State Parks Beaches Open, But Lots Closed – MRCA Trails Closed, But State Parks Trails Open – You Figure This Out
Written by 991KBU on March 24, 2020
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday a “soft closure” of state parks to curb the spread of coronavirus.
This follows a sunny weekend when Californians flocked to beaches and hiking trails despite a government order to stay home,
The governor’s action immediately closes parking lots at many state parks and beaches.
But it does not completely block access to natural open spaces … in an effort to drastically reduce the number of visitors.
We do not have a list of which local state parks parking lots will close.
As of yesterday … the parking lot at Malibu Lagoon was open to beachgoers.
LA County …. has closed parking lots in Malibu.
The governor last night said “We can’t see what we saw over the weekend happen again,” he said, adding that rangers will step up enforcement to keep people six feet away from each other.
As of today, non-campground outdoor areas of parks, including beaches, remain open.
Trails are open.
Day-use restrooms also remain open,.
Whiekl the estate parks trails are open … the MRCA has closed all of its parks and trails.
This includes the trail to the waterfall in Ramireez Canyon … where the trail is a freeway on weekends.
The MRCA closure includes all parkland owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
MRCA access roads and parking lots also will be closed.
But state parks and national parks trails in the Santa Monica Mountains appear open.
Just not the beaches.
Many Malibu residents were infuriated over the weekend when Malibu was overrun with beachgoers.
Tens of thousands of people went to California beaches on Saturday … having been given a formal greenlight by the governor to exempt themselves from his general stay-at-home order.
The governor at first defended that …. But then acknowledged that beaches had become overcrowded.
The mayors of San Diego and San Francisco closed the beaches ion those cities yesterday.
