I used to work for a County Parks department, and changed jobs just before a massive lay off due to a slight budget deficit ($9M). The bean counter that made the mistake was fired. The parks director decided that all the county parks would be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays - the front gates would be closed and locked. As Veronica pointed out *free* isn't actually free. Parks have employees - park rangers patrol the roads to keep visitors safe, or come save your sorry butt, or firefight; maintenance folks take care of things; some may have educational staff as well.

Are there enough "Friends of the Parks" to really WORK at the park? Are you willing to clean the toilets? I found people were willing to pick up litter, or help with landscaping, paint picnic tables; but when it comes down to it - they don't want to clean the toilets or mop the floors, every single week.

Facing massive government budget shortfalls is really crappy. Shall you not fight the wildland fires? Or let prisoners out of jail? Glad I'm not working in Sacramento right now.