California State Parks Foundation Announces 2026 Photo Contest Winners: Five Category Champions Named, San Diego County's Kevin Shi Wins Wildlife & Nature
The California State Parks Foundation has announced the winners of its second annual photo contest. In an official blog post on October 13, the foundation said this year's contest drew more than a thousand submissions from park lovers across California, with champions named in five categories: Scenic Landscapes, Wildlife & Nature, Recreation & Activities, People in Parks and California History. The Scenic Landscapes winner was photographed at Red Rock Canyon State Park in Kern County, and the Wildlife & Nature prize went to Kevin Shi of San Diego County.
The five category winners are: Scenic Landscapes, Peter Scifres of Ventura County, for a photograph taken at Red Rock Canyon State Park in Kern County; Wildlife & Nature, Kevin Shi of San Diego County, for a photograph taken at the Tijuana Estuary Natural Preserve in San Diego County; Recreation & Activities, Paula Schultz of Butte County, for a photograph taken at Lake Oroville State Recreation Area; People in Parks, Bill Krause of Kern County, for a photograph taken at Cayucos State Beach in San Luis Obispo County; and California History, Alex Bylsma of Placer County, for a photograph taken at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park in Nevada County.
The foundation said the contest invited park visitors and photography enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels to capture the natural beauty, recreational activities and unique landscapes of California's state parks. This year's winning photographs range from sunlit red rocks and wildlife in its natural habitat to a candid moment of children discovering the ocean for the first time. Announcing the winners, the foundation said every photo told a story worth celebrating, and that participants had helped show the world what makes California's state parks extraordinary.
Under the prize terms published on the foundation's contest page, each category winner receives a complimentary California State Parks Foundation membership, including a California Explorer Vehicle Day Use Annual Pass valued at $195, and may have their photo featured in the foundation's 2028 calendar, with one complimentary copy of the calendar. Winners are also recognized across the foundation's website and social media channels, and honorable mentions are featured on its website, social media channels and digital photo gallery.
California's state park system is one of the largest in the United States. Red Rock Canyon State Park, on the edge of the Mojave Desert, is known for its layered cliffs and canyon formations and is a popular weekend hiking and stargazing destination for Southern California residents; the Tijuana Estuary is an important estuary wetland and bird habitat in southern San Diego County. The foundation noted that submissions for the 2026 contest are now closed, and the public can view all winning and honorable-mention photographs on its website.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加利福尼亚州 Kern County 的 Red Rock Canyon State Park 崖壁实景，本届大赛风景组冠军作品即拍摄于此（资料图，RuggyBearLA 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: Cliffs of Red Rock Canyon State Park in Kern County, California, where this year's Scenic Landscapes winning photograph was taken (file photo by RuggyBearLA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
