Summer Shuttle Service Returns to Big Basin Redwoods State Park for Weekends and Holidays
Contacts:
California State Parks newsroom@parks.ca.gov
Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks
Jennifer Murray
jennifer@millermaxfield.com
Shuttle program and ongoing Santa Cruz METRO bus will provide access to reopened Sequoia Trail and Sempervirens Falls
A view of Sempervirens Falls from the Sequoia Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
BOULDER CREEK — California State Parks and Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks are pleased to announce the return of the shuttle program at Big Basin Redwoods State Park for summer weekends and holidays in 2026, beginning this Saturday, May 23, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Building on the success of the shuttle service pilot program during the summers of 2024 and 2025, the program offers increased access during park redevelopment activities following the devastating 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire.
In addition to the return of the shuttle service, a popular waterfall loop trail will reopen this Friday, May 22, for the first time since the fire. The 2.9-mile Sequoia Trail allows visitors to view Sempervirens Falls. The trail can be combined with 1.4 miles of the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail to create a 4.3-mile loop from the park’s main day-use area. The moderate hike passes through recovering redwood trees and features the picturesque 20-foot Sempervirens Falls.
More than 230,000 people have visited Big Basin since July 2022, when California’s oldest state park partially reopened after the fire. An interim visitor center is now open, and more than 20 miles of trails have been restored. Camping has also returned to the coastal side of the park through an interim walk-in and bike-in campground at Rancho del Oso.
Shuttle Program
The State Parks shuttle will operate in a loop from the interim overflow parking area at Saddle Mountain (located at the intersection of Highway 236 and Little Basin Road) to the main day-use area near the park’s historic core.
The 14-passenger, ADA-accessible shuttle includes a bike rack and will operate from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. When parking in the main day-use area reaches capacity, visitors will be directed to the Saddle Mountain parking lot, available on a first-come, first-served basis for a $10 fee (State Parks passes are accepted). The shuttle ride to and from the main day-use area is free.
To guarantee parking in the main day-use area, visitors are encouraged to make reservations in advance online. Reservations cost $8 ($6 entrance fee plus a $2 reservation fee). All California State Parks day-use passes and entry programs are honored, though the $2 reservation fee still applies. All fees help Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks support the park. Learn more and plan a visit: thatsmypark.org/bigbasin.
In addition to the shuttle, public transit access to the park is available through Santa Cruz METRO’s Route 35. The route includes five daily scheduled stops and operates on weekends and holidays. Riders can park for free at the Scotts Valley METRO Station and take the bus directly to the park. Bus fares are $2 per ride or $6 for a day pass, and K-12 students ride free with a valid student ID. Visitors arriving by METRO bus receive free entry and guaranteed park access.
Background on CZU Lightning Complex Fire
The CZU Lightning Complex Fire devastated Big Basin in 2020, burning more than 97% of the park and destroying nearly every structure, including the Park Headquarters, campgrounds and housing for park employees. Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks created a short documentary to mark the one-year anniversary of the fire.
Reimagining Big Basin
The park reopened in July 2022 through a limited access day-use reservation system created and operated by Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. To make a reservation for camping at Rancho del Oso, on the coastal side of Big Basin, visit thatsmypark.org/rancho-del-oso-unit.
State Parks has developed a Facilities Management Plan to guide the phased design and construction of permanent facilities at Big Basin, including trails, campgrounds and utilities. Full reopening will take several years, but planning is underway. For more information or to get involved, visit reimaginingbigbasin.org.
History of Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Big Basin is the oldest state park in California, acquired in 1902. The lands known today as Big Basin Redwoods State Park were originally the homelands of the Quiroste and Cotoni tribes, ancestral relatives of today’s Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.
Left: Map of State Park shuttle route from the interim Saddle Mountain shuttle parking to the park’s
main day-use area. Right: State Park shuttle at the main day-use shuttle drop-off.
Map and photos from California State Parks.
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