{"id":365251,"date":"2026-06-18T04:27:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/365251\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T04:27:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:27:29","slug":"california-offers-free-access-to-30-state-historic-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/365251\/","title":{"rendered":"California Offers Free Access to 30+ State Historic Parks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The initiative connects Californians to local history through sites, artifacts and exhibits<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From June 17 through July 6, Californians are capable of downloading a free special pass that allows admission for up to 4 people per pass to more than 30 state historic parks throughout California.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Offered by California State Parks, <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parks.ca.gov\/?page_id=30966\">the Historian Passport<\/a>, normally costing $50, remains valid through the end of 2026 and provides access to a range of historically significant sites that bring California\u2019s past to life.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-303895\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Colonel-Allensworth-SHP-Front-1200x800.jpg\"\/><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Colonel-Allensworth-SHP-Front-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-303895\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\"  \/>Credit: Courtesy of California State Parks, Photo by Brain Baer<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In celebration of Juneteenth and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the special-edition Historian Passport aims to make California\u2019s historic landmarks more accessible while welcoming visitors to connect with the diverse communities and events that have helped shape the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCalifornia doesn\u2019t hide from hard truths and uncomfortable history \u2013 in fact, we embrace it and learn from it.\u201d said Governor Gavin Newsom in <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parks.ca.gov\/NewsRelease\/1533\">a news release from California State Parks.<\/a> \u201cCalifornia is marking these celebrations of freedom by inviting everyone to learn our country\u2019s history for free in our state parks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park\" class=\"wp-image-303896\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Folsom-Powerhouse-Indoor-1200x800.jpg\"\/><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Folsom-Powerhouse-Indoor-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park\" class=\"wp-image-303896\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\"  \/>Credit: Courtesy of California State Parks, Photo by Brian Baer<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Supported by donations from the California State Parks Foundation and the California State Railroad Museum Foundation, the limited-time free pass grants permission to historic parks and museums unveiling the history of Californian Gold Rush, Native American communities, immigrant experiences and other pivotal chapters in the state\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participating parks include <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parks.ca.gov\/?page_id=583\">Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park<\/a>, a historic town founded and governed by African Americans, and <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parks.ca.gov\/?page_id=553\">Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park<\/a>, California\u2019s largest roundhouse still used by Native Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center is-style-altfont has-secondary-color has-text-color has-link-color has-xs-font-size wp-elements-a392843e06eac12cec56e735f4f8219f has-lg-margin-top wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"letter-spacing:1px;text-transform:uppercase\">Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also, <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parks.ca.gov\/?page_id=484\">Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park<\/a> marks the site where gold was first discovered in 1848, while <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parks.ca.gov\/?page_id=457\">Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park<\/a> is home to the oldest continuously used Chinese temple in California. A full list of additional Historian Passport acceptance locations is available <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parks.ca.gov\/?page_id=30966\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-303897\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Indian-Grinding-Rock-5-1200x900.jpg\"\/><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Indian-Grinding-Rock-5-1200x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-303897\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\"  \/>Credit: Courtesy of California State Parks<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCalifornia\u2019s state historic parks preserve some of our nation\u2019s most powerful and meaningful stories,\u201d said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. \u201cI hope the free Historian Passport introduces more Californians to the state\u2019s historic gems and sparks a curiosity, thirst for knowledge and sense of belonging that leads to many return visits.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The initiative connects Californians to local history through sites, artifacts and exhibits From June 17 through July 6,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2929,32957,1725,89966],"class_list":["post-365251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-governor-gavin-newsom","tag-juneteenth","tag-parks","tag-parks-recreation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}