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Fire Road Removal Temporarily Closes Oak Ridge Trail at China Camp State Park
SAN RAFAEL: Effective Monday April 7, 2008, the segment of the upper Oak Ridge Trail, which currently includes a section of backcountry road used as public trail, will be closed to all recreational users. This segment will be closed for approximately one week as part of a restoration project to improve the quality of this trail, as well as restore the severely degraded Miwok Fire Road.
Heavy equipment will be used during this project. Visitors must comply with closure notices posted in the park to avoid the extremely hazardous construction conditions.
This means that, for this short construction period, the Oak Ridge Trail will no longer be available as one of the park's 'loop' trails.
For more information contact Supervising Ranger Mike Lair at (415) 898-4362, extension 14.
### California State Parks on the Internet: http://www.parks.ca.gov
Governor To Cut State Parks Budget and Close 48 Parks
California State Parks include some of the best mountain bicycling in the state. Among those are China Camp State Park here in Marin and Henry Coe in the south bay. Although China Camp is not on the list to close Henry Coe is, along with Tomales Bay State Park in West Marin, a park that may someday have trails open to mountain bikers, but in the meantime is enjoyed by all outdoor enthusiasts.
Californians use their State Parks as a main source of recreation, rejuvination and retreat. Mountain bikers use these parks for all those quality of life aspects. With a rise in childhood obesity and the added stress from the current economic downturn, parks will be needed as a viable resource that contributes to mental and physical health.
The Governor's plan calls for a $13.3 million reduction in the State Parks budget. To accomplish that they are recommending the closure of 48 parks and reducing seasonal staff positions by fifty percent. This is in addition to cuts that occured in the late 90's that caused reductions in staff and millions of dollars in deferred maintenace.