SACRAMENTO — California State Parks is honoring veterans’ service and active and reserve personnel by offering free admission to 133 state parks on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020.
“We understand this has been a challenging year with the ongoing pandemic and the recent wildfires,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “California State Parks is proud to be able to honor our military community by thanking them for their service and sacrifices to our country. We hope they can enjoy one of our beautiful parks with their loved ones.”
Participating parks include the California State Railroad Museum and Railtown 1897 State Historic Park along with state vehicular recreation areas such as Carnegie, Clay Pit, Eastern Kern County Onyx Ranch, Hollister Hills, Hungry Valley and Oceano Dunes. The park units that honor historic military sites or veterans from the Mexican-American War to the Cold War include:
- Angel Island State Park
- Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
- Fort Ross State Historic Park
- Fort Tejon State Historic Park
- Mount Diablo State Park
A full list of the participating park units can be found online at parks.ca.gov/VeteransDay2020. To enter the park units for free, a valid military ID or a California driver’s license identifying the individual as a veteran must be shown to park staff.
As a reminder, COVID-19 guidelines are still in effect at all state park units. Be sure to plan by visiting the park unit’s webpages, especially for museums and some state historic parks, as there is a 25% visitor capacity limit. For detailed information on how to recreate responsibility during the pandemic, visit www.parks.ca.gov/FlattenTheCurve. For tips on how to recreate responsibly in the outdoors, visit www.parks.ca.gov/SafetyTips.
Assembly Bill 150 (Olsen), signed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 2013, authorized California State Parks to offer veterans, active duty and reserve military personnel from the United States Armed Forces and the National Guard of any state a reduced fee or free day use at participating state parks.
