Rancho del Oso

The 34th annual Migration Festival is happening NOW! Join us virtually from 11AM to 1PM on the @naturalbridgesstatebeach Facebook page. Come learn something new about the animals that migrate through the central California coast and Monterey Bay.

UPDATE for State Park campgrounds reopening in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties: The dates for campgrounds reopening at other local State Parks are as follows: Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park First Come, First Served: Feb. 13 Reservations: Not available at this time future update will provide reopening date... Portola Redwoods State Park First Come, First Served: Feb. 11 Reservations: Not available at this time future update will provide reopening date Seacliff State Beach First Come, First Served: Open Reservations: Feb. 11 New Brighton State Beach First Come, First Served: Open Reservations: Feb. 11 Sunset State Beach First Come, First Served: Open Reservations: Feb. 11 Half Moon Bay State Beach First Come, First Served: Open Reservations: Feb. 11 For reservation questions, contact www.reservecalifornia.com. If you received notice that your reservation was cancelled, you will need to reschedule.

Join us virtually for the 34th annual Migration Festival hosted by Natural Bridges State Beach. We’ll be exploring the amazing animals that migrate through the central California coast and Monterey Bay. Visit @naturalbridgesstatebeach on Facebook on Saturday, February 13, 2021 from 11AM to 1PM as we travel from park to park, viewing incredible animals while we learn about their journeys! A new, brief video will premier every 15 minutes, followed by activities and links to exp...lore deeper. 11:00 AM - Welcome to Migration Festival! 11:15 AM - Monarch Butterflies - Natural Bridge State Beach 11:30 AM - Elephant Seals - Año Nuevo State Park 11:45 AM - Gray Whales - Pigeon Point Lightstation SHP 12:00 PM - Sooty Shearwaters - Seacliff State Beach 12:15 PM - Zooplankton - Natural Bridges State Beach 12:30 PM - Marbled Murrelets - Portola Redwoods State Park 12:45 PM - Steelhead Trout - Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park 1:00 PM - A Message from the Manager of Interpretation & Education and Migration Festival’s Founder

With the Regional Stay at Home Order lifted for all regions in the state, below is an update on accessing the State Park System: Campground sites are reopening for existing reservation holders. Other state campground sites will be reopened for new reservations using a phased approach starting January 28. Half Moon Bay State Beach will be open for first come, first served camping on January 30. Santa Cruz area campgrounds to open soon, pending winter storm clean-up. Not... all campground sites are open to the public due to the pandemic, wildfire impacts and other issues. Group campsites remain closed. Day use outdoor areas of park units currently open to the public remain open. It is critical that Californians continue to recreate responsibly in the outdoors as the pandemic is far from over -- stay local, plan ahead to find out what is open, wear a face covering, practice physical distancing and avoid gatherings with people outside the immediate household. Read more about the reopening of campground sites and to view our COVID-19 visitor guidelines and safety tips: https://bit.ly/2MeTIP5

With ICU capacity below 15% for the Bay Area Region, state campgrounds within this region continue to be temporarily closed in accordance with the Regional Stay at Home Order. Affected reservation holders will be contacted by ReserveCalifornia via email and provided with a refund. Thanks for your understanding as we protect you and our employees from exposure to #COVID19. ICUs are filling up and we need to do our part to prevent California from experiencing a surge on top of a surge. #StopTheSurge

Message from Año Nuevo State Park: The pandemic has caused us to close our preserve to visitors this year. But that does not mean that this winter will be devoid of Elephant seal love at Año Nuevo State Park. We will be bringing the seals into your homes this winter. To be a part of all the seal fun, consider joining our Patreon. For the price of a tour ticket, you get access to weekly video blogs of rookery updates, seal spotlights and more! Join in at Patreon.com/anonuevosp.

Did you know Rancho del Oso is a subunit of Big Basin Redwoods State Park? You can help with the recovery of Big Basin now by visiting www.parks.ca.gov/BigBasinRecovery to donate to one of our partner organizations.

November is Native American Heritage Month, and we begin our commemoration of the month by sharing the Digital Atlas of California Native Americans. This Digital Atlas is an online tool to help students and the public visualize California before, during and after European occupation. This web app displays a collection of map layers related to the history and cultural heritage of Native Americans in California, including cultural regions, historical lakes and wetlands, traditi...onally-used natural resources, trade relations, and more. It also includes layers that show the tragic side of this history, including the disruption and loss of lands experienced by Native Californians. Many of our Santa Cruz and San Mateo area State Parks are located on traditional Ohlone land can you see whose ancestral lands you are living on, and learn about their histories? Check the atlas to find out!: www.nahc.ca.gov/cp See more

No matter what your Halloween plans are for this season, California State Parks has you covered! Join interpreters around the state for ghoulish crafts, spooky pumpkin carving and live campfire program. These programs will be livestreamed on California State Parks Facebook page.

Check out the amazing Home Learning Programs line-up being offered by PORTS this week! Partner programs with Monterey Bay Aquarium and REI and a visit to the Temple of the Forest Beneath the Clouds, wow! All free and available to any school-age children and their families. Registration is required and spots are sure to fill up quickly, so visit www.ports-ca.us to reserve your space now!

We appreciate that many kindhearted people are concerned about how the #CZULightningFire has affected wildlife. We want to reassure everyone that Nature is resilient and fire is a natural part of California’s forests. The animals that live there have a number of ways to escape from fire and to survive the changes in their habitat, so they do not need human handouts. In fact, leaving food or water out for wildlife can hurt them in several ways. It can encourage animals to gath...er in groups, making it easier for diseases to spread. Availability of human food could reduce an animal’s ability to survive in the wild when that food source disappears. And in some cases, human food can favor predators at the expense of sensitive wildlife species. Please keep in mind that within California State Parks, leaving out food or water for wildlife is not allowed, even after a wildfire. Closure orders are in effect for Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Butano State Park, and the Fall Creek portion of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park until further notice due to wildfire damage. Help support their natural recoverystay out of the burn areas and #keepwildlifewild!

Hispanic Access Foundation’s short film, #IAmCheo, will inspire you to fight climate change and pollution and Rancho del Oso’s Interpretive Park Aide Michelle Garcia shares some ideas for how you can get started!

This Hispanic Heritage Month we want to highlight an amazing Mexican-American interpreter at Rancho del Oso! Meet Interpretive Park Aide Michelle Garcia! She has been an outdoor educator for two years, working with California State Parks and other outdoor agencies. She loves being outside and introducing new visitors to the parks’ natural beauty. Please join her Thursday, October 15 at 10AM for a Facebook Premiere to learn more about her story and view Hispanic Access Foundation’s short film, #IAmCheo. You’ll be as inspired as Michelle to protect our environment and fight climate change after watching! #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, State Parks Director Armando Quintero visited one of our local parks, Castro Adobe State Historic Park, to discuss equity and heritage in our State Parks.

In honor of Hispanic heritage month, meet Martin Rizzo. He recently joined State Parks as the Historian for the Santa Cruz District. His grandfather, Santiago Jim Martinez, was born in Gallup, New Mexico, where he raised goats and traded with the local Diné (Navajo) families before moving to California in the 1920s. Their family’s Martinez and Chavez ancestors trace back to the initial Spanish colonial settlement of Santa Fe in the early 1600s. Martin grew up hearing storie...s about the Spanish borderlands of New Mexico, about his grandfather’s mixed blood heritage, and their ancestors participation in the Spanish and Mexican military. His father gave him his name, Martin, in honor of their Martinez family roots. In fact, it was Martin’s fascination with these family stories that inspired him to study history, and to focus on Spanish colonial and Indigenous history as themes for his dissertation and publications. #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth See more

Meet California State Parks’ new director, Armando Quintero. He has been a life-long student of State and National Parks. Throughout his career he has engaged with public lands as a park ranger, personnel specialist, volunteer, science professional, fundraiser, resource manager, elected official, avid park visitor, dad and more. He loves parks, public lands, and waters and feels there could be no greater privilege in his life than to serve parks and the public. Please join us on Monday, October 12 at 10:45 a.m. on California State Parks (@CaliforniaStateParks) Facebook for an interview with the new director to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from Castro Adobe State Historic Park! #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth

More evidence of regrowth up on the Chalks Ridge. Huckleberry resprouting in an otherwise very barren landscape.

Well, of course this would be one of the first plants to sprout back after the fire! But we will take all the California natives we can get. #Poisonoak #CZYouComplexFire #RanchoDelOso #bigbasinstatepark #waddellcreek #CaliforniaStatePark #NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #CaliforniaCoast

Beautiful waves at Waddell lately. Please be safe out there! #waddellbeach #ranchodeloso #bigbasinstatepark #castateparks #californiacoast #surf #bigwaves #breakingwaves #staysafe