State Parks

California’s State Park and Rec Department manages over 280 state park and rec areas. The department was officially formed in 1927. However, the State has been protecting and preserving parks since 1864. According to the department’s official site, the state park and rec system consists of:

1.59 million acres
339 miles of coastline
974 miles of lake and river frontage
15,000 campsites
4,456 miles of hiking trails

List of California State Parks

The following is a list of California State Parks categorized by county. This also includes the parks that I have personally explored.

List of California State Historical Parks

The following is a list of California’s State Historical parks, including the ones I have explored. The historical parks on this list can also be found in the list of State Parks by county.

In addition to the parks, the California Parks and Rec Department also oversees the California State Historical Landmarks. Currently there are over 1,100 State Historical Landmarks.