Do you have a library card? If so, you can now check out a free day-use pass for entry at more than 200 participating California state parks.
Starting in April, California State Parks will distribute the California State Library Parks Pass which will be available for checkout at your local library and will allow free vehicle day-use entry at participating state parks.
“All Californians should have the opportunity to be outdoors in nature,” said California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot. “Yet many of our state’s residents live in communities without adequate parks and open space. This innovative new program will enable more Californians to explore our incredible State Parks system, and in the process create more equitable access to nature and the outdoors.”
As part of a three-year pilot program, each library branch will receive at least three California State Parks Pass hangtags, on a rolling basis, that will be available for use any day of the week, including holidays.
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Californians should note that the pass will not be honored at state park units operated by federal or local government and private agencies or concessionaires.
To view a list of parks ineligible for this pass, click here.
California
The passes are funded by the 2021/2022 state budget that included initiatives to advance equitable access to state parks for all Californians.
Another pass that allows free entry to state parks is the California State Park Adventure Pass. This pass provides free entry for fourth graders and their families at 19 state parks throughout the state.
This allows a fourth grader and their family, up to three adults, free entry during their whole fourth-grade year including summer.
For further details on the California State Park Adventure Pass, click here. For further details on the California State Library Parks Pass, click here.
