Today we’re recommending five state parks to visit this spring, listed here from north to south:
Stand among the world’s tallest trees.
Near the Oregon border, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is home to some of the world’s oldest coastal redwoods, the tallest trees on earth. The park is managed by the state parks department and the National Park Service, and is part of the Redwood National and State Parks complex, a World Heritage Site that protects 45 percent of California’s remaining old-growth redwoods.
See Native American petroglyphs.
For centuries, the Miwok, a people indigenous to Northern California, relied on acorns as a central part of their diet. The Miwok who lived in the Sierra Nevada foothills would smash acorns against limestone, leaving holes in the rock over time. At Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, about an hour’s drive east of Sacramento, you can see preserved bedrock mortars, as well as hundreds of petroglyphs that were carved into the limestone and are believed to be as much as 3,000 years old.
Enjoy some peace and quiet.
The largest state park in Northern California, Henry W. Coe State Park, is largely undeveloped and therefore perfect for “anyone seeking quiet solitude in a nearly untouched setting,” according to the parks department. In the Diablo Mountain Range southeast of San Jose, the park is a great place for backpackers, equestrians, cyclists and hikers.
Have a taste of California citrus.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, orange groves spread across Southern California in what has been called the state’s “second gold rush.” California Citrus State Historic Park in Riverside showcases the history of the state’s citrus industry and the people who made it possible. You can take free guided tours through groves of navel and Valencia orange, grapefruit and lemon trees.
Rent a historic beachfront cottage.
Along the Orange County coast, Crystal Cove State Park offers the sandy beaches and tide pools that typify a Southern California beach vacation. But the park also includes a charming historic district, originally a seaside colony built in the 1930s and ’40s for vacationers at what was then a private beach. In addition to a few restaurants, the district has 21 quaint beachfront cottages that the public can rent.
