State Parks Week invites us to immerse in destinations right in our own backyard.

Mexico began colonizing what is now California back in 1769, and in 1775, the capital of this emerging nation-state moved to Monterey – then stayed there even after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. It would remain the capital city for nearly another three decades before evolving into a fishing town and a tourist attraction, a far cry from a modern capital city today.

But the built environment still holds a ton of that history, largely through buildings that are part of Monterey State Historic Park. There’s the Custom House, the oldest government building in California, where duties were collected. Larkin House established the template for the “Monterey Colonial” style. California’s First Theatre provided a stage (and a bar).

This is all part of the vast and diverse network of California’s 280 state parks. Your mind may first go to campgrounds and forests, but there are urban parks, there are beaches, there is history. All of this belongs to the public all year round, but the fifth annual California State Parks Week from June 10-14 puts added emphasis not just on the places, but also the people who interact with them thanks to the tagline “This is where you live.”

Local parks are inviting you to learn, volunteer and participate at events through June 14. In Monterey State Historic Park, 90-minute garden tours start at 12:30pm Thursday, June 11 and Saturday, June 13. A tour with an arts and literature focus begins at 12:30pm Friday and Sunday. Learn about candlemaking and leatherwork at 10am Saturday.

The week also of course includes immersion in nature – consider nature journaling (1pm Thursday, June 11) among the redwoods at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park or pick up your heart rate with the 3.5-mile Buzzard’s Roost Trail Challenge at 10am Friday, June 12.

Of course, no event series dedicated to public lands is complete without service, and events at Andrew Molera, Asilomar and Point Lobos invite you to lend a hand and learn in the process – about grasslands restoration in a meadow, dune habitat or how to identify invasive species.

All in all, it’s a celebration of where we live, which is an extraordinary place.

CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS WEEK various times Thursday, June 11-Sunday, June 14 at state parks in Big Sur, Monterey, Carmel and Pacific Grove. Free; registration recommended. castateparksweek.org.