California State Parks: Monterey District

Education
Environment

Who We Are

Our Mission. To provide for the health, inspiration, and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state's extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation.

The California State Parks Monterey District consists of 17 park units that stretch north to south along the Monterey Bay and Big Sur coast. Our parks include Fort Ord Dunes State Park, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, Garrapata State Park, Andrew Molera State Park, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, Monterey State Historic Park, and Limekiln State Park. Altogether, the District manages approximately 16,000 acres of land to preserve natural and cultural resources and opportunities for outdoor recreation.

These parks are home to a variety of plants, animals, and habitat types, including many species that are rare, threatened, or endangered. These species include the Smith’s blue butterfly, California red-legged frog, the Snowy Plover, and countless rare plants such as Monterey Spineflower, Sand Gilia, Coast Wallflower, and Yadon’s Piperia. The Natural Resource Division protects these natural resources by restoring and conserving native plant communities threatened by competition from invasive plants and off-trail use.

What We Do

Natural Resources Volunteer Program

The Natural Resources team leads natural resource management across the District and work on projects that include removing invasive weeds, planting native seedlings, vegetation mapping, wildlife habitat restoration, sign and fence maintenance, and trail brushing. It takes many hands to restore and protect natural resources in our State Parks and we cannot do it without the service and support from dedicated volunteers.

We host six monthly events and one weekly event. Each runs from 9am to 12pm: