Redwood Loop Trail at Big Basin Redwoods

Even though this is one of the most popular trails in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, I have actually never done this easy, flat, 0.6-mile trail through the park's largest, most impressive old growth redwoods. I am glad to have finally done it! I didn't realize how beautiful Opal Creek is, with its eponymous opalescent waters. Between the gorgeous trees and the unusual milky water, this hike sure is memorable even if it's short.

This was a great hike to do while carrying my toddler in the backpack carrier. It was easy on me while I was carrying her, and it was great for her when I stopped to let her out to run around and play a bit. There were plenty of other families with children about her age who just had their children walk because it was short enough. You don't exactly need a carrier to do this hike with a very young child, but my daughter really likes the carrier right now, so it worked best for us.

---

The trail is one of the trails marked in yellow on the detail of the map above. From the main parking lot, you should look for the large reddish brown sign that says Redwood. It's to the left of the kiosk where you can pay the $10 cash entrance fee. Look for the box with the green paper brochures with the guide to the nature trail, and then make sure that you get on one of the legs of the loop and don't accidentally get on Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, which splits off at this junction too. The path is wide, level, and bordered with a wooden fence; either direction is lovely.

The Mother of the Forest and the Father of the Forest are two of the most spectacular trees to see, but my favorite on this tree was the Chimney Tree. Its heartwood caught fire and burned completely through, but the tree is still alive and still growing. If you step inside it and look up, you can see straight up to the sky. Across from the Chimney Tree is a dead redwood that succumbed to fire, and the gaps in its remnants make it into a kind of a tree house or a playground. My daughter loved climbing through this tree, and she got into one of those loops that toddlers get into, where she just repeated the same path over and over again joyously. This was by no means her first trip to the redwoods, but this was her first time to really notice them and she has started to say "redwood" now. I credit this tree for her new-found interest in redwoods. It was such a lovely experience!