County eliminates entry fee to Paradise Beach Park, others

Marc Cailing (right), with partner Camille Naguit (rear left center), enjoy a reunion of 13 members — some of whom are fishing on the pier — at one of the Paradise Beach Park reserved picnic areas on July 1. The $5-per-vehicle entrance fee has been eliminated, but the group-site rates were increased. (Elliot Karlan photo / For The Ark)

It’s now free to get into Paradise Beach Park — but it could cost a lot more to hold gatherings once you get there.

The Marin Board of Supervisors voted last month to eliminate the $5-per-vehicle entrance fee at the unincorporated Tiburon park and two others — McNears Beach Park in San Rafael and Stafford Lake Park in Novato — as well as the respective Black Point and Miller Park boat launches in Novato and Tomales Bay.

Billing it as “a gift from the county,” officials said that based on usage trends, surveys and feedback from community groups, they determined more diverse populations preferred parks over free open spaces, so eliminating the entrance fee would help improve equitable access to public lands.

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