Big Basin Redwood State Park
The Berry Creek Falls Loop ~12mi round trip
This has to be one of the most challenging and rewarding hikes in the redwoods of the bay area. Having said that you will need the following to make the most of this beautiful piece of redwood paradise.
Park Address: 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, CA 95006. $10 day use charge.
Best Time to visit: Beautiful and accessible all through the year. Although, it would be best if you call in advance to check for trail conditions just after a stormy week with heavy rain.
Map: The best map I have found was at this blog.
Hike Description: There are four options to hike upto the Berry Creek Falls and back, all of them starting at the park HQ. You could choose to start by accessing the Sunset trail first, onto the Berry Creek Falls trail and back on to the Skyline to Sea Trail, all of which covers about 11.6mi around the loop. This option takes you along in a counter-clockwise direction to the falls and back from the park HQ. The second option would be to do the previous loop in a clockwise fashion, with a somewhat tougher climb back on the Sunset trail. The last two options would be to take either trail and do an "out and back" on those trails. The mileage would slightly differ in that, the Sunset - Berry Creek trail(counter clockwise) would be a 6.4mi one way hike, while the Skyline to the Sea Trail is a roughly 4mi hike one way. Caveat: Either route is sufficiently strenuous and as such should be attempted with caution.
We took the first trail path going counter clockwise to spread the steep climbing more evenly. To get to the Sunset trail we first went to the "additional parking" area just along the road from the toll booth. As soon as you cross the bridge along the Middle ridge fire road, turn left onto the Creeping forest trail for about 0.1mi, make a right on the Dool trail for another 0.1mi. At this point you will reach a fork which splits into the Dool and Sunset trail, keep left onto the Sunset trail for about 4.9mi. After an initial climb for about 0.5mi, you should find the going relatively easier, although there will be some more climbing to do after a while. At the end of the 5mi you will turn left onto the Berry Creek Falls trail, which has to be one of the most beautiful things you will do in the Bay Area, I am certain. You will be treated to the Golden Cascade and the Silver Falls as soon as you are on the trail. You have to negotiate slippery rocks along the Silver Falls and hike down from its precipice with the helps of wires which the park has installed. Once you get to the bottom of the falls its about a mile to the Berry Creek falls, which is absolutely gorgeous. After spending a few minutes on the viewing platform, which will invariably be crowded, we headed back on the Skyline to Sea trail towards park HQ. Make sure you stop for lunch, hydrate yourself well all along the return path to ensure you don't suffer cramps. Be prepared for some tough climbing back up to the parking lot. You will remember this hike fondly for a long time after.
Please respect the copyright of the images.
The Berry Creek Falls Loop ~12mi round trip
This has to be one of the most challenging and rewarding hikes in the redwoods of the bay area. Having said that you will need the following to make the most of this beautiful piece of redwood paradise.
Park Address: 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, CA 95006. $10 day use charge.
Best Time to visit: Beautiful and accessible all through the year. Although, it would be best if you call in advance to check for trail conditions just after a stormy week with heavy rain.
Map: The best map I have found was at this blog.
Hike Description: There are four options to hike upto the Berry Creek Falls and back, all of them starting at the park HQ. You could choose to start by accessing the Sunset trail first, onto the Berry Creek Falls trail and back on to the Skyline to Sea Trail, all of which covers about 11.6mi around the loop. This option takes you along in a counter-clockwise direction to the falls and back from the park HQ. The second option would be to do the previous loop in a clockwise fashion, with a somewhat tougher climb back on the Sunset trail. The last two options would be to take either trail and do an "out and back" on those trails. The mileage would slightly differ in that, the Sunset - Berry Creek trail(counter clockwise) would be a 6.4mi one way hike, while the Skyline to the Sea Trail is a roughly 4mi hike one way. Caveat: Either route is sufficiently strenuous and as such should be attempted with caution.
We took the first trail path going counter clockwise to spread the steep climbing more evenly. To get to the Sunset trail we first went to the "additional parking" area just along the road from the toll booth. As soon as you cross the bridge along the Middle ridge fire road, turn left onto the Creeping forest trail for about 0.1mi, make a right on the Dool trail for another 0.1mi. At this point you will reach a fork which splits into the Dool and Sunset trail, keep left onto the Sunset trail for about 4.9mi. After an initial climb for about 0.5mi, you should find the going relatively easier, although there will be some more climbing to do after a while. At the end of the 5mi you will turn left onto the Berry Creek Falls trail, which has to be one of the most beautiful things you will do in the Bay Area, I am certain. You will be treated to the Golden Cascade and the Silver Falls as soon as you are on the trail. You have to negotiate slippery rocks along the Silver Falls and hike down from its precipice with the helps of wires which the park has installed. Once you get to the bottom of the falls its about a mile to the Berry Creek falls, which is absolutely gorgeous. After spending a few minutes on the viewing platform, which will invariably be crowded, we headed back on the Skyline to Sea trail towards park HQ. Make sure you stop for lunch, hydrate yourself well all along the return path to ensure you don't suffer cramps. Be prepared for some tough climbing back up to the parking lot. You will remember this hike fondly for a long time after.
Images from the hike
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© 2011 Varun Ramaswamy
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