The Magnificent 70 is a celebration of 70 California state parks slated to close July 2012, and a reminder of what will be lost if they are shuttered. On this site you can discover a stagecoach stop on the El Camino Real, now surrounded by a city, or a mountain where a Silicon Valley pioneer first measured the earth’s magnetism. There are historic buildings where Northerners and Southerners battled for control of California before the Civil War, where a suffragette was married to a pioneer with two Native American wives, where a buckskinned hunter entertained troops with a mule-skull fiddle, and where an anti-capitalist crusader and Ronald Reagan both lived.

The Hidden Stories Series is one of California State Parks Foundation’s newest programs, and is aimed at telling the stories of varying groups that have contributed to California’s rich history in its 278 magnificent state parks. The Series, began in 2009, is designed to be implemented over a two year cycle: in year #1, a conference is held that focuses on a particular group’s stories, and in year #2, programmatic recommendations stemming from the conference are launched. In short, over the two-year cycle, hidden stories are discovered, told and thereby uncovered and shared with the public.

Closing parks is something that has never been done before in California. Over the course of the next year — until July 2012 — we will see these 70 parks lock up their gates one by one. It will be a hard thing to witness, but rest assured we will not concede that this fight is over. CSPF and many other partners across the state are exploring creative solutions to keep those 70 state parks open.

In light of the changing landscape of California’s state parks, this blog is meant to be a voice for our parks and for those who cherish them. Check in often for new stories by the plethora of voices that together make up the magnificent California state parks system.

Celbrating state parks in Hollywood films