Interesting Places, News, State Parks

Thousands Visit California State Parks for Wildflower Season

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Visitors Reminded to Plan and Be Prepared for the Outdoors

California State Parks News Release, Borrego Springs – California Department of Parks and Recreation encourages visitors exploring state parks during the wildflower season to properly plan and prepare for their trips. Thanks to this year’s rain, many state parks are experiencing wildflower blooms.

This is especially the case at the 650,000 acre Anza-Borrego (Anza-Borrego) Desert State Park which is experiencing the most dramatic bloom in nearly 20 years. With the flowers, come the large crowds. Knowledge of the area, weather, limitations of your body and enjoying the outdoors safely with everyone can help to ensure an enjoyable trip.

Below is some helpful information for wildflower enthusiasts:

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Adventures, National Parks

Devils Postpile Campground Update for 2017

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Due to winter storm and flood damage and prioritization of trail repairs including Rainbow Falls, the monument’s 20 site campground is not anticipated to reopen in 2017. We regret any inconvenience, but this delay will allow the park to ensure the safety of our visitors and necessary preservation/restoration of the park’s natural resources impacted by the storm.

However, within the Reds Meadow Valley, there are another 128 first-come, first-served campsites we encourage visitors to consider visiting. The Minaret Vista Station provides site availability information before you enter the Reds Meadow Valley.

Established in 1911 by presidential proclamation, Devils Postpile National Monument protects and preserves the Devils Postpile formation, the 101-foot high Rainbow Falls, and pristine mountain scenery. The formation is a rare sight in the geologic world and ranks as one of the world’s finest examples of columnar basalt. Its columns tower 60 feet high and display an unusual symmetry.

News, State Parks

New Reservation System Coming to California State Parks This Summer

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

California State Parks News Release, Sacramento, CA — Starting this August, Californians will make their state parks camping and tour reservations through a new, faster, easier to use reservation system that features more open access to data.

ReserveCalifornia will go live for all parks on August 1. A variety of features will be phased in between then and March 1, 2018. Below is a breakdown of the features:

Starting August 1, the new reservation system will provide more user-friendly and intuitive web services, including:

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County Parks, News

OC Parks longer summer hours schedule starts March 13th!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Daylight Saving Time brings longer spring-summer operating hours to Regional and Wilderness parks.

The clocks spring forward early March 13, marking the beginning of Daylight Saving Time and OC Parks’ spring-summer operating schedule.

Starting Sunday, March 13, the spring-summer hours for regional parks are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. That includes Carbon Canyon, Clark, Craig, Laguna Niguel, Mason, Mile Square and Yorba regional parks. Irvine Regional Park opens at 6 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m.

Santiago Oaks, Peters Canyon, O’Neill and Talbert regional parks operate on wilderness park hours, as do the outlying trails around Irvine Regional Park. Wilderness parks are open at 7 a.m. and close at sunset year round. OC Parks’ wilderness parks are: Aliso and Wood Canyons, Caspers, Laguna Coast, Whiting Ranch and Riley wilderness parks, as well as Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve.

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Activities, National Forests

Public invited to Eldorado National Forest Open House to discuss Off-Highway Vehicle grant applications

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From USDA / Forest Service – The Eldorado National Forest will be submitting applications for Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Cooperative Funds for the upcoming 2015/2016 grant cycle.  The Forest is developing preliminary applications to the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division which includes a strong emphasis on trail maintenance and repair, law enforcement across the four Ranger Districts, printing and distribution of the Motor Vehicle Use Maps, restoration of impacted areas, planning, and education.

As your ideas are important for developing our proposals, the Forest will be hosting an Open House on February 10 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM to discuss the proposed preliminary grant applications.  This Open House will be held at the Eldorado National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667.  You can call (530) 622-5061 for directions.

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