Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park

Who’s ready for some summer fun?? Guided hikes, junior rangers, and other in-person park programs resume in June in local State Parks! Pre-registration is required. Visit www.santacruzstateparks.as.me to see the program schedule and make reservations. Sign up today, because spaces are limited and we can’t wait to see you again!

Memorial Day weekend has historically seen increased crowds at our beaches and open spaces. The safety of our visitors and protection of our resources is paramount and we are working with our regional public safety partners to prepare for a potential increase in visitors this weekend. Please recreate responsibly, and remember that alcohol, fires, fireworks, and glass are prohibited on our beaches. Limited parking may be available in some areas and please observe park and beach closing hours. To do our part in preserving public safety and protecting our natural and cultural resources, there will be an increase in patrol and enforcement actions this weekend.

Teachers, two weeks left! We’re halfway through registration for free #Kids2Parks 2021-2022 field trips! Don’t miss this opportunity to share local State Parks with your students. This park access equity program is available to select Title I schools in Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Discover the redwoods at Henry Cowell RSP, observe monarch butterflies at Natural Bridges SB, or explore California history at Wilder Ranch SPthese are just a few of the options for a Kids2Parks field trip! Kids2Parks field trips will be held as virtual visits until COVID directives from the California Department of Public Health and local school districts allow in-person field trips. Transportation funding will be provided to schools by Kids2Parks when in-person field trips resume. To register, visit www.thatsmypark.org/k2p

This could be you! (The one on the left.) Santa Cruz District is hiring summer seasonal interpreters and year-round part-time interpreters. If you enjoy working outdoors and with the public, this could be a great entry-level job for you! These positions work up to 1890 hours/year at State Parks throughout Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. For more info, visit www.parks.ca.gov/scdinterpjobs.

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.

Due to the critical need to stop the #COVID19 surge, campground sites in Napa, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Solano Counties will temporarily be closed starting December 17 as ICU capacity has fallen below 15%. Affected reservation holders will be contacted by ReserveCalifornia via email. Cancellations & refunds will be automatic. Day use areas in park units currently open to the public will remain OPEN. Remember to stay local, plan ahead, wear a face covering, practice physical distancing and avoid gatherings with people outside the immediate household. Learn more at http://parks.ca.gov/FlattenTheCurve.

This Native American Heritage Month, we have an important message to share about the past and future of Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park: At Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park (SHP), we acknowledge that for California Native Americans, this is a site of great loss and trauma. The Spanish Mission system disrupted Native lifeways and traditions through the use of forced manual labor, severe punishments, and the spread of deadly disease. Despite this violence, Californ...ia Native American people survived, persisted, and continue to practice their culture and traditions. It is our responsibility to share this complex and difficult history with the public in an appropriate and respectful way. The devastating legacy of the Spanish mission system is still widely felt today. The mission was built on the traditional lands of the Uypi people, who are the ancestral relatives of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. Many California Native American tribes and families, both near and far, were impacted by the mission. For some years now, park staff have consulted with the local Native community to listen to their needs and support their capacity to access cultural resources at the mission site and surrounding State Parks properties. In addition to this, interpretation at Santa Cruz Mission SHP has been updated in collaboration with the Amah Mutsun. Still, there is more to be done. We commit to work with California Native American people to create a more welcoming place for healing and sharing of personal stories of survival and cultural resilience. These stories will help inform updated exhibits, educational content, and interpretive programming to tell a more accurate history of the mission.

In need of some good news? The Mission grounds reopen on Saturday! Hours of operation will be Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm. The museum remains closed at this time. Please remember to wear face coverings and maintain at least 6 feet of distance from people not in your immediate household when you visit.

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.

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