 The Berry Creek LoopIncluding the Sunset Trail, Berry Creek Falls, and the Skyline-to-the-Sea trailLength 10 miles · Climbing 2150 ftCalifornia > San Francisco Bay Area > Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Berry Creek Falls The Berry Creek Loop is the centerpiece of Big Basin. The highlight of this popular loop is a series of waterfalls culminating in Berry Creek Falls. The loop also features the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, which climbs through four miles of pristine redwood forest in a lush, steep-sided canyon. The loop offers some great redwood scenery and has remarkably little encroachment from roads and other development. The 10-mile loop starts at park headquarters and descends by way of the Sunset Trail to Berry Creek Falls, before the long and scenic ascent on the Skyline-to-the-Sea trail back to park headquarters. The total elevation gain is about 1800 feet. Taking the loop in this counter-clockwise direction spreads the climbing more evenly throughout the hike and saves the best scenery for last. The hike takes about five hours. This loop is enjoyable year-round. If it's been raining a lot, the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail might be closed due to a landslide or fallen tree, or a bridge near Berry Creek Falls may be out. Although it looks like Silver Falls could completely cover the trail, I've never seen this happen even during heavy rainfall. The loop has become more popular over the past year or two. Hiking the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail on a nice weekend, it's not uncommon to run into a group of hikers every two or three minutes. Even on a rainy winter day recently I still ran into five or six groups. |
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Hike description
Click here to see the trailhead location in Google Maps or in Google Street View. The hike starts at park headquarters. After a pleasant stroll along Opal Creek, the trail climbs 300 vertical feet through a dense sea of huckleberry to Middle Ridge. The air usually gets 10 or 20 degrees warmer as you climb out of the basin, and it will probably stay warm for the rest of the hike. After crossing the Middle Ridge fire road, the Sunset Trail descends through very pleasant redwood uplands. While the trees aren't particularly large, the forest has a bright, cheerful feeling that you don't get in the valleys. A controlled burn in 2008 killed most of the huckleberry and tanoak understory on this side of the ridge. Although it's not as obvious as it used to be, this area is still noticably more open than the unburned parts of the forest. Large numbers of rapidly-growing redwood seedlings have appeared, mostly around the bases of larger trees; almost no seedlings can be seen in other areas. After about a mile the trail leaves the burned area, tunneling through a dense tanoak understory.
The Sunset Trail After a large bridge across West Waddell Creek, the trail begins a 500 foot climb. Near the start of the climb is the intersection with the Timms Creek Trail. (The Timms Creek Trail makes a nice alternate route. It descends into a valley with a good-sized creek; near the south end of the trail the valley widens and there's a small but exceptionally nice redwood grove with an unmarked bench. The trail ends in a jumble of fallen trees; at this point, look to your left for a log across the creek to the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail). To hike the full Berry Creek loop, skip the Timms Creek trail and continue along the Sunset Trail, which gets steeper after the intersection. Although this isn't the biggest climb of the hike, it's the most difficult. The trail then descends again, eventually crossing Berry Creek before climbing to a clearing. This area shows signs of logging, although many large trees still stand. From the clearing there's a nice view of the valley where Berry Creek Falls is located. The Berry Creek Falls Trail begins soon after the clearing and is one of the best parts of the hike. The trail descends past two waterfalls into a lush fern-covered glen, then follows a little brook through a narrow ravine spanned by fallen trees. As the ravine deepens, bigger redwoods appear and the groundcover gets more lush. Finally, the trail descends past Berry Creek Falls to a viewing platform where there's usually a small crowd of people. After the platform, turn left onto a bridge and onto the Skyline-to-the-Sea trail. This is the lowest point of the hike. After climbing over a small hill, the trail crosses West Waddell Creek by way of a crude plank bridge. During rainy periods, this bridge may be washed out or removed.
Skyline-to-the-Sea trail For the next few miles the trail passes through the deepest, darkest redwood forest south of San Francisco. The Waddell Creek canyon is noticably more lush than any other part of the hike, with a plush groundcover of ferns and redwood sorrel, and there are some impressive trees here. Although the most biggest redwoods are between Berry Creek Falls and the Timms Creek trail, the forest is very scenic and mostly redwoods all the way back to Park Headquarters. Shortly after its intersection with the Timms Creek trail, the Skyline-to-the-Sea trail splits. To the right is the main trail; to the left, the alternate trail. The alternate trail (which is actually the older trail) takes about 10 minutes longer and involves a bit more climbing; it's also more scenic, since it winds through a creek valley where some large trees and two attractive arched bridges are to be found. However, the main trail also happens to be very scenic in this area. The main and alternate trails rejoin each other at another three-way intersection. Make sure to continue straight (uphill) at this intersection, otherwise you'll be headed back down toward Berry Creek Falls! The trail crosses Waddell Creek and climbs out of the canyon, looping around a ravine filled with mid-sized redwoods. The air usually warms up as you leave the canyon. Although the woods aren't as lush, they're brighter and more open, and the late-afternoon sunlight streams in through the foliage to illuminate the redwoods. If you're not exhausted by all the climbing, this can be an especially enjoyable part of the hike.
Late afternoon on the Skyline-to-the-Sea trail The best part of the hike, though, is when you reach Middle Ridge, because then it's an easy downhill walk back to park headquarters. More photos
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