Note: Butano State Park is Closed from November to May Due to State Budget Cuts
As a result of the $17 million cut in 2009 State Park budgets, Butano State Park has been closed for the winter season, from November 1 to May 1. This makes it difficult for visitors to experience the beauty of Butano in the rainy season, when banana slugs abound along the trails.
It is still possible to enter the park if you park legally along the road outside the park and walk in, but restrooms are locked and there is no trash service.
Save San Mateo Coast State Parks Fund
The San Mateo Coast Natural History Association (SMCNHA), the cooperating association dedicated to supporting the state parks along the coast, is working to raise extra funds to support the parks during this budget crisis.
Donations are fully tax deductible and go straight to the local parks, not through Sacramento.
To make your tax-deductible contribution online, click the Donate Now button, below. Designate your donation to: Save our Parks.
Butano State Park
In the Santa Cruz mountains about two miles east of the coast. Butano State Park offers 30 miles of hiking trails through scenic canyons and uplands characterized by coast redwood and mixed evergreen forests, oaks, chaparral, rugged terrain, and mountain streams.
Especially in the rainy season, banana slugs are easy to spot on the shaded, moist trails.
Butano State Park is also a popular camping spot, offering both car camping and walk-in camping. Walk-in camping is as close as 25 yards or as far as 5.5 rugged miles from your car.
SMCNHA provides support for guided nature walks and weekend campfire programs that are offered during the summer. Sale of firewood for campers provides a steady income stream to fund activities in the San Mateo Coast parks sector.
Dogs are permitted in the campground and in developed areas, providing they are controlled with a leash of no more than six feet at all times. Dogs are not permitted on the trails.
History
Butano State Park has a rich history, spanning the Ohlone Indian, Spanish and early-Anglo settlement periods. Homesteaders farmed the canyon of Little Butano Creek. A shingle mill operated for over a decade in the late 1800’s, and several lumber companies owned extensive tracts in what is now the State Park.
