by Sunset editorial staff

California is home to 279 sanity-saving state parks, but it’s also home to a $24.3 billion budget deficit. Governor Schwarzenegger recently proposed closing down 220 parks. And the list includes some serious A-list spots: Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay, Julia Pfeiffer Burns in Big Sur, Big Basin in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe, Torrey Pines State Beach north of San Diego.

At least one ranger at Butano State Park this past weekend thought it was all bluster. But these days, who knows? It might be smart to make this the summer of the state park and knock a few off your list before the talked-about shutdown date of November. Here, a few suggestions to get you started: 

1. Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Your pick of four waterfalls is the payoff for tackling the roller-coaster trails that fan out under gargantuan old-growth trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Located 65 miles south of San Francisco, Big Basin Redwoods is the oldest state park in California, established in 1902. 831/338-8860.

Photo courtesy of redwoodhikes.com

2. Fort Ross State Historic Park

The perfect place to play "storm the fort," the Russians' southernmost outpost has high walls, corner towers, and, as frosting on the cake, sweeping views of the north coast. Well worth a stop whether you're a history buff or not.

Photo courtesy of inn-california.com

3. Mount Diablo State Park
Because Mt. Diablo rises abruptly from relatively flat land, visitors to Mt. Diablo State Park's eponymous 3,849-foot peak experience unmatched panoramas encompassing Sacramento, the Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada, Lassen Peak, Mt. Hamilton, and the Farallon Islands. It's a veritable tour of Northern California, all from one spot. Get oriented with trail maps and dioramas at Mt. Diablo State Park's historic visitor center and museum. Stand on "the rock" (Mt. Diablo's highest point), which juts through a hole in the floor. 925/837-2525.

Photo courtesy of waymarking.com

For more information, visit www.parks.ca.gov.

By Christine Richard; Photo by Thomas J. Story

When I first went to Point Reyes on a day trip from San Francisco, I was immediately drawn to a road sign that said Heart’s Desire Beach; it had an arrow pointing ahead. Who wouldn’t follow? So I took the road which led to Tomales Bay State Park, parked my car, walked past two families picnicking on a beach and onto a trail tunneled in trees, mostly pines. The view at the top of the bluff was gorgeous California bay, the air fresh. At that moment, it was my heart's desire. To think that Heart’s Desire might be shut down, along with 47 other California state parks, is, well, Heart Breaking.

A brief rundown: The state of California needs to make budget cuts, and one way to save money is to close 48 of its state parks (see which ones here), or 17 percent of the system. Elizabeth Goldstein, president of California State Parks Foundation, tells Sunset that if these parks close, public access will be barred and the parks will be minimally patrolled, and maintenance will be discontinued. This opens up the state to liability (think of hikers accessing these lands anyway and getting lost) and increases chances of vandalism. Besides wilderness areas, state beaches and historical monuments are also affected.

4 ways to show your love for California parks:

1. Send a letter to your lawmakers opposing these proposed closures.
2. Participate in Park Advocacy Day at the State Capitol on April 7.
3. Get involved with a local or regional organization. Here is one list. 
4. Photograph your favorite and enter CSPF's photo contest. Winners are announced monthly, with prizes.

By Rachel Levin, associate travel editor

In honor of Lights Out San Francisco (as well as a fridge full of beer leftover from a recent party), my husband and I invited a few friends over Saturday night. The plan was simple: Little Star Pizza (best deep-dish in the Bay Area, by the way) by candlelight. Lucky to live on top of Mount Olympus—a quiet, steep-hill-of-a-neighboorhood, smack in the middle of the city and home to killer views—we had, uh, high hopes that we’d have a perfect vantage point for appreciating the darkened city. Per Lights Out organizer Nate Tyler, we obediently switched off all of our lights promptly at 8pm, toasted to energy conservation, and waited for the city to go dark for the hour.

8:04 pm, we could still see into our neighbors' windows. 8:11pm, the bright lights at the apparently empty Kezar Stadium were still on, as was the neon-red Bambino’s sign and entire business strip of Cole Valley below. We wondered if we were the only ones in the city participating, so we scurried up to the roofdeck to take in the almost 360-degree view of the city. Below, streetlamps glowed but--ah! our faith in our fellow citizens was restored. City Hall was dark! As was what we could make out of the Transamerica Building.

Meanwhile, a few miles away in Dolores Park, another friend was dressed up as a panda, passing out info about World Wildlife Fund, and rousing the crowd of roughly 500 folks who had gathered in the park for Lights Out revelry. All in all, the city lights were dimmed, at best, and it seemed to be the mostly Biodiesel-driving-Blue Bottle Coffee-drinking set who participated, but, of course, change takes time. And a little more advertising. But it’s a start! No doubt, Lights Out will soon be a national phenomenon. The next one is scheduled for March 29, 2008 (8-9pm); so far at least 11 other cities have signed on, including Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver. At 9pm, although our Lights Out duty was done, we happily polished off our pizza, and beer, in the dark.

And, you know what? Even with our new low-watt flourescent bulbs firmly plugged in, we dined by candlelight the next night, too.