More than 68 million people visited California’s state parks in 2019—not bad for a state of 40 million. And though Sacramento hasn’t crunched the numbers since then, the number of annual visitors surely jumped during the pandemic.
The Standard took a closer look at which of the 200-plus sites attract the most visitors throughout the state—and the most popular park is not one that you might expect.
Sonoma Coast State Park is No. 1 in California, with 2.6 million visitors in 2019.
With miles of beaches, campgrounds and fishing attractions on Highway 1 from Bodega Bay to Jenner, Sonoma Coast is a deserving—if surprising—winner. It’s one of 43 state parks that surround the Bay Area that attracted nearly 13 million visitors in 2019.
What’s not surprising is that beaches are the most popular natural attraction in the state park system, with 13 of the top 25 parks located along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Another shocker? The most popular park with campers.
Ocotillo Wells, the desert destination for off-road vehicle exploration near the Salton Sea, attracted more campers than any other state park in California. In fact, with more than 583,000 visitors, it received double that of the second-place park, South Carlsbad State Beach.
For boating, Folsom Lake is king. More than 64,000 boats were launched in the reservoir near Sacramento, making it the most popular park for boating in California. Folsom Lake was also the third most visited state park in 2019.
Search the table below to find the attendance figures for your favorite state park.