According to the California Protected Areas Database (CPAD), in the state of California, United States, there are over 14,000 inventoried protected areas administered by public agencies and non-profits. In addition, there are private conservation areas and other easements.^[1] They include almost one-third of California's scenic coastline, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. The California State Parks system alone has 270 units and covers 1.3 million acres (5,300 km²), with over 280 miles (450 km) of coastline, 625 miles (1,006 km) of lake and river frontage, nearly 18,000 campsites, and 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.

Obtaining an accurate total of all protected land in California and elsewhere is a complex task. Many parcels have inholdings, private lands within the protected areas, which may or may not be accounted for when calculating total area. Also, occasionally one parcel of land is included in two or more inventories. Over 90% of Yosemite National Park for example, is listed both as wilderness by the National Wilderness Preservation System, and as national park land by the National Park Service. The Cosumnes River Preserve is an extreme example, owned and managed by a handful of public agencies and private landowners, including the Bureau of Land Management, the County of Sacramento and The Nature Conservancy. Despite the difficulties, the CPAD gives the total area of protected land at 49,294,000 acres (199,490 km²), or 47.05% of the state (not including easements); a considerable amount for the most populous state in the country.

National Park System

The U.S. National Park System controls a large and diverse group of California parks, monuments, recreation areas and other units which in total exceed 6,240,000 acres (25,300 km²).^[2] The best known is Yosemite National Park, noted for several iconic natural features including Yosemite Falls, El Capitan and Half Dome, which is displayed on the reverse side of the California state quarter. Other prominent parks are the Kings Canyon-Sequoia National Park complex, Redwood National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and the largest, Death Valley National Park. The NPS also administers the Manzanar National Historic Site in Inyo County.

National parks Main article: National parks in California Channel Islands National Park Death Valley National Park Joshua Tree National Park Kings Canyon National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park Pinnacles National Park Redwood National Park Sequoia National Park Yosemite National Park
National monuments (administered by the NPS) Cabrillo National Monument Castle Mountains National Monument César E. Chávez National Monument Devils Postpile National Monument Lava Beds National Monument Muir Woods National Monument Mojave Trails National Monument San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Sand to Snow National Monument World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
National recreation areas Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Golden Gate National Recreation Area
National seashores Point Reyes National Seashore
National preserves Mojave National Preserve

National Landscape Conservation System

The Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) includes over 850 federally recognized areas and in California, manages 15,500,000 acres (63,000 km²) of public lands, nearly 15% of the state's land area.^[3] The National Landscape Conservation System is composed of several types of units: national monuments (distinct from the same-named units within the National Park System), national conservation areas, forest reserves, outstanding natural areas, national scenic and historic trails, wilderness, wilderness study areas, and others.

National monuments (administered by the BLM) Berryessa Snow Mountain (also administered by the Mendocino National Forest) California Coastal Carrizo Plain Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains		National conservation areas California Desert King Range
Forest reserves Headwaters Forest		Outstanding natural areas Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station
National scenic and historic trails California National Historic Trail Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Old Spanish National Historic Trail Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail		Wilderness and wilderness study areas Total BLM-managed wilderness land in California is 3,725,230 acres (15,075.5 km2).[4]

National Marine Sanctuaries

The National Marine Sanctuary System is managed by the Office of Marine Sanctuaries, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
California has four of the thirteen U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries:

National Wildlife Refuges

National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is an extensive system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants. Many of the state's refuges are important stops and destinations for millions of migrating birds along the Pacific Flyway corridor. One, the Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area, has the highest density of waterfowl in the world.^[6] There are 38 units in the refuge system in California, including both wildlife refuges and wildlife management areas, divided into 9 different regional areas. Combined the areas equal about 440,000 acres (1,800 km²).

Hopper Mountain NWR Complex Bitter Creek NWR Blue Ridge NWR Hopper Mountain NWR Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWR		San Diego NWR Complex San Diego NWR San Diego Bay NWR Seal Beach NWR Sweetwater Marsh NWR Tijuana Slough NWR
Humboldt Bay NWR Complex Humboldt Bay NWR Castle Rock NWR		San Francisco Bay NWR Complex Antioch Dunes NWR Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR Ellicott Slough NWR Farallon NWR Marin Islands NWR Salinas River NWR San Pablo Bay NWR
Kern NWR Complex Kern NWR Pixley NWR		San Luis NWR Complex Grasslands WMA Merced NWR San Joaquin River NWR San Luis NWR
Klamath Basin NWR Complex Clear Lake NWR Lower Klamath NWR Tule Lake NWR		Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Complex Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Coachella Valley NWR
Sacramento NWR Complex Butte Sink WMA Colusa NWR Delevan NWR North Central Valley WMA Sacramento NWR Sacramento River NWR Sutter NWR Willow Creek-Lurline WMA		Other refugesedit Modoc NWR

Wild and Scenic riversedit

Rivers designated as Wild and Scenic are administered by one of four federal land management agencies: The Bureau of Land Management, The National Park Service, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or The U.S. Forest Service.^[7] There are 22 rivers in California with portions designated as Wild and Scenic, with 23 designations in all (the American River has two separate designations, one for the North Fork, and one for the Lower section).^[8] Listed in miles.