Big Basin State Park
Big Basin to Berry Falls Hike
About Big Basin: Big Basin is California's oldest State Park, established in 1902. Home to the largest continuous stand of Ancient Coast Redwoods south of San Francisco, the park consists of Old Growth and recovering Redwood Forest, with mixed conifer, oaks, chaparral, and riparian habitats. Elevations in the park vary from sea level to over 2,000 feet. The climate ranges from foggy and damp near the ocean to sunny, warm ridge tops.
The park has over 80 miles of trails. Some of these trails link Big Basin to Castle Rock State Park and the eastern reaches of the Santa Cruz range. The Skyline to the Sea Trail threads its way through the park along Waddell Creek to the beach and adjacent Theodore J. Hoover Natural Preserve, a freshwater marsh. The park also has a surprising number of waterfalls, a wide variety of environments (from lush canyon bottoms to sparse chaparral-covered slopes, many animals (deer, raccoons, an occasional bobcat) and lots of bird life-- including Steller’s jays, egrets, herons and California woodpeckers.
Hike Description: We will do the the loop to Berry Falls that goes up the Sunset Trail and drops down past Silver, Golden, & Berry Creek Falls to return to Big Basin Headquarters on the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail.
Park Details
Hours: Open year round Office Hours when you can pick up trail maps: 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday.
Carpool Info: Meet at 4th Street in Saratoga (located behind the Plumbed Horse Restaurant) at 8 AM. From Highway 9 in Saratoga, turn right on 4th Street. Parking lot is on the right side.
Location: 21600 Big Basin Way Boulder Creek, CA. The park is 25 miles northwest of Santa Cruz via Highways 9 and 236 and about 65 miles south of San Francisco. All roads into Big Basin are curvy. If you are driving, click the map below to get a map and directions from your home.
Driving Directions from Saratoga:Take Highway 9 to CA 35. From CA 35 (Skyline Boulevard), turn west onto CA 9 at Saratoga Gap. Drive west for about 6 miles and turn right onto CA 236. Drive about 8 miles to the park headquarters, and park in the lot across the street from the ranger station/park headquarters. (A less windy way would be to take the southern route of 236. Instead of turning onto CA 236 6 miles west of Saratoga Gap, continue on CA 9 another 7 miles to Boulder Creek then take a right onto CA 236). Meet at 9:00 A.M.