Montara State Beach has “poor attendance” according to state

Montara State Beach is one of the state parks with the lowest attendance in the Bay Area. This will be one of the factors in determining which parks are closed, reports the County Times.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation is not releasing a new list of sites that may be on the chopping block to avoid pointless speculation and panic among parks lovers, said spokesman Roy Stearns. The $9 million in cuts — $8 million to the department’s operating budget — will likely translate into 30 to 50 park closures across the state.

Had Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s original proposal to cut $70 million not been averted by drawing on new funding sources at the last minute, 220 of 279 state parks would have been closed and hundreds of parks employees laid off. ...

Any remaining park closures will be based at least partly on attendance as a major criterion, Stearns said. Bay Area parks with comparatively poor attendance include Portola Redwoods State Park and Montara State Beach in San Mateo County, Eastshore State Park in Berkeley, Angel Island State Park in Marin, and Henry W. Coe State Park in Morgan Hill.

This story is based on a report of state park attendance acquired by Julia Scott at the County Times. Here are the numbers for Coastside parks: