Berry Falls is the premier hike of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in California. They even have commemorative stickers for sale in the gift shop that says “I Made It! – Berry Falls”. In part, the notoriety is because it’s a difficult but manageable hike. It’s labeled as a strenuous 10.5 mile loop with 2,364’ of elevation gain. If you’re going to take one hike in the redwoods south of San Francisco, this is the hike. You’ll see the largest old growth redwoods and the spectacular Berry Falls. Keep reading to learn more about Hiking Berry Falls Loop, Background on Big Basin Redwoods SP, and the breathtaking images from the hike.
Big Basin Redwoods State Park Overview
Over a century ago, Carrie Stevens Walter of the Sempervirens Club had an amazing astute prophecy about why Big Basin Redwoods and Berry Creek needed protection – “Imagine a time when the whole peninsula from San Francisco to San Jose shall become one great city; then picture, at its very doorstep, this magnificent domain of redwood forests and running streams, the breathing place of millions of cramped and crowded denizens of the city.” That was 1901. In 1902, Big Basin Redwoods State Park was established as the first California State Park.
The City by the Bay did fill in between San Francisco to San Jose and beyond and this ancient forest is still protected. It sits just 60 miles south of San Francisco, 30 miles west of San Jose, and 20 miles north of Santa Cruz. The deep forest and the proximity to town makes it the perfect choice for parks to visit if you want a challenging hiking adventure. It’s a great complement to a visit to Santa Cruz or the epic road trip along the Big Sur Coast.
“Imagine a time when the whole peninsula from San Francisco to San Jose shall become one great city; then picture, at its very doorstep, this magnificent domain of redwood forests and running streams, the breathing place of millions of cramped and crowded denizens of the city.”
Big Basin contains the largest continuous stand of Redwoods south of San Francisco, with giant trees over 50’ in diameter that have been around since before the Roman Empire. Within the park, there is camping in the redwoods and over 80 miles of hiking trails. The trails vary in length from the ½ mile Redwood Trail where you can see the Mother of the Forest Tree that’s almost 300’ tall to the massive Skyline to Sea trail that goes 12.5 miles down from the Redwood Forest to the Pacific Ocean and that’s not even including the return trip. We chose to hike the Berry Creek Falls Trail so we could see both the redwoods and waterfalls.
Hiking Berry Creek Falls: Park Headquarters to Junction with Skyline to Sea Connector
- 1.1 mile : 420’ delta
We hiked Berry Creek Falls in mid September. We left Santa Cruz drenched in sunshine and pulled into a hazy, soft rain at Big Basin Park. When we checked in with the ranger about the weather, she said that the weather report said zero chance of precipitation with a sly smile. Then she handed us our trail map and highlighted the trails that were closed from heavy rain washing out bridges. She also gave us an information sheet for our car so we could mark our departure time (10:00) and our destination (Berry Creek Falls) so the Rangers could find us if need be. Then she gave us quick directions to the trailhead across the street and we were off. We filled our water bottles at headquarters and were ready to go.
Berry Creek Falls is the type of trail that Rangers have to be careful with. The trail goes primarily downhill, so it is harder coming out than in. You are also hiking in deep forest that gets very dark at twilight. There are several incidents with lost hikers every year so they emphasize self reliance like food, lights and, warm clothes. We slipped our fleece into the daypack and figured our cell phones had the flashlight app to cover the rest.
The funny thing is, with all of the precautions and warnings about Berry Creek Falls, the marked trail distance and elevation was considerably off between our GPS and the signage. The sign at the parking lot said 10.5 miles, 2150’ elevation gain. Our GPS registered 14 miles and almost 3000’ of gain. I think this discrepancy was caused by the GPS losing signal in the deep valleys. Our track showed a lot of wandering that we just didn’t do. For the purpose of this article, I am recreating the track via Google Maps to get the most accurate trail distance. Just remember to periodically check your reported distance traveled with your trail guide so you have an accurate distance remaining.
We started off on the Redwood Trail that was wide, gentle and inviting. Moss covered branches swept across the trail. We crossed Opal Creek on a big wooden bridge and made our first turn onto the Skyline to the Sea Trail. We turned right because the trail was washed out to the left. We traveled a short way along Opal Creek, past a Marbled Murrelet nesting area and turned again on the Dool Trail.
Pro tip: Check with the Rangers about trail closures and park conditions
Marbled Murrelets are a peculiar seabird that travels inland to nest in redwood forests. They need extra protection from scavenging birds, like jays, whose population has been exploding from eating the crumbs from park visitors. That’s why Big Basin Park is a crumb free zone to minimize the human impact on this unique ecosystem.
The Dool Trail quickly connects with the Sunset Trail which we followed up hill to a major junction with the Middle Ridge Road. From there, is was a short downhill to the Skyline to Sea Connector.
Alternative Trails:
Another alternative is to take the Skyline to Sea Trail (if it was open) one way and Dool / Sunset the other way to have zero overlap on the loop.
Skyline to Sea Connector to Berry Creek Falls
- 2.5 miles : 850’ loss
There are various opinions on how to hike the Berry Falls Loop but only two choices, clockwise or counter-clockwise. We choose clockwise so we could look up the falls and navigate uphill on the notoriously slick sections of Berry Creek Trail. We were very happy with that choice but we could imagine in the heat of the summer the exposed sections of the Sunset Trail could get a little hot in the afternoon. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
We took the Skyline to Sea Connector and quickly got on the Skyline to Sea Trail. For the first .7 miles, the trail drops rapidly (about 330’) into a deep valley where you reach Kelly Creek. From there, you walk along the creek bed for another mile (-370’) and you reach the junction with Waddle Creek and the Timm’s Creek Trail Junction (closed when we were hiking). From there, the trail flattens out considerably and you continue for about a mile until you reach Berry Creek Falls and the junction with the Berry Creek Trail.
This section of trail goes through dense, old forest and follows a babbling stream the entire time. You can see how hard the Rangers work to maintain this trail through the fallen trees. Sometimes, they just cut through smaller trees on the trail, but the larger trees require a chainsawed tunnel to be cut through them. This is the raw, primeval forest that beckons you to come and explore Big Basin Redwoods.
Berry Creek Falls Trail
- .9 miles : 436’ gain
Berry Creek Trail is less than a mile long and gets to be the namesake of the entire hike. Why? Because it’s just that cool. Through this entire section, you are hiking alongside one gorgeous waterfall after another. It’s by far the steepest section of trail with some exposed slick rocks so we were very happy hiking up it for better footing.
You see Berry Falls first, even before you turn onto the Berry Falls Trail. After a minute or two of walking, you reach the observation platform. We went on a Monday afternoon after the summer crowds had left so we had the place to ourselves. We have heard that this is one of the busiest places in the park on a summer weekend.
A well formed trail leads up past the Berry Falls to the next falls in the sequence. There seems to be a little discrepancy between the Google Map names, names on the park map, and names of the falls from other posts on the internet. We are going with park map names which shows the falls in order from Berry Falls, Silver Falls, Cascades, and finally Golden Falls. Given that, we reached Silver Falls next. These falls had a big drop and a little beach at the bottom. Steps were carved out the rocks that led up trail right along the falls.
The next falls in the sequence were Cascades. They cascaded gently along a much nicer staircase than Silver Falls.
The final falls of the series are Golden Falls. They remind me of a brimstone waterfall in a cave with the way the water trickles down the rock dome. There was a perfectly placed log at the base for long exposure photographs like we took in Cloudland Canyon with our polarizing filter.
From here, you have a choice. You can backtrack along the two most beautiful sections of the trail, the falls and the deep forest on Skyline to Sea, or you can climb out of the creek and take the Sunset Trail across the ridge. I would completely understand if you wanted to hike the money sections of trail again. It’s actually a little shorter to head back and less climbing too. But we have a little fomo and love exploring new trails so we opted to close the loop and take the Sunset Trail Back.
Sunset Trail to Skyline to Sea Connector
- 3.8 miles : 1230’ total climbing
Did you notice the omitted item from our hiking prep list – food! We were playing the trail game what would Bear Grylls eat. Of course, we didn’t harvest any plants from the forest but it did distract us from that fact that this trail undulated through four different streambeds. In fact, we went down over 700’ into these stream beds just to climb back out of them again. There was also the fact that our GPS errors were accumulating and saying we should have been at the car already before we joined up with the Skyline to Sea Connector. Maybe we would have been less grumpy if we hiked the route counterclockwise and did this section before we got tired. Maybe we should have just brought a ham sandwich.
To be fair, there were some unique sections of forest here where the mosses covered the branches. You could tell that we were in a different microclimate. The bridges over the creeks were also particularly photogenic. We saw our first banana slugs here and there were some redwoods of extraordinary size. If we weren’t completely spoiled by the primeval forest along the creek bed and waterfalls, we would have really enjoyed this section.
We retraced our steps back from the Skyline to Sea Connector to Park Headquarters. You can see from the map that we crossed Opal Creek a little earlier and came out at the camp store where we had a decent latte and some soft serve ice cream. That latte and soft serve ice cream were way better than anything Bear would have had us eating out there.
Wrapping up hiking the Berry Creek Falls Trail in Big Basin Redwoods State Park
The Berry Creek Falls loop is no joke. The trail is in excellent condition with plentiful shade but you need to plan for the six hours they say this hike takes. The elevation gain is real and the park store sells ham sandwiches if you forgot to bring one from town (softserve just wouldn’t do in your pack). What makes this trail special is that you hike through real, old growth redwoods and see waterfalls. There are few places on Earth where you can do both on the same hike.
What an absolutely fabulous hiking experience! I would just love to spend time in such a beautiful place, with the lush greenery and waterfalls. I just loved your photos and enjoyed looking at the sheer size of those redwoods! Amazing to think how long they have been around for.
Thank you. The photos don’t do it justice. The trees are just so big and there very air in the dense forest feels alive with all of the smells and moisture. My creative writing teacher would be scolding me right now for not bringing all of my reader’s senses to bear with descriptions and then puttying it in with my comments. I will go ahead a rap a ruler against my knuckles now.
Well I definitely wouldn’t be that hard on yourself…as I think you did a great job which I and other readers really appreciate. Thanks again for a really nice post.
Thank you. That’s always good to hear.
I’m by no means a hiker, but I would love to do Berry Creek Falls and Big Basin. Muir Woods in San Francisco was the highlight of my trip, and I’ve always said I would like to complete it and make it all the way to the ocean. That said, I would definitely choose the path that leads to the sea!
You almost have to go all the way to the ocean AND at least put a toe in to make it count. The Skyline to Sea looks amazing, but it’s logistically challenging because there is no shuttle back to the trailhead. Because of how the road wind up the mountain, you have to return to Santa Cruz (about 10 mile) and then head back up hwy 9 to Big Basin (about 30 miles) or turn around and hike twenty miles back up hill.
Berry Creek Falls looks like a wonderful place to hike, even if it’s not quite that easy. I like that the trail is quite well maintained and there is no way you can get lost by not seeing it anymore. I have left on trails before without food and I know how annoying it can get when you eventually get hungry and grumpy in the same time. Since then I always make sure to pack a fee energy bars and snacks in my backpack.
Hangry isn’t a good place to be on the trail but we stayed positive and had a great time. A lot of times on a lot of adventures, the only thing you can control is your attitude, and that makes all the difference.
I love hiking! These are really clear directions and great photos to show the way. This is a walk I’d definitely love to do if I was in the area. Playing what would Bear Grylls eat sounds fun haha.
It’s a type 2 fun. It was more fun to look back on it than when we were doing it 🙂
Looks like a gorgeous hike! Love that waterfall especially. State parks can be so underrated in a lot of the country, but at least that means you can avoid some of the crowds!
California has so much amazing stuff the state parks really stand out. It can still get crowded in the summer time but not like Yosemite.
Wow! What a great guide for hikers. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness and comprehensive nature of this post. So helpful. 🙂
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by. If you end up going the the redwoods you should send us pictures.
You would absolutely love it. It’s a great place to get waterfalls and redwoods.
They really do swallow you up. That is a great description.
I cant believe you didnt pack food, not saying I would of had a 3 course feed on hand, but some cheese and bickies, maybe a twiggy stick amongst alllllll that, hells yeah! Those trees are just so incredible, not sure I have ever seen anything so majestic. What a fantastic guide you’ve created, it makes me want to do something similar for the tracks in my area.
It was just a series of little things. We had a huge breakfast buffet at the hotel and left absolutely stuffed. The hike was marked at 9 miles on our beta which is about a three hour hike. No way we were going to be hungry in three hours. Plus, leaving from the hotel we didn’t have a closet of snacks available. Kind of like Gilligan’s Island. We left for a three hour tour. (a three hour tour)
I’ve been to the park and think it’s beautiful but I never did the hike, it’s like a gone BUT only with food!
That’s a tight road to get the motor home up and I think they have a 24-28′ limit. It is one of the places you can camp in the redwoods, as opposed to Cowell down the road which has redwoods and camping but not in the came place.
Wow! All my time living in San Francisco and I never hiked these trails. I mainly concentrated on the forests north of San Fran. Your photos look amazing. Someday I’ll go back to the US and make a tour of all the National Parks, and I’ll be sure to get to this place on the side. I love waterfalls and big trees.
It is somewhat near Pinnacles NP so you could twofer it. There are some stunning places north of San Fran too but this is a great southern option. If you are doing the Big Sur road trip or based in San Jose or what ever, this might be just the ticket.
I love the Redwoods! This looks like a fantastic hike. Another place I need to remember when I start RVing. 😀
It might be hard to get an RV up the winding road but you could totally day trip here out of San Francisco or San Jose.
The trail looks absolutely beautiful to hike! And thanks for the emphasis about being prepared! When I went in search of surface lava in Hawaii, many of the signs and park rangers all emphasized being prepared for the 10 mile hike, but with my bottle of water and flashlight app, I thought I was good to go. However, I definitely did not give myself enough time to get back before dark and my cell phone had no service. If something had happened to me, it would have been quite a long time before the park rangers would have been able to find me. Never again will I take words of caution to be prepared for granted!
It’s especially tricky in areas with no coverage. If your cell phone is roaming it drains the battery much faster.
I saw the Red Woods about two years ago but, never made it to the Berry Creek trail. Sounds like I have to go back. I love that you played What Would Bear Eat? I’m sure there is a lot of options out there 🙂 I would still bring my own food.
Bring your own is always a good answer. I think I saw somebody bring a candy bar on a Bear hike…. It was a great idea.
10.5 miles?? That’s really intense lol you guys did this in a day?? That sticker is well deserved!
Are you LOLing at us? I thought we were friends 🙂 It’s a solid hike for sure.
I have never actually seen the redwoods but am anxious too. This hike sounds lovely – redwoods and waterfalls? perfect! The tip about doing the trail clockwise is super valuable too.
You really have to see the redwoods at least once. It’s like no place else.
10.5 miles? That’s a long hike for me and I’ll definitely need to dedicate a whole day 😛 But the waterfalls and redwoods are worth the effort, I bet! I like how this is a loop so you see different scenery on your way in and out.
How is no one else hiking these falls? They’re totally missing out! You know how I love ’em waterfalls so I’m totally adding this to my list… but I’ll be packing lots of food with me when I go!
There is a beautiful season to visit California… September. It’s still warm and nobody is here.
Sounds like you had a great time. I loved your photos and narrative and felt as if I was transported to that hike 🙂
What an amazing place for a nice long hike! Those trails are so beautiful and the gorgeous redwoods are just fascinating!
I so wish I would’ve had time to do this hike when I was in SF earlier this year! I don’t blame you for wanting to finish the loop through Sunset Trail – I have trail FOMO too and would’ve done the same, even if it does mean more work! This looks like a pretty strenuous hike but I would love to try it next time I’m in SF!
We are very happy to have you reading. Thanks for stopping by and we hope to see you again.
That is such an amazing hike and I would love to take it up once around SF, although it looks really tough from your pictures. That fall is really huge and redwoods are gorgeous. Adding it to my bucket list. Thanks for sharing.
It’s actually just south of Los Angeles, the AF is some American slang…. There is a magic time to visit San Fran in the early fall before the rain comes but that’s another story for another post.
Well, this hike looks amazing! I definitely need to remember it for whenever I finally make it to California.
You owe yourself a trip to Cali…. Just saying. You have been to Sri Lanka but not California.
You’ll have to let us know how it goes. It would be so cool to go back and accomplish something as an adult that thwarted my kid self. I did finally figure out how to do that dang paddle ball thing with a rubber band and ball attached. Does that count?