California unveils plans for three new giant parks — including historic camp that inspired ‘The Grapes of Wrath’

If all goes to plan, the Golden State could be beautified even further by up to three new state parks — and the California State Parks wants Californians’ input on the process.

California State Parks recently launched a visioning survey, according to Secret Los Angeles. It’s called the State Parks Forward Survey, after the project’s moniker, and asks state residents for input regarding the three new parks planned for California’s Central Valley — Dust Bowl Camp (Bakersfield, Kern County), San Joaquin River Parkway (covering Fresno and Madera counties) and Feather River Park (Olivehurst, Yuba County).

The survey will be available until September 4 and should take 5 to 10 minutes to complete, with respondents able to provide their thoughts on one park or all three.

Dust Bowl Camp has a unique tie to American literary history, as the historic migrant camp helped inspire John Steinbeck’s 1939 classic “The Grapes of Wrath,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the following year. The park will pay homage to Dust Bowl and farmworker history, though details on exactly how it will do so remain unknown.

The addition of the three parks would increase the statewide total to a whopping 238 parks, more than any other state (Washington and New York rank behind with approximately 212 and 180 to 215, respectively, though exact numbers depend on classification, according to Safe Guard Surfacing).

Gov. Gavin Newsom first announced the project on Earth Day in April. The initiative will also expand the state’s parkland by approximately 30,000 acres by the end of the decade.

“Today, through the State Parks Forward initiative, we’re expanding our parks system with three new state parks, creating new outdoor recreation opportunities for Central Valley communities, and deepening our conservation commitments, and preserving our lands for generations of Californians to come,” Newsom said during the park’s April announcement.

Two of the parks — Dust Bowl Camp and San Joaquin River Parkway — are near or along the controversial California High-Speed Rail corridor, which is currently under construction (though President Trump withdrew an eye-watering $4 billion from the project last year). The project’s first phase is set to connect San Francisco to Anaheim through the Central Valley, while the second would extend the system to Sacramento and San Diego.

The planned parks’ proximity to the rail corridor could raise their profile as planning moves forward.

The Merced-to-Bakersfield Initial Operating Segment, part of the rail project, is projected to enter service by 2032. Combined with the new parks, the line is expected to provide greater access to rivers and open space.

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