Last week, on Martin Luther King Day, I met a friend at Big Basin State Park for a hike to Berry Creek Falls. We’d both been there several times, but never when the ground was soaked and about 2 inches of rain had fallen recently. We expected quite a bit more than the usual trickle and we got it!
It’s about an hour from most places in Silicon Valley, including the last few miles of twisty winding road down through the redwoods.
Roadside sign, coming from the upper entrance
Park HQ, with the big log slice on the right. (Notice the pay phones! No AT&T signal here)
Yes, this bridge near HQ, really was as wavy as it looks. Note muddy water underneath. It was muddy and high throughout the park. The aeration of the falls masked most of the brown color.
Headed to the falls, passing by a fallen giant (or a fallen “medium size”)
Ducking under. I suspect this tree has been here 100 years and will be here for many more
Lotsa sporadic “rivulets” coming off the hillsides
First sight, zoomed-in, of the falls as we head upstream
Silhouettes on the observation deck, as we head up
The main fall, from the observation deck.
Looking from the top of the main falls. Notice the red jacket at right, on the observation deck
The “famous” cable steps at the second fall, as we head upstream
Close-up of water tumbling on the edge of the steps
Sometimes the trees provide a size reference, and sometimes the trees are huge too!
The third fall, as we head from bottom-to-top
The uppermost fall, I think…
Not to far for a day trip from major cities. Though the last few miles are SLOW!
Details: As you can see in the last picture, it’s not a bad day trip for most Bay Area folks. It is a VERY popular park, however, in summer tourist season. It gets busy and the campgrounds book well in advance. The park’s site is here:Â Big Basin State Park and our GPS track is here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/473466785/embed/8d0917b8bcc7ee4e52e31bc4a0f48fce923786ed
AlphaRoaming 
I’ve got to get up to Big Basin while it is still wet! I enjoyed your pictures and write up! Thanks for sharing.