GEAR HUB: The State Library Parks Pass will continue providing free access to state parks 

This was almost the final summer that people can walk into their public libraries and get free state parks passes, said Rachel Norton, the executive director of the California State Parks Foundation. 

Thanks to $6.75 million in last-minute funding, the program will be around for another year.

Since 2021, more than 1,000 public library branches throughout the state, including those in SLO and Santa Barbara counties, have provided state parks passes to residents through one of three programs championed by First Partner Jennifer Siebel-Newsom and the State Parks Foundation to promote outdoor access.  

“Her interest is really about getting kids and people in general outside for mental and physical health [benefits],” Norton said. “The library pass arguably has been the quickest to catch on of these three programs and is really well utilized and popular.”

People can visit Morro Bay State Park, Moñtana de Oro State Park, Los Osos Oaks, Pismo State Beach, Hearst San Simeon State Park, and Estero Bluffs State Parks in San Luis Obispo, according to the California State Parks website. State parks in Santa Barbara County include Chumash Painted Cave, La Purísima Mission, and several state beaches. 

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• COURTESY PHOTO BY RACHAEL KIRK-CORTEZ

This pass also makes it more affordable to take trips outside the area to visit other parts of California. Day use fees range from $10 to $20 per vehicle depending on the season with discounts for seniors and disabled parkgoers.

Based on community surveys, the California State Parks Foundation found that 63 percent of respondents previously considered cost to be their main reason for not visiting the parks—with 70 percent of respondents indicating that they made $60,000 or less. More than 60 percent of respondents indicated that they are Black, Indigenous, or people of color, and 90 percent of respondents said that plan to visit parks seven times a year thanks to the program. 

Due to California’s $58 billion budget deficit, the Legislature had passed the state’s budget on June 15 without allocating funds for the State Parks Pass program—scheduling the program to end on Dec. 31, 2024, Norton told Get Outside on June 19. 

But the governor and the Legislature amended the budget to save the program just days before the June 30 deadline. 

More than 5,000 people had contacted their legislators advocating for the pass program’s continued funding, she said. The California State Parks Foundation’s main goal is to ensure this program remains afloat with some funding, rather than it ending entirely. 

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• COURTESY PHOTO BY RACHAEL KIRK-CORTEZ

“Our concern is that so much effort and investment has gone into setting up this program and if you completely eliminate it, all that effort goes away and we have to rebuild it. ... Preserve the infrastructure with a little bit of funding so it can be scaled up in a better budget year some point in the future,” Norton said. “We won’t give up. If there’s no public funding for the program, quite frankly even if there is, we will look for philanthropic dollars to keep this going at some level.”

Norton later gave props to state lawmakers for the last-minute save.

“We commend the Legislature and governor for reaching an agreement to restore full funding for this highly effective and popular program providing free access to California State Parks,” Norton said in a statement.

Visit parks.ca.gov for more information about the pass. Visit act.calparks.org to learn more about the California State Parks Foundation and its efforts.