Cantareira State Park

Cantareira State Park
Parque Estadual da Cantareira
IUCN category II (national park)
São Paulo from the Pedra Grande center in the park
Nearest city	São Paulo, São Paulo
Coordinates	23°24′05″S 46°35′24″W / 23.401389°S 46.59°W / -23.401389; -46.59Coordinates: 23°24′05″S 46°35′24″W / 23.401389°S 46.59°W / -23.401389; -46.59
Area	7,916.52 hectares (19,562.1 acres)
Designation	State park
Created	29 August 1962

The Cantareira State Park (Portuguese: Parque Estadual da Cantareira) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an area of Atlantic Forest to the north of the city of São Paulo.

The Cantareira State Park is divided between the municipalities of São Paulo: 4,278.50 hectares (10,572.4 acres), Guarulhos: 2,674.33 hectares (6,608.4 acres), Mairiporã: 798.00 hectares (1,971.9 acres) and Caieiras: 149.17 hectares (368.6 acres) in the state of São Paulo. It has a total area of 7,916.52 hectares (19,562.1 acres). It holds an important remnant of Atlantic Forest. It adjoins the 174 hectares (430 acres) Albert Löfgren State Park to the south. It protects an area of the Serra da Cantareira that provides an important part of the city's water supply.

There are four visitor centers: Pedra Grande, Engordador, Águas Claras and Cabuçu. The Pedra Grande center has a lookout over the city at 1,010 metres (3,310 ft) of altitude. The park is open for scheduled school groups during the week, and to the general public on weekends. It is an important leisure alternative for the surrounding communities. It is used extensively for research, and is considered by BirdLife International as an important area for bird conservation in Brazil.

The park is mostly covered in dense montane rainforest in various stages of regeneration that started at the end of the 19th century when the land was acquired for the water supply of the city of São Paulo. Most of the forest is in the middle stage of regeneration. There are few significant areas of forest in advanced or mature stages. Of the flora, 678 species have been identified in 338 genera and 120 families. 650 species are angiosperms (Magnoliophyta), one is gymnosperm (Pinophyta) and 27 are pteridophytes (Pteridophyta).