California's Golden Parks

Huell attends the annual Return of the Salmon Festival in Shasta County to see huge numbers of fall Chinook Salmon coming up river to spawn.

Huell visits Doheny State Beach to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the park. Doheny is famous for its surfing and laid back California atmosphere. We’ll visit with families who have multiple generations that have grown up on the great waves of Doheny. We’ll also learn about camping throughout years at this idyllic spot.

Join Huell as he visits the beautiful and historic William S. Hart Park and Museum in Newhall. Join Huell as he visits the beautiful and historic William S. Hart Park and Museum in Newhall. William S. Hart was born in Newburgh, New York on December 6, 1864.Hart started his acting career in his twenties. At the age of 49, Hart came west to Hollywood to start his movie career. During the next 11 years, he made more than 65 silent films, the last being "Tumbleweeds" in 1925.In 1921, Hart purchased a ranch house and surrounding property. He built a 22 room mansion which today houses Hart's collection of western art, Native American artifacts, and early Hollywood memorabilia. Hart lived at the ranch nearly 20 years until his death in 1946. In his will, Hart gave the Horseshoe Ranch to the County of Los Angeles. It was to be set aside for the use and enjoyment of the public, at no charge.William S. Hart MansionToday, the Horseshoe Ranch consists of 265 acres. Both the ranch house and the Hart residence are open to the public. An assortment of animals reside at Hart Park, including a small herd of bison which were a gift from the Walt Disney Studios in 1962

Sometimes you need to look under the surface to find the real treasures at a state park. Huell travels to Sacramento to Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park to get a behind the scenes look at some of the gems that are stashed away in the parks large archive. From Native American artifacts to a doll from the original Donner Party, this is a wonderful example of the many treasures that our state parks hold.

In this adventure, Huell visits the California Coastal National Monument which runs the entire length of the California coast (1,100 miles) between Oregon and Mexico, extends 12 nautical miles from the shoreline, and encompasses thousands of BLM administered islands, rocks, exposed reefs, and pinnacles above mean high tide.Cooperatively managed with other federal, state, local government, universities, and private interests, the primary purpose of the Monument is to protect important biological and geological values. The islands, rocks, reefs, and pinnacles provide forage and breeding grounds for significant populations of birds and sea mammals.

Once owned by famous Hollywood move star Leo Carrillo, Los Quiotes is a 27 acre historic park in the lovely town of Carlsbad. It contains and protects many of the original historic structures and outbuildings associated with Leo Carrillo's use of the ranch. This ranch was Leo’s way to escape the hustle and bustle of Hollywood and a place for he and his wife to “get away”. This beautiful ranch eventually fell off the radar and was almost lost forever, until a group of concerned citizens stepped in. Now a historic park, the ranch is filled with early California history and even a couple of peacocks.

San Onofre State Beach in San Diego County covers some 2100 acres and has five miles of beach, including Trestles – one of the most famous and truly iconic surf spots in the world! Park Supt. Rich Rozzelle showed Huell a spectacular section of the park that most people don’t know exists. Turns out the park goes four miles inland, contains several archeological sites, is the home of seven threatened or endangered species and protects significant portions of San Mateo Creek, which is one of the last relatively unspoiled watersheds in Southern California. San Onofre State Beach is now the focus of a huge controversy! Tune in to find out all about it.