McNears Beach Park bustled with activity Friday afternoon: Dozens of children played on the grass while others splashed in the park’s pool and nearby beach. Families picnicked at tables.

The 55-acre county park, like others across Marin, is well used.

But despite the popularity of county parks, not everybody is able to partake — and county officials say they want to change that.

A study of Marin’s parks, preserves and trails found that in particular, two groups of people — Latinos and senior citizens — are not visiting county parks in numbers that reflect the demographics of Marin County.

In a nutshell, the parks can be hard to get to and they’re a bit pricey, according to the study.

“A family of four coming to McNears during the middle of summer during a hot day, they have a $10 entrance fee for cars, and $5 each to swim in the pool — and that’s $30 right there,” said Marin Supervisor Katie Rice. “For some families, that’s quite a bit of money.”

The $46,000 study, conducted by San Francisco State University in conjunction with Marin County Parks, zeroed in on 17 sites among Marin’s more than 100 parks, preserves and trails.

It found that of the visitors surveyed over several months last fall, 91 percent were white and more than three-quarters had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The average individual was about 50 years old; slightly more than half were between the ages of 45 and 64.

Those not visiting the parks were more likely to be black, Hispanic or Latino and speak a language other than English at home, according to the study. The study found they also were likely to have lower household incomes and education levels.

Hispanics and Latinos make up 16 percent of Marin’s population, based on the 2010 U.S. Census, but only accounted for 9.1 percent of survey respondents.

Focus groups

Two focus groups conducted with Marin seniors and with Hispanics and Latinos suggested that transportation, fees, language barriers and safety are factors for not visiting parks more frequently.

“This gives us information to manage parks in different ways and make decisions around the types of planning we do and to provide a foundation or baseline to monitor how we’re doing over time,” said Max Korten, director and general manager of Marin County Parks.

Rice said the findings show a need to review the fees at county parks, with an eye toward reducing the cost.

“To me, it’s a fairness issue,” she said. “I understand there’s more maintenance at some of these parks, including Stafford and McNears. But at the same time, you look at the user groups, including at McNears, there’s a higher cost and it’s a barrier for some folks.”

There are parking fees at three county parks — McNears in San Rafael, Paradise Beach in Tiburon and Stafford Lake in Novato. The vehicle fee is $5 on weekdays and $10 on weekends.

Park fees were raised during the recession but were reduced last summer, said Chris Chamberlain, Marin County Park’s acting assistant director. Officials eliminated fees for bicyclists and walkers and summer weekday fees for vehicles were decreased from $8 to $5.

Reviewing fees

Supervisor Damon Connolly said he was thrilled to see that the study showed most visitors are satisfied with Marin’s county parks. But the county needs to explore ways to attract under-served communities, he said.

Park information should be provided in different languages, transit options should be explored and the county should review park fees and programs, he said.

“We need to focus on getting out better information to under-served communities in a culturally competent way,” Connolly said.

Kevin Wright, Marin County Park’s government and external affairs coordinator, said the study is all about identifying the populations not often visiting the parks and using the data to make decisions that create more inclusive environments at the county parks.

County parks officials are reviewing whether park fees can be reduced, Korten said. The department this summer is also rolling out new signs in both English and Spanish.

“From the survey, close to 20 percent of visitors at Pueblo, McNears and Paradise parks spoke languages other than English,” Korten said. “We’ll be rolling out a sign plan this summer that will have bilingual signs that will help the parks be more accessible and let people get oriented.”

More studies

The county will continue studying park visitors to learn more about user activity over all seasons, Wright said. The plan is to conduct the study every five years.

Tayo Fadeji, 36, who was at McNears Beach Park on Friday for a company outing, said although he lives near Stafford Lake Park, he does not use the park as frequently as he would like. He often does not want to shell out $5 for the vehicle entrance fee.

“I think that would stop many people from coming,” Fadeji said. “Five bucks may not hurt us, but we’re also cheap.”

Juan and Cristina Parra, who live in Richmond but grew up in Marin, were also enjoying McNears on Friday.

The couple said improved transportation to county parks and reduced fees would likely attract more diverse groups.

Juan Parra, 25, said he was surprised to learn Friday that the weekday vehicle fee at McNears had been reduced $3 since the last time he visited.

“Now it’s five bucks and it’s good,” he said.