History and hikes at half price

By Kerri Regan

July 5, 2000 Web posted at: 9:39 AM EDT (1339 GMT)

REDDING, California (Redding Record Searchlight) -- For outdoors enthusiasts and history buffs, entertainment just got cheaper.

All five state parks and museums in the north state were among the 109 sites across California to slash fees Saturday as part of Gov. Gray Davis' plan to make them more accessible.

For half the price of a matinee, north state residents can explore natural wonders, historic ruins, a Chinese temple or an adobe home.

Parks reduced fees in two ways; by cutting either parking fees or entrance fees.

Castle Crags State Park, McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park and William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park in Red Bluff reduced parking fees from $5 to $2, the rate charged back in 1980, according to the governor's office. Seniors 62 and older get a $1 discount.

Shasta State Historic Park and the Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park cut adult admissions fees in half to $1. Children 16 and under are admitted free.

Fred Welcome, a Castle Crags park ranger, said visitors have had mixed reactions to the fee cuts.

"There are people who think it's worth more," Welcome said of the 4,350-acre park near Dunsmuir that features the majestic 6,000-foot crags and 28 miles of hiking trails.

Linda Ross, an aide at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, said she anticipates a jump in attendance at the park, "particularly the locals who balked at paying $5 to go to the beach."

That park includes 910 acres of forest and five miles of shoreline, with 129-foot-high Burney Falls as its centerpiece.

Visitors to the Shasta State Historic Park have given "really good feedback" to the price cuts, said park interpretive specialist Marianne Black. The facility features a broad history of the historic mining town west of Redding.

"I think it will do what the governor wanted, which was to allow more of a diverse population to be able to visit the museum," Black said. "Once people are out here, they find out just how interesting it is and what they've been missing."

The estimated 150 state parks that haven't dropped their rates yet will do so Jan. 1. That is also when Davis' mandate to cut camping fees in half at state parks will take effect.

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