Fremont Peak State Park is a

California State Park The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

located in

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

and

San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for " St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,209. The co ...

, California. The park encompasses the summit of

Fremont Peak Fremont Peak can refer to one of several peaks. In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in Nor ...

in the

Gabilan Range The Gabilan Range or Gabilán Range ( Spanish for "sparrow hawk") are a mountain range in the inner California Coast Ranges System, located in Monterey County and San Benito County of central California. Pinnacles National Park is located in the ...

. The park features expansive views of

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

from its hiking trails. Other vistas include the San Benito Valley,

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River, which geologically ...

, and the

Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from ...

east of Big Sur. The park was established in 1934.

Natural history

Pine and

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coastal ...

s, of the California chaparral and woodlands

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

, cover much of the park and are home to many birds and mammals.

Recreation

Fremont Peak State Park has hiking trails, picnic facilities and 22 campsites (both tent and RV). Fremont Peak Day is held every April, and features a picnic and other activities. The

Fremont Peak Observatory Fremont Peak Observatory (FPOA) is an astronomical observatory operated by Fremont Peak Observatory Association (FPOA) under contract to the State of California. Built in 1986, it is located in Fremont Peak State Park, near San Juan Bautista, Ca ...

opened in 1986, and has operated every summer since, despite having battled the frequently brutal mountaintop weather. The astronomical observatory has a

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

Proposed for closure

Fremont Peak State Park was one of the 48

California state parks The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

proposed for closure in January 2008 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a deficit reduction program. The closures were ultimately avoided by cutting hours and maintenance system-wide.

References

External links

Parks.ca.gov: official Fremont Peak State Park website
{{authority control State parks of California Parks in Monterey County, California Parks in San Benito County, California Gabilan Range Protected areas established in 1934 1934 establishments in California Parks in the San Francisco Bay Area

Natural history

Recreation

Proposed for closure

See also

References

External links