california state parks

John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Newton Drury, Secretary of Save the Redwoods League, pictured here on the right, enjoy California’s redwoods in 1926. Both men did a great deal to protect redwood forests.

Celebrating the Past and Future of Our Parks

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In 2014, California State Parks (CSP) will be 150 years old. The park system has come a long way in that time; from the first park at Yosemite to the 280 parks that currently make our system the largest in …

Save the Redwoods ladies, 1918. Photo courtesy of Humboldt Historical Society.

How Did the League Help Start the State Parks System?

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With California State Parks’ 150th anniversary just around the corner, it seems like a good time to reflect on the League’s role in shaping State Parks and to look back at our shared history. Since its inception in 1918, the …

Top 5 Redwood Parks to Visit This Winter

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5. Calaveras Big Trees State Park As the story goes, in 1852 a hunter named Augustus T. Dowd wounded a grizzly bear and chased him into this forest, only to find trees that were three times bigger than any he’d …

Students measure fern fronds through a Save the Redwoods League education program at Redwood Regional Park. Photo ©Save the Redwoods League.

Our Redwood Classrooms

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Bay Area residents got a sneak peek into the hopes and dreams of the Department of the Interior last week when Secretary Sally Jewell came to Crissy Field (external link) to announce the department’s new campaign to connect the next …

The spotted owl is another irreplaceable redwoods inhabitant. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

It’s About the Critters Too!

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The League is working to move State Parks forward to protect the many species that call the redwood forest home. As my colleague Richard Campbell wrote in his blog last week, saving old-growth redwoods is not the same as saving …

Photo by Julie Martin

It’s About the Children!

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There are so many reasons to move State Parks forward.  For me, the first reason is for our children. Remember how much fun you had in the forest as a child?  I recall digging for bugs in the dirt at …

The Coastal Trail, Last Chance section, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Photo by David Baselt

Do You Want to Move State Parks Forward?

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Save the Redwoods League does. In this fast-changing world, we either move forward or we are left behind. California’s state parks house some of the world’s most treasured natural resources, including large portions of our beloved redwood forest.  We visit …

Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.

30,000 Volunteers Help Keep California State Parks Running!

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. . . so reported Major General Anthony L. Jackson, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), to the State Parks Commission last Friday morning.  That is a lot of volunteers! If those 30,000 volunteers were to lie …

This lovely picnic spot in Butano State Park beckons.

It’s Picnic Season! Ready for a Delicious Day in the Redwoods?

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There are a lot of health benefits to a day in the redwoods – exercise and stress reduction are just a couple. Nice weather is good motivation to get active in nature and kick-start the healthy habits that went into …

Humboldt’s Original Skunk Weed

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It smells a little skunky along the trail. Did a fellow hiker light up a joint ahead of you or it could be a botanical wonder of the coast redwoods and beyond?! Skunk cabbage emerges early in the year in …

Portola Redwoods State Park.

Hope for Our State Park System

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Crisis is turning into opportunity for our state park system. California State Parks has new, effective leadership in Major General Anthony L. Jackson, USMC (retired). And the State’s Little Hoover Commission just issued its thoughtful report, identifying many of the …

Howland Hills Road, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Economic Benefit of Conservation

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All you readers out there know that a day in the redwoods is good for the soul.  It is calming, inspirational, healing and fun. Whether you walk with your honey, picnic with friends or romp with your children, it is …

Pablo Cunazza Mardones (on my right) and Patricio Contreras Bravo (on my left), colleagues at Parque Nacional Alerce Costero.

Trees Bring Us Together

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Working for Save the Redwoods League is an honor in many ways.  We are able to serve our nearly 20,000 members, honor the League’s nearly 100-year history, seek to benefit one of the world’s iconic species and, occasionally, work hand-in-hand …

I am joined by Ruth Coleman and Jon Jarvis to celebrate acquisition of the Sandhill property from League to state parks.

Drilling for Park Land

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What do offshore oil drilling and Zion National Park have in common with the redwoods?  On first pass, not much – but as a recent story on CBS news shows, they are linked through a nearly 50-year-old program called the …

Meredith and Dan on their big day with the redwoods as their backdrop. Photo credit: Gary Sexton

Roses and Redwoods

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The Parks Forward Commission is hard at work developing a long-term plan to ensure that California State Parks remain financially viable. But, did you know that you there’s a way — a romantic one at that — to support your …

Swimming beneath the redwoods at the Garden Club of America Grove

Heralding Summer’s End among the Redwoods

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Albee Creek campground in Humboldt Redwoods State Park was full over the Labor Day weekend. Clustered around each fire ring were happy faces enjoying the end of summer and start of fall.  Each year for the past four years, I’ve …

Steve Cheney and I enjoy a break on the Lawrence Merriam Memorial Grove bench on the Little Bald Hills Trail.

It’s the Moments

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On Friday afternoon I met Steve Chaney, the superintendent of Redwood National Park, in the small visitor center at Hiouchi in Del Norte county. After 39 years with the National Park Service and five years at Redwood National Park, Steve …

Emily and Harry in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

Redwoods Parks Still Need Your Help

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It’s never good news when the Governor’s office notifies you by email that the director of California State Parks has decided to step down because a senior staff member allegedly mismanaged park funds. According to an article published by the …

Shady Dell

Building upon a Legacy of Success

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“I appeal to you to save these mighty trees, these wonderful monuments of beauty.” —Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States of America   As staff at Save the Redwoods League, it is both humbling and inspiring to have …