Monterey County parks recognized in ‘Best of California's State Parks' poll

MONTEREY – The California State Parks Foundation recently released the results of its second annual "Best of California State Parks" poll, with Monterey County’s own Point Lobos, Pfeiffer Big Sur and Asilomar all receiving recognition.

With votes from over 2,000 people spread across 12 different categories, the poll "highlights the deep connection that people have to our parks," said Rachel Norton, executive director of California State Parks Foundation, in a press release.

"These places represent the incredible diversity of experiences we can find in our state parks, from exploring the coast to learning about our history," she said in the release. "We hope Californians will use the ‘Best of California's State Parks' poll results to get inspired to get outdoors with family and friends."

Norton shared with the Herald that many of the categories featured on the list are determined with help from the Foundation's members and what the Foundation gets the most questions about.

The winners and honorable mentions in this year's poll include parks across 24 counties in the state and feature a range of parks, including urban, desert, coastal, woodland and historic parks.

The poll results reflect the diversity of California’s state park system, which includes 280 state parks and is continuing to grow.

The California state park system works separately from the national parks, and has seen a large uptick in visitors since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has stayed consistent even six years later.

"We feel very lucky that in California we have this system that is so incredible," Norton said. "I think Californians are really thankful for these places and our support of these places. The governor (has) been a huge champion for state parks and just announced that they’re adding three new state parks to the system in the Central Valley."

Currently, there is over 340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage, 15,000 campsites, 5,200 miles of trails, over 3,000 historic buildings and over 11,00 known prehistoric and historic archaeological sites within the California state parks, according to the press release.

"The point of this is really to introduce folks to all these great attractions that are either near them or in places of the state that they want to visit," Norton told the Herald.

"There’s nowhere like Point Lobos or Big Sur as just world-famous destinations in California," she said. "We want to always honor that we have these places and make sure that Californians get to enjoy them and experience them."

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park was named the best state park for camping, with Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Calaveras Big Trees State Park receiving honorable mentions in the category.

Monterey County is also home to the winner for the best state park for day trips, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Honorable mentions for the category went to Jack London State Historic Park and Angel Island State Park.

Point Lobos also received recognition in the best state park for spectacular views category, where it was an honorable mention. Asilomar State Beach also was given an honorable mention in the best state park for beaches category.

"Asilomar is still one of my favorite places. It’s just so relaxing and it’s a little rustic. It’s not fancy, but it just is such a special place," said Norton, noting that her grandmother had lived in Carmel when she was growing up and she spent a lot of time there."You’re very lucky in Monterey County."

Norton shared that the poll results come a month before State Parks Week, June 10-14.

"Many parks have special activities to welcome folks in," she said. "It’s really an opportunity to encourage people to get out and explore either what’s near them or another part of the state, maybe that they haven’t explored."

For a list of all the winners and honorable mentions, visit https://www.calparks.org/bestof2026

To learn more about State Parks Week, visit https://castateparksweek.org/

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