A Perfect 7-Mile Hike at Big Basin Redwoods State Park

The best hike in Big Basin Redwoods State Park is the 11-mile loop that includes Berry Creek Falls, Silver Falls, and Golden Falls. If that one is a bit too much, here is a shorter alternative.

Yesterday my De Anza College class carpooled to the Big Basin park headquarters area. If you arrive by about 9:30 am on weekends you can beat the crowds and find a nearby parking space. Before hitting the trail we posed for a photo at the giant burned-out redwood to the left of the restrooms.  This is the ultimate redwood photo op. We then entered the visitor center, built in the 1930's, to view a wide panoramic photo taken by Andrew P. Hill about 1900 to promote the creation of California's first state park, which was established in 1902. Big Basin is the biggest park in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

We then headed for the vertical "REDWOOD TRAIL" sign to begin our 7-mile hike. We turned left on the Redwood Loop Trail to see some of the most iconic ancient redwoods in the park, including the Mother of the Forest, the Father of the Forest, the Telescope Tree, and the Animal Tree. The Father of the Forest is probably the biggest tree in the Bay Area. We paused to get a drink at the Andrew P. Hill memorial fountain, but the faucet is in need of repair.

The Redwood Loop Trail ends at a restroom just before crossing the bridge over Opal Creek. From there we took the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail past more huge trees and then ascended to the top of the ridge. From there we turned left and proceeded uphill on the Howard King Trail to the Hihn Hammond Road. We continued uphill on this road to the Mount McAbee Overlook, which offers great views into Waddell Canyon and on to Waddell Beach. We stopped here for lunch. This route climbs above the old-growth redwoods and into a forest of Douglas fir, second-growth redwoods, madrone, tanbark oak, and knob cone pine.

After lunch we took the Howard King Trail to the east, with great views of Pine Mountain and Buzzard's Roost. We then followed the Hihn Hammond Trail downhill to the bridge over Opal Creek, which is a great swimming hole on a warm day. From there we followed Opal Creek on the Hih

n Hammond Connector Trail, which took us to the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail and then back to where we started.

Along our route we saw redwood violets, two-eyed violets, Douglas iris, lupine, Solomon's seal, yerba santa, bush poppies, chaparral pea, sticky monkey flower, several species of ferns, horse tail, banana slugs, and three species of lizards.

TO GET THERE... From Skyline Boulevard take Highway 9 southwest and turn west on Highway 236 at Waterman Gap or at Boulder Creek. This is a narrow winding road from Waterman Gap.