Health & Fitness
These 3 Santa Cruz County State Parks Have Reopened Parking Lots
Need some quality time with Mother Nature? Twenty-seven state parks have reopened parking lots, including three in Santa Cruz County.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — It's week 10 of the shelter-in-place order in Santa Cruz County, and locals could be forgiven for going a little bit stir crazy. While beaches are still closed from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Santa Cruzans seeking reprieve from the confinement of their homes may find solace in the fact that parking lots at three California State Parks in the county have recently reopened to traffic.
Weeks ago, all 280 state parks and beaches closed their parking lots to dissuade non-local visitors from coming. Now, as some counties move further into the reopening process, state parks, too, are lifting their limits. Twenty-seven state parks have opened their lots, including Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, Wilder Ranch State Park.
Officials are still urging people to stay close to home, according to Gloria Sandoval, deputy director of the state parks department.
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“State Parks will continue to monitor visitation and physical distancing across the system and if unsafe conditions develop, park units may close again,” Sandoval told the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, as of Tuesday, 36 parks remained closed to the public. Visitors can check online to see whether their local parks are open to visitors, if parking lots are open and whether new guidelines are in effect.
Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
More California state parks that have reopened limited parking:
Butte County: Lake Oroville State Recreation Area
El Dorado County: Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park, Emerald Bay State Park, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (also in Sacramento and Placer counties), Lake Valley State Recreation Area, Washoe Meadows State Park
Kern County: Onyx Ranch
Nevada County: Donner Memorial State Park
Orange County: Bolsa Chica State Beach, Doheny State Beach, Huntington State Beach, San Clemente State Beach, Crystal Cove State Beach
Placer County: Auburn State Recreation Area, Kings Beach State Recreation Area
Riverside County: Lake Perris State Recreation Area
San Benito County: Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area
Shasta County: McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
Sonoma County: Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, Austin Creek State Recreation Area, Jack London State Historic Park, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Trione-Annadel State Park
Tuolumne County: Columbia State Historic Park
Patch staffer Nick Garber contributed to this report.
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