State Parks
The California Department of Parks and Recreation maintains over 270 protected areas, which include almost one-third of California's scenic coastline, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. The state parks system covers 1.3 million acres (5,300 km²), with over 280 miles (450 km) of coastline, 625 miles (1,006 km) of lake and river frontage, nearly 18,000 campsites; and 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. The largest is Anza-Borrego State Park at 600,000 acres (2,400 km2), making it one of the largest state parks in the country. The smallest, Watts Towers, owned by the State Park system but managed by the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, is a mere 0.1-acre (400 m2). On May 11, 2011, State park officials announced that seventy parks would be closed due to department budget cuts in response to California's continuing budget crises. One of them, Henry W. Coe State Park, is the 2nd largest park in the California State Park system, at 86,000 acres (350 km2). Many of the parks are historical parks and relatively small in size, but the total acreage of closures is still well over 120,000 acres (490 km2).
Read more about this topic: California Protected Areas
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