The stories of California are woven into the fabric of each of our 280 California state parks, with 52 specifically established as state historic parks. These are destinations for students and visitors to have a first-hand experience with the history of our state and cultures that have made California their home in the past, and today. From native Californians to recent immigrants, different cultures bring a wealth of wisdom and connection to the land. Our state parks bring our complex history and important figures from our past to life.   

California Department of Parks and Recreation cares for museum objects as diverse as freight wagons and delicate feathered baskets, with over one million museum objects, two million archaeological specimens and three million archival documents in more than 120 parks and curatorial facilities statewide. California’s state park system manages the largest and most diverse and cultural heritage holdings of any state in the country, with more than 11,000 prehistoric and historic archeological sites and 3,100 historic buildings are in the stewardship of California’s state parks.  

Each Park has a story to tell those fits into the greater history of the Golden State, and there is so much to learn from these places.