SACRAMENTO - The annual fee to use California state parks is going up, officials announced Friday, even as the nation's largest park system trimmed the number of seasonal lifeguards for the third consecutive year.

Both developments are driven by the state's budget problems, the Department of Parks and Recreation said.

Currently, an annual parks pass is $67. Starting April 15 they will cost $110. The price will rise to $115 May 1; to $120 June 1; and reach their previously announced limit of $125 on July 1.

Increases had been scheduled to kick in July 1; the earlier phase-in is needed to raise enough money to offset a $15 million cut, the department said. Without it, the agency said, about 100 parks would have to close.

Former Gov. Gray Davis ordered fees cut in half four years ago when the state enjoyed a budget surplus. The fees are now returning to near-historic levels.

The department also warned there will be fewer lifeguards at state beaches, lakes and reservoirs this year, though drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in state parks. The cuts come as park attendance is increasing.

Last year, park lifeguards rescued a record 10,539 people, about 10 percent of all rescues reported to the U.S. Lifesaving Association from across the nation. Last year the department said there were two drownings in guarded water and 23 in unguarded areas; in 2002, there were no drownings in guarded water and 20 in unguarded areas.

The department urged bathers to use guarded areas where possible, and to take extra precautions when swimming on their own.

It called the decision to cut lifeguard services "an emotionally charged issue," but "there are no easy answers." Similar cuts were made during the economic and budget problems in the early 1990s, the department said.

Some 85 million people visit California parks annually, the most of any state.

On the Net:

California State Parks: http://www.parks.ca.gov