Get Outside! East Bay Parks Free to Visit on 'Green Friday'

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Friday is Green Friday in the East Bay Regional Park District and parks officials are encouraging families spend quality time together in a park for free.

All entrance fees are waived at all East Bay regional parks Friday as part of the Opt Outside movement, which started in 2015, when REI, an outdoor gear store, closed for Black Friday and encouraged employees and the public to explore the outdoors instead.

Entrance to the park district's Ardenwood Historic Farm will be free too.

Fees are also being waived for parking, dogs, horses, boat launching and fishing.

But visitors will still have to pay for state fishing licenses, watercraft inspection and concessionaires including the Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round and the Redwood Valley Railway train.

A couple of special events Friday include a Turkey Hike from 10 a.m. to noon at the Redwood Regional Park in Oakland and a post-Thanksgiving holiday fun day from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Crab Cove Visitor Center in Alameda.

Parks officials said each year more than 1.4 million people and 140 organizations participate in Opt Outside.