What’s open in the great outdoors
Where it’s OK to go in Bay Area, state during shelter in place.
One big change in Bay Area health orders announced on Wednesday was a loosening of restrictions on outdoor activity. In San Francisco, for example, it’s now fine to take transit to go to a park, where the city previously asked people to limit recreation to places they could walk or bike to. But it’s still confusing to know where you can go outside and what you can do there.
The Bay Area has more than 20 agencies and districts that manage more than 150 recreation destinations. Each works with its own county health department to set guidelines independently of other counties, park districts and watersheds. That leads to a patchwork of rules that differ everywhere you go. Here’s what you need to know about getting outdoors in Northern California.
Q: When will campgrounds open?
A: 1,500 campgrounds in 100
Forest Service districts at lakes, streams and trailheads in California, Oregon and Washington will start opening in mid-May through June, based on the county and location. Now is the time to dream and plan. At state and national parks, and other sites where people may cluster, the dates will likely be delayed until June, or when county health departments clear the activity by site. Size of groups will likely be restricted per site.
Q: As parks open, will there be special rules?
A: Parks will likely phase in openings with special rules that will include restrictions on group size, parking and requirements to carry masks or other face coverings. Sonoma County parks opened in late April, for instance, with rules where visitors are required to walk or bike to parks, and then on trails or when fishing from shore (at Spring Lake) are required to carry masks and put them on when encountering others.
Q: When on the trail, what do you do when you come across others?
A: Hike only with people you live with. All trail users should carry a face covering. Put it on when encountering others. When you meet other users, mountain bikers give way to horses and hikers, and hikers give way to horses. The one exception is on a hill, where a hiker sailing downhill should give way to a mountain biker going uphill, grinding it out at 2 mph.
Q: Why are some boat ramps open and others closed?
A: With different agencies and rules, it’s been a piecemeal approach where the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Boat ramps are open at marinas in Berkeley and
Richmond. Yet other harbor districts shut down their boat ramps, including Oyster Point in
South San Francisco, Coyote
Point in San Mateo, Loch Lomond in San Rafael, and Pillar
Point in Half Moon Bay. On the Petaluma River, the ramp in Petaluma is open, yet the ramp just downstream at Black Point is closed. The result: same river, different counties and different results.
In the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, public boat ramps are closed and private boat ramps are open. It is likely boat ramp openings will be phased in through mid-June.
Q: What major recreation lakes have the least restrictions?
A: At giant Shasta Lake north of Redding, virtually everything is open — that is, other than Forest Service campgrounds, which likely will open after May 15. Sugarloaf Resort, for instance, sold out its cabin rentals in late April. The water temperature is 64 degrees, still cold for water sports, but will likely enter the low 70s by Memorial Day weekend. Others that are open are Lake Amador near Ione, Bullards Bar near Camptonville, Trinity north of Weaverville and Almanor at Chester. Others are likely to reopen soon.
Q: What destinations have the least restrictions?
A: State Wildlife Areas provide access to large areas where you can break free for fitness and nature, and stay safe. The best for this include Grizzly Island Wildlife Area near Suisun City, with a driving tour on a levee road that provides access to trailheads, and the Napa Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area with best access by kayak to a matrix of rivers and sloughs at high tides.
Q: What major recreation lakes have the most restrictions?
A: Lake Tahoe, Clear, Berryessa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Don Pedro, New Melones, Folsom, Collins and Jenkinson are closed. Each is managed by a different agency. As a result, each will open according to its own set of parameters, in conjunction with the respective health officer for that county. Most are expected to open by Memorial Day weekend or shortly after.
Q: When will I be able to hike and camp in wilderness?
A: The U.S. Forest Service and national parks are not issuing wilderness permits at this time. That will likely change in early June, as trailheads open up, snow melts off and trails clear in the most remote high country wilderness areas, and county health officers give the all-clear. At high-density areas, including Yosemite, Whitney, SequoiaKings Canyon, and Desolation at Tahoe, where trailhead quotas are established and where there is a higher chance of clustering, there is no projection when trailheads might open and permits will be issued or honored this summer.
Q: Where is the most remote wilderness with the least chance of seeing others on the trail, even if you write about it?
A: The South Warner Wilderness in eastern Modoc County.
Q: Is RV camping considered safe?
A: Most county health officers are considering it safe to camp in self-contained RVs, trailers, fifth wheels and cab-over campers, where you can park, eat and sleep without breaking the 6-foot bubble with other
campers. Some RV parks in the rural north state started opening on May 1. A good summer appears ahead. The one area to stay clear of is Highway 1, where parks and camps get packed, and closures could linger well into summer until county health officials give sites the thumbs up.
Q: When will Bay Area lakes reopen?
A: Water districts, working with county health officers, closed San Pablo, Los Vaqueros, Del Valle, Lafayette and Loch Lomond reservoirs, among others, to all access. These closures came at the height of the spring fishing season, when anglers might cluster on shore. No reopening dates have been set. They may occur after water temperatures warm, trout stocks are done for the year and visitor use is projected to be light.
Q: Will state parks be the last to reopen?
A: Yes, along with national parks where visitor use is high and groups tend to cluster. State parks report directly to the governor, who has kept tight wraps on all access: All roads, parking, camping and picnic sites are closed at all 280 state parks and beaches. At the 50 state parks in the greater Bay Area, Bean Hollow, Butano, Portola Redwoods and San Gregorio State Beach in San Mateo County, and Castle Rock, Big Basin Redwoods and Santa Cruz Mission in Santa Cruz County are closed 100%.