New pilot program makes state park passes available for check out from local libraries

Paul Albani-Burgio, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·1 min read
A brown pelican soars above the water at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area on March 3, 2015. The recreation area is one of around 200 state parks that can now be accessed with free passes available for check out from local libraries.
A brown pelican soars above the water at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area on March 3, 2015. The recreation area is one of around 200 state parks that can now be accessed with free passes available for check out from local libraries.

Residents can now temporarily check out passes providing free access to around 200 California state parks from libraries in Palm Springs and other Coachella Valley cities.

In April, the California State Library and California State Parks announced a new pilot program called California Library Parks Pass that would send state park passes to 1,184 libraries in the state. Each of the passes can be checked out for up to two weeks at a time and is valid for entry of one passenger vehicle with capacity of nine people or less at participating state parks. The parks can also be used by motorcyclists.

The passes are available for check out from the Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage libraries as well as the Riverside County libraries in Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Thousand Palms, La Quinta, Indio, Coachella and Mecca. The number of passes available varies by library and ranges from four at most of the Riverside County libraries to 10 at the Palm Springs Public Library. Multiple passes are currently available to be checked out at each of the libraries.

Nearby state parks where the passes can be used include Mount San Jacinto State Park, the Salton Sea State Recreation Area and Wildwood Canyon. The pass is not valid at certain parks or for activities that require extra fees, such as camping or boating. A full list of participating parks and libraries can be found at www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30806.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: State park admission passes now available free from local libraries