California State Parks

A victim of the area’s frequent fog and rocky reefs, the ship and much of its cargo were lost, but its captain and crew were saved.

Lighthouses have been used to aid navigation at sea since ancient times. They help mariners identify their location and also warn of hazards along the coast. To serve these functions, a lighthouse must be not only visible, but also distinct.

Each lighthouse flashes light in its own characteristic pattern. Since its first lamp was lit, Pigeon Point Lighthouse has identified itself with the same pattern of 1 flash every 10 seconds.

The rocky shore at Pigeon Point is home to an abundance of wildlife, including barnacles, snails, starfish, sea anemones, sea urchins, mussels, abalones, and crabs. Observe these creatures for yourself in the tide pools left behind at low tide.

This status indicates that special care is needed to protect and conserve the landscape and the inhabiting organisms. Among the many endangered and protected native plants in the reserve are the rare and unique Torrey pines.

Once plentiful on the coast of southern California, Torrey pines now occur in only 2 populations: one on Santa Rosa Island off the coast near Santa Barbara, and one in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.

Several miles of trails wind through the wooded reserve toward scenic overlooks, highlighting the ocean and the park itself. In order to preserve the fragile landscape, anything you bring in must be taken out.

The sandstone bluffs at the reserve were formed over millions of years by erosion. In the winter and spring months, look for gray whales passing close to the shore in their annual migration to and from Baja California.

These formidable trees once grew on about 2 million acres of the coast of California. As the result of commercial logging and the California Gold Rush of 1849, now only 5% of the old growth remains on what is now protected land.

Big Basin is the oldest park in the California State Park system. Established in 1902, the purpose of the park has shifted from preservation to recreation. Today, conversation predominates, though the park is also open for camping, hiking, and picnicking.

Coastal redwoods, or Sequoia sempervirens, may grow hundreds of feet tall, but their roots grow only about 6 feet deep into the soil. Instead, the roots extend outward, becoming enmeshed with the roots of nearby trees.

Young trees grow up to 1 foot or more annually, but do not reach maturity until they are 400 to 500 years old. The trees in the old-growth forest are estimated to be 1,000 to 2,000 years old.

You can walk among the redwoods along 80 miles of trails. Depending on the season, you may see vivid mosses and lichen, or delicate wildflowers. Creatures like banana slugs, newts, lizards, and frogs thrive in the damp climate.

In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala anchored in one of the island’s coves, now called Ayala Cove, and mapped San Francisco Bay. Later, the island was used as a cattle ranch, a site for U.S. military installations, and a processing station for immigrants.

Although, Angel Island was most likely uninhabited in 1839 when Antonio Maria Osio established a cattle ranch, by 1846 about 500 cattle called the island home. According to a Supreme Court ruling, the island became federal government property in 1860.

The U.S. Army established Camp Reynolds in 1863 to protect San Francisco Bay from Confederate Forces. After the Civil War, the army remained on the island and thousands of troops and military personnel passed through the camp.

From 1910 to 1940, the U.S. Immigration Station on Angel Island, also known as the Guardian of the Western Gate, was mainly intended to keep Chinese immigrants from entering the country with the Chinese Exclusion Law of 1882.

During World War II, the Immigration Station held Japanese, German, and Italian prisoners of war. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, a few hundred Japanese immigrants were arrested and taken from Hawaii and the mainland to Angel Island.

Within a month, the population more than tripled. Swimmers and sunbathers enjoyed the beach with man-made groves of oil derricks looming in the near distance. When most of the wells were capped in 1963, 121 acres of the shore at the southern end of the city became a California state beach.

Huntington Beach waves are ideal for surfing. In 1925 at the Huntington Beach Pier, Duke Kahanamoku, a gold-medal-winning Olympic swimmer from Hawaii, sparked the popularization of surfing in California. By the 1960s, Huntington Beach was known as Surf City USA.

Litter and marine debris threaten to spoil the beauty of the Huntington State Beach. Marine debris is any trash that ends up in our waterways and on our beaches. Fortunately, volunteers frequently give their time to keep the beach beautiful.