california state parks

pipe cleaner trees at big basin

Three parks, multiple fires, one bold restoration plan

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The newly unveiled Forest Management Strategy helps ensure that future wildfires will not be as destructive to places like Butano State Park, which has provided recreation and renewal for generations of visitors.

A man in a state parks uniform leads a group of young people in a dance

Which California State Parks Week activity will you choose?

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Will you hike through the redwood forest by starlight? Try out Qi Gong or forest bathing? Participate in a beach cleanup or a bioblitz? Whatever you fancy, there’s a fun way to participate in the third annual California State Parks …

TMTTT 2024

Bruce Stangeland: Creating a living tribute to loved ones

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The family of my late wife, Susan, loved the redwoods. And when I fell in love with her, in a way, I fell in love with the redwoods too. Early in our relationship, I took Susan to Muir Woods (National …

Two people feel a relief map in the foreground. A redwood forest is in the background.

Grove of Titans: Inclusive storytelling wins top NAI honor

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What an honor! The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) has recognized Save the Redwoods League and its partners for interpretive excellence on the Grove of Titans project in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The League was thrilled to receive first …

A ranger standing in front of the new Rancho del Oso Welcome Center - a blue and brown building with interpretive signage in front.

California State Parks, Save the Redwoods League and Waddell Creek Association Open New Rancho del Oso Welcome Center at Big Basin Redwoods State Park

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A gateway to the western coastal side of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the new welcome center facility and adjacent public campground will greet visitors to California’s oldest state park and largest expanse of old-growth coast redwoods south of San Francisco. The park has had limited access since the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fires.

Three snow-covered giant sequoias on a sunny winter day.

Guided First-Day Hikes at 12 redwood state parks on Jan. 1

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California State Parks is inviting Californians to kick-start the new year in a healthy way by getting fresh air and enjoying the outdoors with annual First-Day Hikes on Jan. 1, 2023. More than 50 California state parks are participating, 12 …

A woman and a little girl reading an interpretive panel about the Pioneer Cabin Tree

Interpretive Exhibit About the Famed “Tunnel Tree” Giant Sequoia to open in Calaveras Big Trees State Park on Saturday, July 23, 2022

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Thousands of park visitors passed through the Pioneer’s Cabin Tree on foot and horseback and by carriage and motorcar. But the famous sequoia toppled five years ago, after a period of heavy rain and high winds. A new exhibit commemorates 1,233-year-old fallen “tunnel tree” in Calaveras Big Trees State Park — it opens on Saturday, July 23, 2022.

John Griffith

Celebrity of the forest

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John “Griff” Griffith has become a celebrity for his videos for California State Parks.

We’re reducing the threat of severe wildfire by managing vegetation buildups in this Humboldt County forest.

New Grants Support Wildfire, Carbon Projects

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Two new awards from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) are supporting League work to increase the carbon sequestration potential of redwood and giant sequoia ecosystems, while protecting them and surrounding communities from the threat of severe wildfires.

Jim Larson, past President of the League's Board of Directors, made his mark with his talent for helping groups work together. Photo by Paolo Vescia

Jim Larson: A Master of Settling Differences

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An early job working for the timber industry helped prepare James Larson for his job as 2012-13 President of the Save the Redwoods League Board of Directors. Larson went to high school in Fort Bragg, a lumber mill town on …

LandPaths' In Our Own Backyard program serves 900 students each year.

Bree Arthur, LandPaths: Getting to Know Nearby Nature

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Sixth-graders trundle off buses and into a sun-speckled redwood forest. It’s terra incognita for most of them. But they are in good hands with educators from LandPaths, a Sonoma County organization supported by Save the Redwoods League education grants program …

Neal Youngblood - Geologist at Redwood National Park.

Neal Youngblood: Restoring Landscapes One Road at a Time

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If anything is lacking in Neal Youngblood’s life, it isn’t a professional challenge. As a geologist for Redwood National Park, Youngblood supervises logging road retirement. In terms of restoration of the region’s essential natural systems, there is no job that …

Peggy Light, League Board of Directors member, gathers redwood trunk measurements while on a staff and volunteer outing.

Peggy Light: Continuing the Family Tradition of League Leadership

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When she was growing up in Connecticut, Peggy Light knew Save the Redwoods League co-founder Arthur Connick as the grandfather who’d “do some kind of financial stuff in New York, then pop up at our house.” She remembers him being …

League Board of Directors member Andrew Vought, President of Portola and Castle Rock Foundation, worked to keep Portola Redwoods State Park open.

Andrew Vought: Rescuing Treasured Parks from Closure

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When California’s state-park crisis hit in 2011, businessman Andrew Vought was shocked to find that Portola Redwoods State Park was slated for closure. “I couldn’t let that happen,” he said. Vought had long enjoyed hiking and camping at the park, …

A generous bequest resulted in the League's support of the new visitor center at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. You can plan a trip to this redwood park.

Members’ Generosity Helps Open New Calaveras Visitor Center

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Now James and Carmen Hickling’s love for Calaveras Big Trees lives on through a generous bequest, which supported construction of the park’s new visitor center. The center hosted a grand opening last Memorial Day. This new center honors the legacy of those who preserved these groves in the past, and tells the story of the giant sequoias.