Big Basin is California's oldest State Park, established in 1902. It is home to the largest continuous stand of Ancient Coast Redwoods south of San Francisco and provides refuge to many species of animals including banana slugs, Giant Pacific Salamanders, woodpeckers, deer, tree frogs, rough-skinned newts, garter snakes, egrets, and herons.
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a California state park, located in Santa Cruz County about 23 miles northwest of Santa Cruz. Established in 1902, Big Basin is California's oldest State Park.
The park covers 18,000 acres and is home to the largest continuous stand of Ancient Coast Redwoods south of San Francisco. The parks contains almost all of the Waddell Creek watershed and consists of old growth and recovering Redwood Forest, with mixed conifer, oaks, chaparral and riparian habitats. Elevations in the park vary from sea level to over 2,000 feet (600 m).
Big Basin has over 80 miles (130 km) of trails. The most popular trail leads along Waddell Creek from the beach and adjacent Theodore J. Hoover Natural Preserve, a freshwater marsh, to a set of three waterfalls. The tallest of these is called Berry Creek Falls, which is more than 70-feet high. The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail is also a favorite hike. Some trails are also open for mountain biking.
The park has many animals (deer, raccoons, an occasional bobcat) and lots of bird life -- including Steller's jays, egrets, herons and California woodpeckers. Rough-Skinned Newts and garter snakes are particularly common.
[Derived from Wikipedia]
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