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Big Basin Redwoods State Park
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84 reviews for Big Basin Redwoods State Park
My husband and I enjoy a drive up the highway that runs through Big Basin every now and then. On the way out, heading north, the road gets even windier.
It's hard to not give anything of such natural beauty less than 5 stars. We come here to just walk or bike around and enjoy the beauty. And we have come when it's not "tourist season" so it's been a quiet time.
Last week we had a whole wide road back for miles just to ourselves on our bikes. Felt like we were the only two on the planet...ahhhhhh.
Haven't done a lot of hiking here yet. Would love to hike over to the coast some day.
Hint: The restrooms near the station where you pay are the most modern.
We stayed at Sunset Camp over Labor Day weekend, and lived amongst redwoods for a short period of time. It was warm, and we had our meals by the waterfalls, which were only a few minutes' worth of a climb away.
One word of advice: The outhouse at Susnet Camp, although well-stocked with TP and seemingly innocucous, smells like a thousand-year-old toilet with swarming flies and maggots galore. As soon as I opened the door in my moment of need, my eyes water and I gagged from the sheer power of the stench. Grab your shovel and roll of TP, dig a hole and squat. You'd be better off. Fer reals.
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6/29/2008
It was a beautiful and warm Sunday.
The 10-ish mile loop to the three waterfalls and around some of… Read more »
We spent a very beautiful day here with a group of about 8 doing the 11mi loop(~5 hours at a very relaxing pace). Directions were really easy to follow and there are plenty of spaces around the loop to sit and take in the beauty of the park of just grab a quick rest and a snack. The waterfalls were very pretty regardless of how late in the season it is. I am sure going in the early spring would assure much more water cascading down. This definitely goes down on my lists of hikes to do again!
It is perfectly silent in many stretches making it the perfect environment to become close to nature. In our quest for a place to sit and grab our lunch snack we passed several places down the Berry Creek Falls trail part of the loop. As we pressed onwards there was a log which seemed good but occupied, we boo'ed and carried on. What do you know, shortly thereafter we ran into a deck with a bench right infront of the most beautiful waterfall. Needless to say when the other group walked by us the wished they would have kept going a little further :).
There's a crazy amount of butterflies here! You don't see butterflies very often in the more urban areas so it was a very welcomed treat. We also ran into many spiderwebs lol and a big banana slug. Plenty of birds and close to the end a dried piece of branch that looked like the skull of a gazelle and had been eerily placed atop a stick on the ground.
I will definitely be going back as soon as I can regardless of the potentially scary drive up the mountains.
This place is beautiful, and i can't get enough. The redwoods are heavenly, with their wonderful fresh smell, majestic and towering with such power and beauty. I camp here about every two weekends, and I am at peace here. I love it!
Sorry Big Basin....I am knocking down some stars. Your redwoods and hikes are great but your camping is sub par. Booooooooo!
Came here this weekend with friends for some friendly camping. We have been in love with Big Basin and the sites, smells and trails for a while and thought we might give camping here a shot. Here are some pros and cons of their camping:
Pros:
-only an hour from San Jose
-friendly park rangers
-plenty of clean water spickets within short range of your site
-bathrooms are clean (see cons as well)
-plenty of showers (25 cents for 2 minutes--so bring quarters)
-firewood is sold close by and not too outrageously expensive
-plenty of trails and nice hikes walking distance from campgrounds
-decent fire pit for campfires
-dogs are allowed on leashes up to 6 feet (see cons)
-people respected the 10pm quiet hours (see cons)
Cons:
-Campsites are way too small. They pack you in like sardines and unfortunately not private at all. I don't really care much about privacy and what others can see me doing, but I really don't want to hear others conversations or have neighboring kids running through my campsite (which happened several times this weekend).
-Bathrooms are fairly close but there are not enough for the size of the campground. They have 2 large family bathrooms and one single bathroom which is okay but if it's just you wanting to use the bathroom essentially you are wasting one extra toilet hogging up the whole family bathroom. There are two toilets in each family bathroom which are not divided by doors (a little odd). They could put a lot more toilets in use if they just put doors in the family bathrooms. In the morning time, you would have a line of 15 people waiting for the bathroom!
-dogs are not allowed on trails unless paved ones (so we had to leave my brother and his dog to do their own thing while we went hiking)
-quiet time ends at 6am which sucks for the ones that don't want to get up THAT early.
Overall we did not get a good vibe from this place as far as camping goes. We had rude neighbors and at one time had a husband and wife with their young child cut through our campground to get water!!?? My group was sitting on our picnic table playing cards and saw them. I said to them "Hey! You are walking straight through our campsite". They didn't even say sorry. Our neighbors on both sides had WAYYY too many kids who were loud, running through our campground and one set of neighbors had at least 20 people in their campsite. I think they were all staying at different campsites but just seemed to congregate in the one next to ours...great! I think many of our neighboring campers have never been camping before and just don't really understand that camping is meant to be relaxing. They had flames coming up from their fire pit that reached dangerous heights and made my party very nervous plus they felt the need to YELL at anyone they were talking to.
My husband said we are not coming back here for camping again...so I guess that means I probably won't be either. There are so many better sites in the area like Butano State Park for camping. They are quiet and more spacious but you have to sacrifice the beautiful trees and redwoods.
2 stars for camping
5 stars for the beautiful surroundings and hiking trails.
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5/25/2009
This place is truly awesome and practically in our backyard for the folks that live in San Jose.… Read more »
Beautiful campgrounds close to the Bay Area. My kids loved it. Kid haters: I don't understand why you would camp in the family camping area if you don't have kids? Kid-haters should go to a hike-in site. Better yet, open your wallet and take you chick to a nice hotel. Camping is for family fun (i.e. camp songs and marshmellows). The Ritz Carlton is for peaceful romance.
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We were stoked to go camping so close to home and remembering our past visit we were ready for a 4 day, 3 night stay.
The 1 1/2 hour drive was probably an hour of windy roads and for about 8 miles it's a single lane road but the lane is still wide enough for a Tahoe and an Excursion to pass each other with a few inches to spare. So if you're in a car, don't worry you've got plenty of room. Just be kind of the bicycles and motorcycles and slow up and use the turnouts to let them pass.
After the drive you pull into Camp HQ, the registration area is there, a park museum and a General Store is available from 8am to 9pm.
The store sells Beer(Bud Light, Corona Extra, Heineken) in cans and Anchor Steam in plastic bottles. They've also got a small wine selection available too but I didn't get a chance to look into what types as I got distracted by the bags of Kettle Corn for $1. 1 bundle of firewood, 1 six pack of Corona and 1 bottle of Anchor Steam was $26, $9 was for the firewood. Good thing my brother in-law brought his homemade brew = ) ( Brotha Ron, he goes to http://www.hoptech.com... for his supplies. )
We stayed at the Huckleberry Tent cabins. The site itself had bench with a built-in storage pantry, a fire pit and ample room for a makeshift tent and two 4 person tents. The parking area had room for 3 SUVs which had a nice short trail that led to the tent cabin area.
The tent cabin had two full sized "beds" a bench and a table. There are built in shades that you could unhook to drop when you don't want the sun or need privacy.
The showers and bathrooms were clean enough that I didn't have any issues handling my business. Even my hygiene conscious daughters were more than happy to use the facilities.
There are plenty of bold chipmunks, squirrels and blue jays ready to swoop on your unattended food or other items left out. There are a shitload of mosquito's that suck your blood for days. My wife left Big Basin with 50+ bites, I had 30+, my son had 5+ and each daughter had 1 each...yes we counted them. I think if you move around lots they don't bite you. They ignored citronella candles, OFF and 100% Deet bug spray we used, so bring a tent screen to alleviate the critter problems.
Holy crap this is long. Overall I'd recommend this place and would go back but I'd bring a tent screen and whatever else you can think of to combat the mosquito problems.
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SOS - Save Our State Parks! I want our Governor to keep our State Parks Open!
We went for the Calif State Association campaign SOS - save Our State Parks on Sat 6/20/09.
It's 1.5hr drive from Fremont one way. 880S-17S -exit Bear Creek Rd - Slight Rt onto Montevina Rd - Lt onto Bear Creek Rd - Lt CA-9 - Rt Big Basin Way/CA 236 - end at 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, CA. (NOTE: Hwy 236 is closed for road work beginning Mon. 6/22/09 for 3-4 weeks!)
Get a parking receipt from the outdoor window of Park Hdqtrs. Parking is now $7, $6 if u have someone 62+ in your car. Bathrooms behind that building.
We did the waterfall loop that supposedly 12-miles total, but since the Skyline-To-The Sea trail is closed we had to take Sunset Trail which I think is a bit shorter.
Lots of ups & down on the trail, but not too hard, just long. First falls we saw: Golden Cascades, then Silver Falls (hard to take a good pic), lastly the highlight Berry Creek Falls. It has it's on platform & bench to sit & enjoy the falls. Farther up the trail you can see Berry Creek Falls from the distance.
Saw many banana slugs & a few Steller Jay.
Took us 6hrs to do the entire hike. We also had time to see the Museum - it's small, but pretty good.
Traffic was good on the way home too, another 1.5hrs.
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4/18/2006
Big Basin Redwoods SP is just awesome. I love to come here to do a strenuous 10.5-14 mile RT hike… Read more »
We went to this park last weekend, when the weather was really getting hot here in Cupertino. Not only was it pleasantly cool in the woods, but it was awe-inspiring to see the giant redwoods so close to home. We only went on the short 1/2 mile walk and had a picnic at the picnic area. I wouldn't recommend the picnic area in really any way. It was set up right next to a snack store, on a small hill and felt practically like you were eating on someone's very rustic porch, not at all like wilderness at all. Since you were next to the parking lot, the majority of the sounds were car noise and people shouting about bathroom locations.
We throughly enjoyed the short walk. Since we were with some older relatives, we didn't want to take the longer one. We were really able to see some magnificent trees and it was perfect for our preschool-age daughter, who was not at all tired out after it.
The worst part about the trip was the nausea-inducing car ride to the park. It is located on a road that twists and turns through the mountains for around 20 miles. All of us (8) were really carsick by the end of the trip each way (about 45 minutes from Saratoga). If you are at all inclined to get seasick or carsick (which I am not, and still felt ill in the front seat), I recommend getting dramamine or something like it to take prior to driving there. Maybe a sports car would be better than a minivan, too!
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Mosquito heaven!!!! Oh goodness. You need to be prepared to get attacked by these buggers. Get 10 bottles of bug repellent with DEET.
Besides the mosquitoes, Big Basin is a nice campground. We stayed at the Blooms Creek campground in site #104. We checked in around 4pm, so we didn't get the largest campsite. Ah well. We camped on an incline for a couple of days.
We did two trails which were nice. One was to see the Semprevirens Falls which was a bit disappointing. The waterfall was a little tiny stream. In addition, this was a popular route, so be prepared to see groups of people on this trail.
The second trail was Buzzard's Roost which was fun! This trail had quite a few inclines since we went all the way to the top of the mountain. The top of the view was overseeing the park and it was very nice! Not many people were on this trail due to the difficulty.
We saw a talent show that the rangers hosted on Saturday night. It was quite interesting to see what people showcased as their talent. Again, watch out for the mosquitoes.
Overall camping was fun. The bathrooms and showers aren't bad. Bring some quarters if you want to shower. Every 2 minutes cost $.25.
Go camping in California state parks! :)
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We took the SemperVierens hike to see the 17 feet long waterfall. THE WATERFALL WAS LAME. It took us 45 minutes/one way from the main entrance. The disappointing part of this hike was that the trail hugged the pavement rode.
We saw some campers and there were ton of ASIANS.
$7 for parking.
Absolutely love it here!
I keep trying to get friends to go with me, but I guess my friends are a bunch of lazies. It took my friend and I about 6 hours RT. We hiked up to Berry Creek Falls, sat ate a light lunch, and somehow ended up climbing down through a hollow tree trunk! Yikes
You have the option to take the easy way back down which we did. After being exhausted just 1 way it was nice to have the option to take the bike/equestrian route back to the car.
this place is great if you love tall redwoods and being surrounded by ferns and other plants.
There are also camping grounds as well, but haven't tried it so can't comment.
I will say the Berry Creek Trail is not for the faint of heart. I'm still trying to figure out how I survived. The constant up and down from the hills are far better then any treadmill could provide and if you go with friends there is plenty of time to slow down a bit and chit chat.
The beach is also right across the Highway.
CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK! Maybe I need new friends?!?!?!
There are some great trails here. There are also some not-so-great trails. So, be sure to map it all out before you venture into the woods.
The little amphitheater is really cute, and every once in a while, you can catch a great little concert there.
Last time, we started at the Sequoia trail and went from there. The time before that we did the waterfall trail. I definitely suggest doing the waterfall trail over Sequoia, if you are in the mood for beautiful views along your trail. (There are some great things along Sequoia, like the mother and father of the forest, but overall, the waterfall trail is my favorite so far.)
I have not had the experience of it being overcrowded or too loud. So, maybe I have just been lucky. But seriously, every experience is what you make of it, and this is beauty at its finest.
Definitely give it a try, if you never have before. You won't regret it!
After exhausting all the waterfall hikes in Marin (at least the ones worth exploring) I was ready to explore Big Basin. Marin waterfall hikes are relatively short 3-5 miles round trip and have minimal elevation change so there isn't really a sense of accomplishment when you complete one or several of them (add to that the tourists and kids that crowd the these trails and you really get to see why the value of the experience diminishes at least a little).
Big Basin requires a commitment - it's a good 25 mile drive along narrow, curvy and sometimes dangerous route just to get to the park headquarters. Once there, it's either a 9-12 mile hike round trip depending on what set of routes you take to get to the waterfall(s). There are 3 in total with 2 worth seeing (Berry Falls & Silver Falls). The elevation change isn't too strenuous in and of itself, but coupled with the distance you cover, it definitely adds up.
The park headquarters tells visitors to budget 5-7 hours to get to the waterfalls and back.; given my affinity for waterfalls, I tacked on extra time. Additionally, one should not travel alone as there is no cel phone reception in the area (at least I think that's the case) and I can see how someone could get lost on the trails with all the connecting trails and detours that may exist given the recent storms took out a bridge on one of the main trails and closed it down.
If you are debating whether to do this hike, do it sooner that later as the flow of water will decrease each passing day. I was able to finish the long route in 4.5 hours (including 60-75 minutes for photos) by running some of the way there and back.
The only comparable waterfall hike in the area is Alamere Falls in Marin, but that is a distant second (relatively speaking) given that it's uncovered (no trees), scattered with poison oak and littered with tourists.
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Big Basin is gorgeous with amazing huge redwoods and mountain beauty. The bathrooms are clean. There are a variety of hiking trails from super easy to the difficult Skyline to the Sea trail. There are car camping, walk in, and group sites. Banana slugs, blue jays, raccoons, and deer typically abound. To get here, you must venture through windy mountain roads, but it is well worth it. Just please, please, PLEASE, leave your screaming babies at home. They ruin the camping experience for everyone else.
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I'm going to have to disagree with most of these reviews...this place is NOT the place for you if you don't like hordes of screaming kids, semi-white trash group picnics (I can say that, I'm from the midwest), and disney-fied hiking trails.
This was the NOISIEST remote forest I've ever been in; such a disappointment as forests are at their best when peace & beauty are the main focus. Almost all of the trails are near the road and pass through campsites, and we saw several strollers on the hike we did. The redwoods are better at Muir, Redwood Regional Park, and Purisima Creek. And finally, the trail map doesn't show the trails - wtf?
Honestly, the drive to get here (we took 9 to 236 from Saratoga village) was better than the park. There were a few trailheads we passed on our way, and those I suspect would have been much better than where we ended up.
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My guy and I did a 4 day camping trip here in October. It was the best trip I've ever taken!
Been wanting to see some redwoods since I was a kid, and these ones did not disappoint. We did the tent thing. It was pretty chilly for most people to be tent camping, so we got our choice of the whole campground. Very nice, considering the sites are way too close together, and it would have been too crowded for me during a warmer season. I go camping to get away from crowds, dammit! The rangers were very helpful though in giving us directions, advice, etc.
We did several of the hikes, including the all day hike to see Berry Creek Falls. I hear it's better during the rainy season, but it was still totally worth it. Even at half the falls potential it was so beautiful!
The other trails we took had a few smaller waterfalls, some great mountain top views, along with the insanely large trees everywhere. (I swear, some of the hollow ones have more space inside than my first studio apartment!)
We followed all advice to keep food locked in our vehicle, but were still stalked by very agressive raccoons every night. One jumped on our table and ransacked my empty backpack while I was not more than 4 feet away! These guys were far from shy, a little scary, but mostly entertaining.
Over all an awesome experience. I've been accused of being a treehugger before, but it's probably official now, with photo evidence to prove it.
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Big Basin.
You are the "ish" I've taken a few dates up here for picnics. Now that I no longer live in the area I don't have to worry about men feeling like they've got my sloppy seconds of date locations.
As if you've never done that before, anyway.
Aside all of that, slap on your Off! spray, break out the citronella candles and make it a relaxing evening. It is great to come up here and go camping or just come up for the evening. It is a short 30 minute drive from downtown Saratoga....but be sure to put it in 2nd gear for part of the way. It was a doozie for my old Acura when I took that champ up to the top.
Going camping? Bring quarters for the showers. Get in an hour before the sun goes down and you're likely to get hot water...and not have to trip over yourself walking in the dark with your sub-par flashlight.
I too have hiked the Sunset Trail a few times like Sabrina L. Has the potential to get really cold in the evenings.....but you probably shouldn't be hiking after dusk anyway. We're in the woods with wild animals. It doesn't take a genius to know that is a saucy gamble.
All in all, totally worth it. Go up. Make it happen.
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We just wanted to do a relatively quick hike, and there's a short trail called the Redwood Ring trail that's about half a mile. It went past a lot of gorgeous trees and a river stream as well as the Father and Mother of the forest.
It was perfect for the girls (5th grade) to just run around & play on the fallen trees.
The bathrooms were clean but rather spartan. At least they had good toilet paper.
I camped there as a kid in Girl Scouts and they have marvelous campfire shows that I still remember. There's obviously longer hikes, and it can get busy depending upon the time of year.
The rangers were very helpful. I had to pay the $7 parking fee since we were going to be there longer then 15 min which I'm not arguing with, but if you want to stop, take a quick look see, use the bathroom, and get on your way....
This was a windy road up and beware of the racers/motorcyclists on the road. The hike was beautiful and tranquil. There weren't a lot of people hiking on our trail, so we pretty much had the forest to ourselves. It was very peaceful.
I recently spent a weekend in one of Big Basin's tent cabins. They're fairly spacious - you can sleep four comfortably in 2 double beds, plus you're allowed a tent (or two) outside. Unlike the campsites, the cabins are fairly far apart - you'll hear your neighbors, but you won't necessarily see them. The bathroom facilities are clean, the showers are hot, and I was happy to find that the women's bathroom even had a space heater in it - definitely not something I'm used to seeing at other campgrounds.
One drawback: the cabins are fairly drafty, so make sure your sleeping bag is warm. Also, they can be pretty musty - when we drove into Santa Cruz, we brought back a bunch of scented candles. In addition to making the room smell a bit nicer, there was the added benefit of extra light, as well!
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10/17/2007 ROTD 4/17/2008
I adore Big Basin - it's one of my favorite places to hike. A 10 mile loop takes you past three… Read more »
We went here for a camping trip this past summer, and I was disappointed in parts of it and LOVED other parts of it. I think we will have to go back a few more times to find the right camping location, we got a bad deal this first time. Three stars for now.
LOVED: The redwoods- there's really no competition for the serenity and humbleness I feel when I'm surrounded by these giant old trees. We have done a lot of camping but Redwood camping is in a class by itself. Also the park rangers are always nice and helpful, and there were some great trails right around our campsite. Prices were steeper than other campsites, $34 for one night if I'm remembering correctly. We had to book very far in advance as this is a very popular campground- I got our August reservation in April and they were filling up then.
DIDN'T LOVE so MUCH: The first-time white trash campers in the site next to ours- I mean RIGHT next to ours, like I could smell their cigarette smoke and their Twinkies. These newbies left so much food out on the picnic table overnight it's a miracle we didn't have the entire forest full of animals over for breakfast. Don't the park rangers monitor campers? And hasn't anyone else ever woken up with a BEAR in their campsite? It only needs to happen once for you to get that lesson.
I could have also done without their monster children running rampant with cap guns over my yoga mat and our campground, although I didn't say anything because the poor kids are outside after all, and where else can you yell like a maniac when you're a kid? To be fair, we were spaced SO CLOSELY together that it would have been hard for me to like these neighbors. We also were so close to the restrooms that we had company coming by at all times of the night, so that was less than ideal.
The beautiful trees were magnificent and the fresh air added years to my life- next time I will research the location of our site better, I think there's more here for us if I plan better. I also think there's a lot of other places to camp around CA that are not vacation destinations for out of towners, like Portola Redwoods... now I know...
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Camping review: I had limited exposure to this gigantic park, but hopefully there will be some helpful information. I only stayed in the Wastahi Campground so information is about that and overall "dog friendly" aspects of the park.
Blooms Creek: Limited observations but campsites seemed pretty close together. Specific notes: #103 seemed like a very large site, but right next to Hwy 236 with not a lot of brush between site and road. #104 seemed a bit more private but also right next to 236 with high bushes around it though. #111 seemed pretty good, large; with a larger open area next to it (there were a bunch of kids playing baseball in the open area).
Sites 157-163 & Sites 164-188: This is how it's listed on Reserve America but called Sempervirens Campground on park map at http://www.parks.ca.go.... Didn't check this area.
Wastahi (on ReserveAmerica): Labeled Wastahi on ReserveAmerica but actually the HUCKLEBERRY Campground (and tent cabins). See park map link above. Didn't check this area.
Wastahi (in real life): These are all only Walk-in Sites. ReserveAmerica does not show a map of area even though it says that is does. See pdf link of campground maps from park. There are 31 sites in the Wastahi Campground but you cannot book site specific. Sites offer a bit more quiet, since there are no paved areas (except for parking lot) so there is far less activity around the sites themselves (i.e. kids on bikes, roller skates, skateboards, playing Frisbee or badminton....notation to parents that these sites aren't as kid friendly) . Be warned though, ReserveAmerica says that for walk in sites there can be up to a 1/4 mile from site to parking lot. So hauling your stuff from the car to site doesn't seem like that big a deal, but for the most part the sites climb up a hill of sorts. Site #79 is considered the crème of the crop as its VERY private, almost like a camping suite, but it's also way on the top of the hill. The distance from parking lot isn't that far but the upward climb sure is. Carrying large amounts of camping equipment up to that site is for the strong of heart (great cardio workout) and having to make your way down the hill to hit the restroom in the dark of night calls for complete sobriety! I stayed in #87, kinda close to trail path, but otherwise very nice. 2 large tents were able to fit both into our site, but many of the other sites in area would not have been able to accommodate. So careful if you are really planning on having 8 in a site. The only site I'd avoid altogether is #91 (right next to washroom with a walking path on 3 sides of it).
Parking: Make sure you consider how many cars you are "allowed" at your site. Any cars over your "limit" will have to park down near the park headquarters and parking can be limited. This could be a major problem depending on when and what time they show up. Park headquarters can be a good mile or two away from most camping areas, so remember that those not parked in the campground parking lot will NOT have easy access to their cars. For Wastahi parking: only one car per campsite!
Dog friendly or not? : Usual state park rules, Dogs on leash at all times, only allowed on paved roads and campsites. Not allowed on ANY trails, fire roads or buildings. They did have ONE area that you could walk your dog called the North Escape Road. This road runs 2 1/2 miles from Park Headquarters, along Opal Creek and through beautiful old-growth redwoods and mixed forest. This road is closed to vehicles. Get a map/info at park headquarters. I didn't actually walk this road with my dogs as it was on the complete opposite side from where we were staying. I did walk them on a paved road called Sky Meadow Road which you take from Hwy 236 to get up to Huckleberry & Wastahi Campgrounds. Not much in way of car traffic going up or down once you get past Wastahi campgrounds and goes to Slippery Rock and the Sempervirens Waterfall which you can see/hear from the road.
Last bits: Couple things....try and bring your own wood. $10 dollars per bundle that were kinda puny. Most other state campgrounds I've been to have had really nice size bundles for $6 or $7? And park overall is very beautiful, and I think that even though we were there for Memorial Day weekend, our choice of a walk in site helped keep us out of too much of the crowd. The day use folks near the park headquarters and all the trails closest to park headquarters seemed really busy and crowded! The trails that pick up farther out in the camping areas were much better. I'll try to scan the fliers the park gives out at check in re: dogs if I can.
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MOSQUITOES. Big blood-sucking ones. That's all I can remember since I was so traumatized by those stealthy insects. The itching and welts were torture for many days and weeks after.
Been here twice for camping and my only memory is getting over 20 bites (I had the record in our group) even tho' I was covered with Deet.
One of our friends with normal male balding pattern had so many bites on his forehead and scalp that he looked like one of those prickly rubber balls.
This place has some of the more challenging, steep hiking trails. I'm not a big hiker but these trails can be steep. Mountain biking is pretty popular here. No one knows why this park seems to have more mosquitoes than the other state parks we've camped at but we don't plan on returning since the West Nile Virus has come to California to roost.
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Big Basin is beautiful, a perfect place to spend the day, the night, the weekend. The gigantic redwoods are inspiring, the fresh air and the wonder of the open sky can bring a tear to even the most stoic person's eye. And of course the trails are wonderful, well, that is when you can hike on them ... which you can do if you don't bring your dog because dogs are NOT ALLOWED on the trails! Nope (not even if you pay $70 a night to sleep in the "tent cabin" in the Huckleberry section). No pets are allowed in nature it seems. But I guess this is best considering all the screaming babies and kids that are EVERYWHERE in this state park. These horrid, shrieking, unattended banshees fill every camp site and bathroom stall with screaming that could startle Godzilla and make him turn in fear, even if he were deaf. Does a tree make a sound when it falls in the forest? Probably, but in this state park, the only sound you'll hear are the shrill, screeching shouts of your fellow campers' children as they race through your camp site in what they claim is a "short cut".
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It's a beautiful chill place. The drive in is amazing as long as you don't get stuck behind a slow truck or RV.
The tent cabins are the way to go. Lower the window flaps and heat up the wood-burning stove. The Rangers don't hassle you unless you are loud jerks.
The Berry Creek Falls hike was nice and not that hard (11 miles). Just long. The falls were beautiful and worth it.
The bathrooms are all you'll need with hot water, etc. Bring quarters for the hot water in the showers.
Boulder Creek is only nine miles away and has grocery stores, bars, and gas stations.
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We parked at Waddell State Beach where there are tons on kite surfers to watch - a great start to a great day.
Then we rode our mountain bikes up Berry Creek Falls trail which was a leisurely and gorgeous (god, I love those two words together!) 5.5 mile ride up to Berry Creek falls. It was a very gradual uphill (most of the way) climb that was very do-able, even for the most unfit of us. We had to park our bikes and hike a mile into the falls which was really beautiful.
Then, flying downhill most of the way back through the incredible redwoods, past the creek and over the quaint bridges was a total payoff for the earlier workout. So, back to the beach to watch the kite surfers some more in the gorgeous sunshine and then onto finding a place to have a snack and libations. A perfect day in my opinion.
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Much like the trees it harbors, this is a beautiful, rugged, tough park.
I hiked the Sunset Lake trail loop a few weekends ago - 5.5 miles out, 5.5 miles back. It's long and strenuous enough to let you know you're earning the beers you're carrying with you, but short and rewarding enough that pretty much any reasonably healthy adult can do it - either split up with packs or as the whole loop in a day hike. The beauty of walking through the trees and valleys is incomparable and the fact that it is so close to SF is incredible to me - I think it's the most beautiful place you can get to within 90 minutes.
That beauty and ease of access brings the masses, and so if you're looking to get away from it all this isn't really the place. You will have neighbors while camping and you will see other folks on the trail, at least on the weekends, maybe less so during the week. But then, tourists don't need to go to work, so maybe not. I'd recommend having site reservations for any big weekend and you do need to come prepared for camping - as in water filters, rope to tie your food up, DEET, etc.
Honestly, though, if you're looking for a great day trip for family or visitors or a camping spot to get out one weekend, this should be near the top of your list.
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Big Basin is our most beloved park in the South Bay. We're no hardcore hikers or campers, so we don't frequent this place...but our most memorable hiking experiences take place here.
It's a whole different world inside. For once, we feel compelled to leave our cell phones, blackberry and camera behind. There are many trails to choose from, widely varying in distance and elevation. (Don't forget to pick up a map when you pay for parking!) They're mostly shaded and never too crowded. Animals are everywhere. So are trees, flowers and plants of numerous species. Best of all, there are waterfalls hidden deep inside the woods.
Our personal highlight is seeing the eagles atop the summit. After 2+ hours of uphill walking on a dangerously narrow path and literally climbing over tall rocks, we reached the peak where it was deadly calm and silent. We heard nothing, but saw two things: the thick redwood forest encompassing the entire horizon and the eagles gracefully flying across the blue sky - free and uninterrupted. Yes, just like in National Geographic. They immediately relieved our exhaustion and gave us the reason to come back.
Notes: No dogs are allowed on trails. Not sure if biking is allowed, either.. Also, there's a mini shop at the parking lot, but we could never find decent food there.
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Went back this very last weekend for a early season camping trip. One thing that is nice about Big Basin tent sites is that they are all pretty cozy, some are open but for the most part they are surrounded by bushes and creeks and big tall redwoods! My guy picked the Berry Creek Falls Trail for us to do on Saturday which is an 11.7 almost 12 mile hike, going out along Sunset trail to berry creek andn then back along the Sea to Sky trail. I counted 33Banana Slugs! We saw a ton of mating salamanders, and of course the falls are unbelievable this time of year, just gushing with water! Highly recommend visiting this park! Why trek to Yosemite when you've got this right here...well Yosemite is fun too...whats even greater is that there are great wineries right around Big Basin, like David Bruce, Byington's that have FREE tastings!
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/6/2008
We went camping here and really really loved it. The trees are beautiful, and camping under them… Read more »
I like to climb rocks. Not granite faces that extend miles up into a sky that'll unemotionally watch you plummet to the even more cruel Earth, but I like bouldering and scrambling amoung rocks. Big Basin provides some fine boulders, if you're willing to walk out to them.
I don't get out there as much as I used to, but when I did go not too long ago, the place was quiet, only saw a few hikers as I was on my way out to a 12 footer about 2 miles down a seldom-used path, but it was also overcast and the smell of the fires was in the air. I climbed around for a few hours, took in the forest, and made it back to the car sweaty and happy.
It ain't Yosemite, but it's a fun afternoon.
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My former classmates at L'Alliance kept telling me how much I would LOVE Big Basin. My boyfriend LOVES to hike. Not just likes, but LOVES to hike. What can I say? He's a "nature boy".
So, after all of the HYPE from mes camarades de classe...we FINALLY made it down south to hike.
What did I think?
Well...the 10.5 mile hike was not as bad as I thought it would be. They call it "strenuous" and I would classify it as "moderately strenuous" for those who hike frequently. The redwoods are impressive. The shade makes it chilly if you stand around a lot or partake of rest stops or lunch. Our solution was to KEEP HIKING...to KEEP WARM.
The Berry Creek Waterfall was impressive...and the falls on Sunset Trail were BEAUTIFUL.
Yet, I think that the beauty of some parts of the hike are comparable to Marin County...(just sayin').
I wasn't SUPER DOOPER impressed...I guess that we are spoiled with Marin so close to us...yet, with the toll increase on the GG Bridge...who knows.
Anyhow, I would definitely recommend this hike. Bring gloves..water, layers....and be prepared to walk... a lot.
10.5 miles takes about 5-6 hours.
Drive to Big Basin from SF takes about 1hour 45 minutes. (the road in Saratoga is WINDING).
Bring dramamine if you get car sick...or plan to pass out and sleep through it...b/c it does make a sensitive stomach queasy...
Be prepared to share the 1st part of the Berry Creek trail hike with a bunch of people...
Oh...and yes, there are mountain lions...and TONS OF TICKS.
One more thing...apparently, the deers KICK...so don't be stupid and harrass the deer (they have a warning about it...so you know someone got kicked!!!)
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Three and a half to be exact.
Our family went to camping at the busiest time of the year (for campers) - 4th of July. I thought it would be crowded and traffic jam all over the place. It didn't turn out as bad as I thought. We reserved two sites, however, we need to be there early to put our names down to check in at 2pm, just so that we can have 2 adjacent sites. The rangers were nice, and did their best to accommodate everyone's needs.
The campsites were nice and shady, otherwise, we would have been scorched by the heat. We weren't very far from the restrooms and running water. To my surprise, the restrooms were actually clean and always loaded with toilet paper. The showers were also in better sanitary conditions than most I've seen.
Hikes were great for all ages. You can set foot on the easy trail - Redwood Loop, or the more difficult one to Berry Creek Falls. There were also many free guided walking tours which the Park offers. Unfortunately, with such a huge group, we didn't take advantage of it. We went around the most explored trail at the Redwood Loop which in every angle, you can find the perfect photo background because it is that beautiful!
I would have enjoyed the park even more when during meals, that I didn't have to twitch my face or nose, or skip around just to avoid the mosquito bites. As mobile as I can be, somehow they still managed to find me. I've fed a good number of them too (with my blood)!
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It's simple. Big Basin Redwoods State Park is the BEST park in the Bay Area and I have been to a lot. It has everything. Beautiful redwoods. Wonderful trails. Excellent campgrounds and camp spots. A great staff of super professional rangers. It's really clean and maincured. Lots of kiddie activities to keep them happy and busy.
You have newts, banana slugs, spiders, waterfalls, ferns, rivers, squirrels, raccoons, creeks and lots more to see, hear and smell. And isn't that what spending time outdoors is all about? Getting away from the house or apartment for awhile to unwind.
All that nature and easiness to get here brings the people though, and so if you're looking to be alone by youselves this isn't really the park for you. There are a lot of cars, trailers, RV's filled with people of all shapes, sizes and noise levels. Pray for no kids in the campsite next to you, I do. And ALWAYS make reservations because I believe this is one of the most popular parks in California due to the reputation.
I absolutely love this place! I recently got in to hiking and finished my first 12 mile hike. Although I got a little grouchy at the end (didn't eat lunch) I loved the view, the numerous waterfalls, and the cool banana slugs you see here and there. It was supposed to take 6 hours but my bf and I made it just a little bit over 5 hours. The hike wasn't extremely strenuous or anything just long in distance. The falls were beautiful and I like how you can climb up/down near one of the falls. Best put your hiking boots on for this! Surprisingly if you do the long hike there is a change in the surroundings.... at one point you'll feel like you're in middle of a desert!
Although I only made a day trip, it seems like a great place to camp and even on a regular weekend, it was full with lots of people.
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Fellow yelper Mark and I decided that winter camping rocks. Especially at Big Basin. No crowds. No blistering heat. No bugs. What do you get? Pristine forest flora, plenty of critters, absolute quiet at night, and nothing but you and the redwoods on most of the trails.
We stayed in the tent cabins at Huckleberry Campground. We didn't want to leave. The woodburning stove kept us cozy through the night. The bed pads were a comfortable foundation for our sleeping bags. The cabins were spacious and were equipped with two double "beds" and a table. Unlike the tent camps at Yosemite, the cabins weren't jammed together like zero property line tract homes, but spaced far enough to keep you mostly out of eyesight and earshot of your neighbors. Our cabin backed up against open forest, and we had easy access to the major hiking trails.
Our only complaint - the showers were about at the temperature you would bath someone in who was suffering from a high fever. Absent a high fever, there is no friggin' reason a thinking person would want that water to touch her body.
Big Basin has the charm of parks that were developed around the turn of the last century, and is uber user friendly for families and recreational hikers. The rangers and volunteers are friendly and helpful. Considering the budget limitations of our state park system, Big Basin is well-maintained. My hat is off to Sempervirens who saved this state treasure.
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My four-year-old and I enjoyed our first father/son camping trip at Big Basin a couple of weeks ago... and it was awesome.
Despite having lived in the Bay Area my entire life, I am constantly amazed by the vast stretches of nature that are just outside our door. The thousands of acres of old growth redwoods here at Big Basin are mind-blowing, and again it's hard to imagine that you are only 15-20 miles from downtown San Jose. I usually think about having to drive hours up to Yosemite or Sequoia National Forest for trees that are 10+ feet in diameter and hundreds of feet tall -- but you've got zillions of them right here in easy day trip range.
As for campsites, I found that Big Basin was setup almost perfectly for my preferred sort of car camping... which is to say fairly natural and quiet campsites, but preferably with flush toilets and running water. In my experience most campgrounds are either too commercial (e.g., think RVs, kiosks and sometimes even swimming pools) or pretty darn rustic (i.e, unlit outhouse). We stayed in the Blooms Creek campground and, because we planned last minute and lucked into a cancellation, we ended up with one of the smaller campsites next to a bathroom. Nonetheless, I was happy with our nicely shaded dirt lot on the edge of a creek with a fire ring and picnic table. Those planning in advance were able to score much larger and more private campsites, including a few that were set back a few hundred feet from the driveway.
So if you're looking for an easy back-to-nature getaway, I highly recommend Big Basin. Just the experience of waking up in the mist and breathing deeply of the oxygen-rich redwood air will add years to your life. And if you've got a little guy to bring along for his first s'mores, well all the better. :-)
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If its good for Janis Joplin, its good for anybody who loves nature and the great vibe of the santa cruz mountains.
Great place to go camping:)
I went there with my husband and daughter back in 05
and we had so much fun.
They have a bathroom and shower there, lots of hiking and deer wandering around in the morning.
Something somewhat hilarious, (or maybe not to some), was the group of older gentlemen bikers in the campsite next to us farting extremely loud in their sleep when we were trying to sleep.
I was laughing so hard it woke one of them up haha!
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$6 for Parking. $3 for trail map. $11 for snacks. 8 miles hike and my butt hurts, priceless!
Note to self: get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before going hiking. eat breakfast. and most of all, don't get drunk the nigh before :(
Although I broke all the rules but this place is beautiful! Haven't been on a hike for so long. Not an easy one but I made it.
It's hard to express the feeling of one being in the deep of the forest, I think tranquility is the word. Check out the photos I uploaded!
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*crackle*
*sizzle, sizzle*
Ahhhh... I love camping!
Watching a campfire burn for hours, letting daytime fall slowly into dusk, is just the most relaxing vacation possible. Two days camping in Big Basin with my boyfriend felt like a gloriously refreshing week off. The air is so full of oxygen, the redwoods are beautiful, the campsites are clean and yet you're out in the real wilderness!
We had plenty of room to set up our tent far away from our car, with LOTS of extra space and gorgeous redwoods (some hollowed out by fire, some twisted and lying with their roots up in the air, and some still growing in this huge redwood forest) and the beautiful part was being able to sleep right under them.
Some moments were a little scary, like when raccoons pawed their way into our cupboard at night! The oil lantern didn't work the first night we were there, so it was quite dark other than the campfire. If you're missing anything you need to drive to the nearest town, wich is a tiny old logging town 9 miles away down a twisty mountain road. But the inconvenience is worth it to know that you're really "roughing it" - who wants luxury when you're trying to go camping?!
This experience has definitely made me excited to go camping again! There were no mosquitoes, and to a Massachusetts girl that's basically a miracle. Plus I have never felt that I was truly out in the middle of a forest in the same way... Big Basin feels like another world, deep in the hills of California.
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