All Sacramento County parks will close this Easter weekend to fight coronavirus spread
All Sacramento County parks, including those along the American and Sacramento rivers, will be closed this weekend for the Easter holiday to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The closure is an “extra cautious” measure to avoid people congregating during one of the busiest weekends of the year for the park system, said county spokesman Ken Casparis.
“It’s a lot of picnics,” he said.
All 29 county parks will be cordoned off starting Friday night and reopen Monday morning, Casparis said. That includes popular parks along the American River, as well as facilities like Sherman Island and Gibson Ranch.
But multi-use trails and bike paths — such as the Two Rivers Trail and the American River Parkway — will remain open for bicyclists and pedestrians, Casparis said.
County golf courses will not be closed this weekend like other county parks, Casparis said, except for Ancil Hoffman because its entrance is through the park.
An updated public health order released Tuesday afternoon spared golf courses, but ordered “outdoor recreation activity at facilities that encourage gathering and are outside of residences” — including outdoor gym equipment, tennis and basketball courts, climbing walls, and shooting and archery ranges — to close to public access.
It’s part of increasingly ramped-up efforts across the county departments to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 500 people in Sacramento County.
Late last month, Sacramento County roped off its seven playgrounds, barring residents from using the jungle gym equipment. Sacramento city playgrounds have also been closed off, though city parks remain open.
Liz Bellas, the director of the regional parks, recently drove through the county parks and “did notice it looked like people were respecting guidance to maintain social distancing,” Casparis said.
There are no plans in place currently to shut down county parks after this weekend, Casparis said, though that could change over the coming weeks.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 1:47 PM.