California Eyes New Parks

California is moving to create three new state parks in the Central Valley, the biggest expansion of its park system in decades. (gov.ca.gov) Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the plan on Earth Day, April 22, 2026, in Fresno under a new initiative called State Parks Forward. If the parks are approved, California’s total would rise to 283. (parks.ca.gov) The three proposed parks are Feather River Park in Yuba County, San Joaquin River Parkway near Fresno, and Dust Bowl Camp outside Bakersfield. State officials said the sites were chosen to add recreation and historic preservation in parts of the Central Valley that have had fewer state parks than the coast and mountains. (parks.ca.gov) The plan also reaches beyond those three sites. State Parks Forward aims to add about 30,000 acres to existing parks by the end of the decade through faster land purchases enabled by Senate Bill 630 and Assembly Bill 679, both signed in 2025. (gov.ca.gov) The announcement lands two years after California dedicated Dos Rios, which state officials described as the first new state park in a decade. Newsom’s office cast the new push as part of the state’s Outdoors for All and 30x30 California goals, which focus on park access and land conservation. (parks.ca.gov) Feather River Park would be the first state park in Yuba County. Reports on the plan say the site would cover nearly 2,000 acres along the Feather River and include space already used for rafting and swimming. (yahoo.com) The San Joaquin River Parkway proposal would fold an 874-acre stretch near Fresno and Madera counties into the state system. Local coverage said the parkway already draws runners and bicyclists and would sit near Millerton Lake State Recreation Area. (ktla.com) Dust Bowl Camp is the smallest of the three, at roughly 2 acres, but it carries the deepest historical focus. California State Parks said the former Sunset Migratory Labor Camp near Bakersfield would become the state’s first park centered directly on Dust Bowl migration and Great Depression farmworker camps. (parks.ca.gov) State officials also tied the rollout to recent additions at existing parks. Over the past week, they said, California added 453 acres to Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve, 218 acres to South Yuba River State Park, and 133 acres to Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park. (yahoo.com) The new parks are still in planning, not yet open as finished state park units. For now, the state has started the acquisition and planning process, with Newsom pitching the effort as a long-term shift toward putting more of California’s park map in the middle of the state. (parks.ca.gov; yourcentralvalley.com)