– Doug McConnell

Photo: Big Basin Scenery by Dylan Duverge

California’s first state park was Big Basin established in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1902. In the 106 years since, California has assembled an extraordinary collection of parks, recreational areas, historic sites and open spaces of all kinds. We feature many of California’s State Parks right here (for example, Bodie and the Wild West, Glen Ellen’s Heart and Wine, Mt. Tamalpais’ Land and Legends, Hearst Castle and Ranch) and we’ll add many more in the weeks to come.

When I was growing up in California in the decades right after World War II, Californians seemed to me to be united on a couple of major issues almost regardless of their political affiliations. Time-after-time Republicans and Democrats alike voted to add new parks to California’s growing system and take good care of the ones we had. My parents, for instance, were very conservative Republicans, but they were proud of our world-class public park system and our best-in-the-nation public schools.

Now, unfortunately, California finds its public schools far from the top of the national heap and its parks in deep financial trouble. Some parks face (more…)