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Boulder Creek, California, United States

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Bay Area's best place to see California's giant redwoods

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Length: 8.3 miles / 13.4 km
 
Overview: You'll find countless options for exploring California's signature redwood forests, but few equal the grandeur of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Jose.

Coast Redwoods, the world's tallest trees, thrive along a narrow, 450-mile strip of the Pacific Coast from Monterey, CA, to southern Oregon. The tallest are over 350 feet, the oldest over 2,000 years. A few of these ancient giants survived the onslaught of California's settlement era and were preserved with the creation of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in 1902.

The redwood behemoths form a cathedral-like canopy over the trails, creeks and campsites of Big Basin. No matter many forests you've walked through, you'll find something utterly different (and nearly impossible to define) in the redwoods. Maybe standing next to such large living things somehow reaffirms our own existence; whatever it is, you have to be there to experience it.


Tips: Stay on established trails -- it's easy to get lost at Big Basin and it can be hard to get found.

Poison oak lurks near narrow trails

The 12-mile Berry Creek Falls loop hike is a major haul; make sure you're up for it.

Water in the park's streams must be purified before drinking.

What to bring:
Map: Buy one at the park HQ.
Layers: It's often very cool in the redwoods but warm in the sun.
Camera
Binoculars
Proper Hiking gear (and food/water) if you plan to hit the trails.

Points of Interest

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Redwood Trail

This short, flat trail near the park headquarters encircles a grove of Big Basin's greatest redwoods. Mother of the Forest (the tallest) and Father of the Forest (the fattest) are the highlights, but all the trees are amazing.

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Berry Creek Falls

Not easy to get to -- a strenuous 12-mile hike is required -- but it's worth if you've got the legs: A series of waterfalls in close succession culminate at Berry Creek Falls, which drops about 70 feet and flows all year (though flow is much higher during the winter rainy season.) Ask the rangers at the park HQ for advice on the best route. Locals often hike to the falls from Big Basin's Waddell Creek entrance north of Santa Cruz on California Highway 1.

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Tent Cabins

The only thing better than visiting Big Basin's redwoods is waking among them at one of the park's many campsites. The park's Tent Cabins offer an intriguing option -- sleep in the woods, but on an bed rather than on the ground in a tent. They're much pricier than a campsite (check this page for rates), but you don't have to worry about pitching a tent.
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Banana Slugs

You're bound to see these shiny yellow mollusks inching across the trails at Big Basin. Don't touch: the salt in your skin is hazardous to theirs. The creatures are such a fixture of nearby trails that students at the University of California-Santa Cruz made the banana slug their official mascot.

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Pictures in this guide taken by: tommangan, eYeks, pcmasten, EbbeK, SRQTom, obert82, cvhuie, Vaudesir, diskus, liquidthex, wooac

Big Basin Redwoods State Park Trail Map


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