCal Gas, Edison, Virgin America, Chipotle Mexican Grill, KIND Healthy Snacks, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Starbucks Coffee and The Fruit Guys.

Happy Earth Day all!

April Meteor Showers

Photo by Mike Shoys

Camping in state parks is fun as is, but add in a meteor shower and you could have an amazing camping experience in a state park this weekend.

That’s right … this weekend is the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower.  In California the shower will peak April 21-22 (Sunday night into Monday morning), when you should be able to see one every three to six minutes. The time to see the most meteors will be between 3:45am and 4:30am.

But you’ll need to be far from city lights. What better way to see them than from a state park campsite? So pitch a tent Sunday evening and settle in for a spectacular show.

More tips about how to view the Lyrid Meteor Shower here and here.

Enjoy!

Above the clouds…and fog: East Peak of Mt. Tamalpais (Photos)

A guest post BY VICTOR VOLTA

Victor is a professional photographer and writer, living in Alameda, CA. He has a degree in Journalism from San José State University. He is an avid hiker, loves road trips to the Sierras and the desert.

East Peak, Mt. Tamalpais

There are various ways to get to the East Peak of Mt. Tamalpais (directions from Mill Valley). At 2,571’, it’s the highest point in the park . The easiest way is to cheat and drive up East Ridgecrest Boulevard, park in the lot and wander around the summit, taking in the panoramic views.

View slideshow: Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods

But as with most things worth savoring, a little hard work is more beneficial to the soul, not to mention the heart, lungs and legs. The southern approach from Fern Creek Trail is one of the most challenging stretches of climbing in the entire park. The best starting point for this option is to park at the lot across from Mountain Home Inn on the Panoramic Highway. On mid-week mornings, parking is ample, but it can fill up on weekends, especially during the late spring and summer. There are two chemical toilets and a stunning view of Muir Woods below and to the west.

One caveat: From the parking lot, the starting point isn’t apparent or obvious. First the hiker must cross the street (look both ways for cars being driven by awestruck tourists, speeding cyclists, or deer) then walk up the driveway of the Throckmorton Fire House. You might feel like a trespasser, but continue to the left of the station and you’ll see a wide fire road (Hogback Fire Road).

The terrain starts off with a moderate incline, but once past the water tower and the Matt Davis trailhead, the real workout begins and it’s a steep climb of several hundred yards to the intersection of Old Railroad Grade Fire Trail. Unless the hiker is out to really punish their legs, an occasional stop to catch one’s breath and to take in the view to the south is recommended. While a magnificent scene of the forest peeking through a fog bank like the above photo isn’t guaranteed, the view is always something to be marveled at. Depending on visibility and the fog bank, stretching to the horizon are views of Sausalito, San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, and countless other landmarks.

The T-intersection of Old Railroad Grade (1400’) is a good place to stop and rest, drink some water and perhaps shed a layer of clothing. This fire road is a popular thoroughfare for mountain bikers on their way from Mill Valley to either West Point Inn or the East Peak. Continuing to the left, it’s an easy amble of less than half a mile on the wide fire road to the Fern Creek trailhead.

Nestled against the mountainside in the crease formed by Fern Creek, the trail to the summit is single track (no bikes allowed) that takes the hiker up varied terrain up the southern slope towards the summit. This trail section is roughly a mile in length, gaining about 1,000′ in elevation, making it one of the steepest one-mile stretches in the park.

It’s starts steeply up switchbacks and steps in the shade of bay laurel, oak and a smattering of evergreens. This time of year (early April) finds blooms of wild iris. A quarter mile up, the trail flattens, crosses Fern Creek, and then reaches the intersection of the short Tavern Pump trail. From here it’s a hard, steady climb. Once past a long wooden staircase, the underbrush becomes mainly chamise and manzanita and the path turns rockier and more uneven. On the way down, this rocky terrain will test the treads on one’s hiking shoes and help determine if a trip to REI to buy new ones is needed.

There’s a final steep chute through a tunnel of manzanita branches that takes the hiker to the end of the trail. One more caveat: This isn’t the summit. The summit is a short climb away from the Visitor Center, which is to the right about two hundred yards up an access road. In addition to the visitor center (open only on weekends) there are bathrooms, picnic tables and the views become expansive once again.

For those who want to experience the true summit of the East Peak, it’s another quarter mile and 200’ climb up a wooden walkway that eventually gives way to a rockier trail. At the end of this short section is a lookout tower that’s inaccessible to the public, but from just below it, finally gives the hiker a panoramic view in all directions. Lunch can be enjoyed here above the clouds and fog (hopefully), back down near the Visitor Center, or some other spot of the hiker’s choosing.

For the return trip, the hiker can either backtrack to Mountain Home Inn or, using a trail map, pick a new route back down the mountain.

This article originally appeared on Examiner.com.

Recommendations for a Better Parks System

Yesterday, the Little Hoover Commission released a report on state parks titled “Beyond Crisis: Recapturing Excellence in California’s State Park System.” We at CSPF have been reading the report with great interest, and we think you should be interested, too.

But first … a little background on the Little Hoover Commission. It’s a 13-member independent state oversight agency appointed by the governor and Legislature. The commission investigates state government operations and writes reports and recommendations that promote efficiency, economy and improved service.

About a year ago, the commission began to look at the long-term vision of California state parks and the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). This was a lengthy process which included many hearings and interviews. CSPF staff testified several times before the commission.

The 120-page report was released Monday morning, and can be downloaded online.

The report is direct and comprehensive. The Executive Summary is quick to read and will give you a good flavor for the report. Some of the top level recommendations to the state include:

1. Develop a new vision for DPR.
2. Assess which parks should remain state parks and which ones would be better transferred to local control.
3. Enable state parks to generate more revenue with a more enterprise-based operating model.
4. Commit General Fund support to DPR with flexibility for revenue generation and more transparent financial reporting.
5. Develop incentives and performance measures reported in annual performance reports.
6. Give DPR more flexibility to hire and promote a range of skilled employees.

CSPF agrees with the commission’s top-level recommendations for the future direction of California’s state parks. We find the call for a new vision for parks very consistent with our 2011 report: “A Vision for Excellence for California State Parks.” It was also consistent with the testimony that CSPF gave before the commission.

Read our full statement about the report online.

We are excited to see what comes next for state parks, and we at CSPF plan to continue to be there to represent as your voice for state parks. What do you think about the report? Let us know in the comments.

Here’s to a positive future for our parks!

Memories from Montaña de Oro State Park

A guest post BY JOSH MCNAIR

Josh is a blogger and photographer that is currently attempting to travel and photograph the state of California with his blog CaliforniaThroughMyLens.com. He also loves to go on adventures and hikes and chronicles them on the adventure blog OPAdventureTeam.com.

I love visiting California’s beautiful state parks as they are diverse collections of the extraordinary beauty that is found all over this state. I even have a list of all the parks in my office with the hope that I may one day check them all off. While I have traveled extensively in California, one of the parks I had heard the least about has became one of my favorites, Montaña de Oro. Montaña de Oro, located south of Morro Bay and West of San Luis Obispo, is a beautiful example of what pristine, untouched coastline can look like (we never see this in Southern California). It has miles of trails, acres of beaches to relax on and a leisurely style that beckons you come and enjoy yourself. My favorite place to visit here is the Bluffs Trail as it walks the coastline for about two miles and creates fantastic vistas one after another as you are walking. Here are my favorite parts of this trail in Montaña de Oro State Park.

This first picture demonstrates the amazing way the water has worked on the rocks to create these unique inlets. As the tide goes up and the years move on, the water does its part to create art that can now be seen in these rock structures. I also love the way the green juxtaposes with the blues of the ocean and the browns of the rock.

A little further down the trail there are a series of steps that lead to a small beach and a large collection of tide pools. Again, in Southern California, these tide pools would have been crawling with people, but up in this park they were practically vacant, which allowed us to see everything from starfish to sea slugs. It was awesome to be able to see a habitat like this so untouched.

If you are feeling more adventurous there are a bunch of inlets where you can climb down and relax on the beach. Beaches like the above picture even provide opportunities to swim out and check out the small arches and little caves located right off the shoreline in the rock formations. Even during the end of summer when I was there, there were only about a dozen people relaxing on the beach.

My last memory about Montaña de Oro was coming to the end of the bluffs trail. This rock that jutted out of the bluffs created a unique picture against the ocean crashing behind it. While the picture makes it look small, this rock was big enough to hold me for a picture that I still have hanging up in my house. It is a great place to just relax and realize how small you are in the grand scheme of things.

I loved my time at this park and always tell others to visit. It is a beautifully preserved example of California’s rich beaches and a great place to take a family vacation. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments if you have been here and enjoyed yourself as much as I did. You can read my full post with directions to the trail on my site CaliforniaThroughMyLens.com.

Art Sale for State Parks

Treasured Places art show is going on now and is donating proceeds of art sales to CSPF! The show features beautiful paintings and photographs of California’s stunning state parks created by artists of The Oak Group.

If you live in the Santa Barbara area, please visit the art show at the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Central Public Library located at 40 E. Anapamu Street. The show will be on display until March 30.

If you can’t make it to the gallery, check out the show right here! We have the pieces on display below. Click on an image to see details such as artist, size and price. If you are interested in a piece, please contact Allison See, Special Events Coordinator, at allison@calparks.org or (415) 262-4409 for more information.

Love State Parks? Say So!

There’s no better way to show your political support for something than to sit in the office of your local representative and tell them about it.

Seems a little intimidating perhaps? On the contrary. That’s why we coordinate our annual Park Advocacy Day. We schedule appointments for you, help you develop talking points, and put you in small groups with whom you can visit your representatives. But we need people like YOU to join us to make this day successful.

Picture yourself as a park advocate

That said, registration is now open for our 11^th Annual Park Advocacy Day and we hope you will participate.

CSPF’s 11^th Annual Park Advocacy Day
Sacramento, CA
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

During Park Advocacy Day, over 100 park supporters will gather together in Sacramento to spend the day meeting with policymakers and advocating in support of state parks. These meetings have a lasting impact on legislators and staff as they make decisions on legislation and budget issues.

And the day is customized to YOU. You’ll have the opportunity to speak up for YOUR state parks with your very own representatives.  What’s not to like about that?

But you have to register soon to join in, as there are limited spots and registration closes Feb. 8.

If you have questions about Park Advocacy Day, please contact us at advocacy@calparks.org or call 916-442-2119.

In 2013 I Will Volunteer in a California State Park

It’s a new year, which for many means a time to write a list of resolutions to improve ones self and become a better person. One of the noblest resolutions is to spend more time volunteering in the coming year.

Volunteering is usually a feel-good activity no matter where you spend your time. But we at the California State Parks Foundation think the most feel-good place to volunteer is in the great outdoors. You can’t beat the feeling of sun on your skin and ocean breeze in your hair while you help make the park you love more beautiful for other visitors like you.

So as part of your New Year’s resolution, consider adding “Volunteer in state parks” to the list. One great way to help is through our Park Champions Program. There will be plenty of work days throughout 2013 so be sure to check the calendar!

Happy New Year!

Take a Note …

Thinking of holiday gifts to give your loved ones?  Here’s a fun idea … CSPF is currently offering a set of 10 gorgeous note cards featuring photos from California state parks in our online store. The coolest part is that each photo was taken by a contestant in our state parks photo contest.

You could give the set as a gift or use them to write notes to your friends and family. The note cards are blank on the inside, making them perfect for any sentiment.The 10 note cards and 10 envelopes are just $6.99 + tax! 

Here are the awesome photographers who contributed to this photo set:

• Mike Ryan: www.michaelryanphotography.com
• Jim Duckworth (2)
• Cynthia Leeder
• Rob Dweck: http://robdweck.com/
• Julianne Bradford: http://www.juliannebradford.com/
• Gary Philbin
• Steve Albano: http://www.upatdawnphotography.com
• Mark Moore
• Dennis Lint: http://dwlint.500px.com/#/0

Thanks as always to our awesome contest participants who generously share their photos with CSPF!

Guest Post: Full-Time RVing, Public Parks and Photography

A guest post BY LEVONNE GADDY

Levonne is an artist and author of several blogs about her family’s three-year relocation adventure from the U.S. southwest to California during the Great Recession. During that period, they volunteered as park caretakers and campground hosts and lived in some of California’s public parks.

Hearst Castle © Levonne Gaddy

My husband John and I have lived in our thirty-foot Jazz fifth-wheel trailer for three years. If it had not been for beautiful public parks, my sacred camera and my equally sacred laptop computer, I don’t know that I could have made it.

Our original plan when we hit the road three years ago was to find meaningful work and a community that we would love on the Central California coast. We left a comfortable home, jobs and a known community to relocate after fifteen years in the U.S. Southwest. We left in the midst of the 2008 Great Recession.

Having been enthusiastic recreational vehicle campers to Central Coast California for over twenty years, we felt adequately qualified to decide that we wanted to be permanent California residents. Our positive exposure to camp hosts in public parks over the years led us to pursue volunteer camp host jobs as a way to give something back to the communities we loved and to anchor us in our transition.

Camp host duties usually include providing campers with information, doing camp checks to make sure visitors have paid their fees, staffing visitor centers and museums and general cleanup around campgrounds. Most hosts work approximately 20 hours a week and in exchange are provided with a full-hookup campsite during their stay.

Annadel © Levonne Gaddy

When we arrived in California in the fall of 2009, a state budget was being negotiated. A partial remedy for the $26.3 billion state budget deficit was a plan to close 220 state parks.

John and I were quite happy when funds were found to keep the state parks open. We were able to live-on volunteer at several parks including Oceano State Park in the Pismo Beach area, Morro Strand State Beach in Morro Bay and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park in Big Sur.

As fulltime RVers and California parks volunteers, I took great pleasure in photographing the beauty of the parks and in writing about our experiences in my blogs at www.levonnegaddy.com.

I am currently engaged in a campaign to raise funds so that I may turn stories and pictures into a book that I will use to raise awareness about California parks. In addition to park closures, there are other very real challenges. Some of those challenges are habitat destruction by overuse; protection of native species at the expense of recreation; and reclaiming industrial brown fields to create new parks in dense urban areas.

In September (2012), current Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that averted closures yet again. AB 1478 placed a two-year moratorium on state park closures. That means that in less than a year and a half, closures will be at issue once more. I am happy to do my part to help save our wonderful public spaces in California.

Pfeiffer Big Sur © Levonne Gaddy

You may go to California State Parks Foundation http://www.calparks.org/takeaction/parkclosures/ to learn what you can do to help save our parks.

To learn more about my book project, please see “This Restless Life: a study of Central Coast California parks through photography, interpretive collage and stories” on Kickstarter.

50% (up to $1,000) of the amount raised over Levonne’s funding goal will go to California State Parks Foundation. Be sure to check out Kickstarter!