Today California State Parks nearly tripled the number of Adventure Pass park locations – expanding from 19 to 54 participating parks – for California fourth graders and fourth grade teachers! This is incredibly exciting news because now all California fourth graders and fourth grade teachers can receive free admission to even more state parks through this popular program championed by the First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and launched by California State Parks to encourage young people to start to build their own relationships with parks and outdoor spaces.
You can read California State Parks’ press release here.
Currently in its third year, any fourth grader who lives in California is eligible for the California State Park Adventure Pass, no matter how they attend school or how old they are. If they are a fourth grader or fourth grade equivalent, they qualify! The pass is also good for California fourth grade teachers who bring their classes to participating state park units for field trips. To date, more than 50,000 passes have been provided to families.
The list of 54 participating parks was released today and can be found at parks.ca.gov/AdventurePass.
At Parks California, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to explore the natural beauty of our state parks. And studies show that access to nature can lead to improvements in children’s physical well-being, social and emotional learning, and academic outcomes. However, too often, transportation and other challenges prevent young people from taking advantage of the California State Park Adventure Pass, which is why we created the Adventure Pass Grants Program. Designed and facilitated by Parks California in partnership with California State Parks, we announced our first round of grants earlier this year. In February, 12 non-profit and local community organizations became the first-ever recipients of the Adventure Pass Grants Program, and they are currently providing meaningful and relevant outdoor experiences for fourth graders and their families.
Curious to see a behind-the-scenes look at how this new grants program came together? Read a blog post from Emily Henry, who was instrumental in designing the grant program with our partners and oversees it.
We’re so proud of this program and we’re very excited to kick off a new grant cycle in 2024! Stay tuned for details about this opportunity, coming in the Spring!
