Big Basin SP - Berry Creek Falls loop, 10.2 miles

CARPOOL REQUEST COMMENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED DUE TO THE LARGE SIZE OF THE GROUP. Please read below how to carpool.

Level: Moderate+

Total Distance: 10.2 miles, loop

Hiking Time: 5 hours

Elevation Change: 2150 feet. Elevation changes between 400-1300 ft.

What to Bring: food, 2L water, layered clothing.

Parking fee: $10

Official Trail Use: Dogs are not allowed on the trails.

Weather: Sunny, with a high of 70 F, as of today.

Shade: About 90% of the hike is shaded. But as always bring your sun hat, at this time of the year.

Facilities: Restrooms are located near the Visitor Center.

Recommended Map

You can see the map in the park brochure. You will get one when you pay for parking.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/540/files/BigBasinRedwoodsFinalWeb2015.pdf

• The address given is the one for the Visitor Center - 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, CA. So yes, use this address.

The Google Waze app will route around "restricted access" roads, unlike the Google Maps app, using the same map data as Google Maps. Therefore, Waze is recommended over the Google Maps app for your phone.

• As always, it is good practice to confirm the night before that any app you use takes you to where you expect by comparing the destination with what is posted above on your PC/Mac.

Parking:

There should be enough parking at the parking lots.

Carpooling: We will use this link for carpooling:

https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/24xanp

Please sign up there.

CARPOOLING MANNERS:

Please refrain from trying to negotiate your carpool in the comments, as it is equivalent to sending multiple "Reply All" emails to everyone.

Please start your carpool quest, by first adding yourself to the carpool link above.

Then, use the contact info provided by the driver or rider in the link above to contact them directly and privately.

Please be considerate of others and resist the urge to "Reply All".

Thank you for understanding.

Also I noticed people asking about sharing the cost for carpool. To note, what we use for SOC (old Stanford Outing Club) is 0.25$(total miles)/# of people in the car, including driver. For example, for a 120 mile (to and from) trip with 3 people in the car, each passenger will pay the driver $10 (0.25120/3). You can use this as a possible guideline.

HIKE DESCRIPTION

As you may (or may not) know, Big Basin was the first State Park established in California, back in 1902. It is one of the preeminent State Parks in CA and here we will be doing the signature hike of the park.

Well, what to expect - Redwoods, waterfalls, creeks and assorted flora and fauna. This is one of the most popular hikes in the bay area, so you can find loads of information online.

The hike will start at the Visitor Center. We will be doing the Dool Tr - Sunset Tr - Berry Creek Falls Tr - Skyline to the Sea Tr loop for this hike. I am not going to get into details. You can find all you want at

This one gives a nice step by step guide to the hike -

http://www.everytrail.com/guide/berry-creek-falls-loop-at-big-basin-redwoods-state-park

and

You can see a good topographical map and elevation profile here

http://www.redwoodhikes.com/BigBasin/BerryCreek.html

and etc. etc .

Just a couple of notes. The hike starts at 1000 ft and the terrain various between 400-1300 ft. The total elevation gain is about 2150 ft. I will rate the hike moderate, but depending on your level, it could be strenous. So I have put moderate+.

As I put, the hike is mostly well shaded, except for about a mile at Sunset Tr. But be prudent and bring your sun hat. And bring 2L of water/equivalent, as you would need that to keep your hydration level for the hike.

We should be back at the Visitor Center about 6:30 pm or so, at which point you can get on with (the rest of) your life.

TRAIL HIKING DIRECTIONS

Big Basin Visitor Center -> Dool Trail -> Sunset Trail -> Berry Creek Falls Trail -> Skyline to the Sea Trail -> BB Visitor Center

PLEASE READ THE EVENT DESCRIPTION ABOVE BEFORE POSTING A MESSAGE.