Weekly Walker: A Spectacular Thanksgiving Day Hike With Trailside Feast to Match

[Editor's Note: This week, local hiking enthusiast Tom Davids takes us on a Thanksgiving Day hike to Big Basin Park, and a 65-foot curtain of water that Tom says is arguably the most spectacular of all waterfalls in the Bay Area. Of course, you'll need to eat, so Tom includes some suggestions for the perfect trailside Thanksgiving Day feast.]

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Feast

Berry Creek Falls, Big Basin State Park

By Tom Davids                    

Directions: Highway 92 to Half Moon Bay. South on Highway 1 for 30 miles to Waddell Beach, a few miles beyond Ano Nuevo State Park. Park in the large beachside parking lot or at roadside parking adjacent to the Rancho del Oro gate on the east side of Highway 1.

Grade: Easy, mostly level with a gain of about 400 feet to observe the falls and cascades. An optional extension includes a loop on Sunset Trail to Middle Ridge Trail (elevation, 1,600 feet), returning on the Skyline-To-The Sea Trail. The elevation gain for this segment is about 1,200 feet.

Trail Map: Big Basin State Park

Distance: 12 miles round trip.

Time: Six hours plus lunch.

Special Conditions: No dogs. The trail is a multi-use trail shared by bicyclists and equestrians. Toilets at beach. Bicyclists must leave their bikes at the five-mile mark (Waddell Creek crossing) and walk to the falls. Equestrians must exit at the Henry Creek Trail.

Operated by Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

Over the years, our family has enjoyed more than a few memorable Thanksgiving Day feasts at some unusual places with a menu to match. Crab cocktails and French bread on a remote bench at Fisherman's Wharf was a standout experience, only slightly ahead of granola bars and apples on Angel Island. These outings are easier to arrange when the “broader family” lives elsewhere. Getting together in Denver with the rest of the clan was an infrequent happening in those days. Fisherman's Wharf and Angel Island were choice outings, but our all-time favorite (the four children now out of the house or interested in other things) was a Thanksgiving Day hike to Berry Creek Falls in Big Basin. Winter rains came early that year, and we reckoned that Waddell Creek and the falls would be running strong.

Our destination was one of our favorite benches, located on the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail with a clear view of Berry Creek Falls. This 65-foot curtain of water is arguably the most spectacular of all waterfalls in the Bay Area, especially in the winter months after a few heavy rainstorms. But before we started the hike, a little menu-planning was in order. This is what we took--all in the spirit of the day:

-        a few slices of sliced turkey from the deli

-        a small can of cranberry sauce

-        dried mashed potato mix

-        a package of gravy mix

-        two pumpkin bars for dessert

-        a bottle of wine     

We also packed two quarts of water, a backpack stove with fuel, two small saucepans, plastic plates, eating utensils, and something waterproof to sit on. All of this fit nicely in a large daypack.

The drive down Highway 1 to the trailhead at Waddell Beach is always a beautiful start to any hiking day, but especially on Thanksgiving Day, when the traffic is light. If the day is warm, you may be tempted to stop at beaches along the way (San Gregorio, Pomponio, Pescadero, and Bean Hollow), but visit them another day, and carry on past Pigeon Point Lighthouse and Ano Nuevo State Reserve to Waddell Beach. Park at the large beach parking lot or at roadside parking next to the trailhead.

The hike begins at the Rancho de Oso gate on a wide service road. The first half-mile borders the Theodore S. Hoover National Preserve. Named for the founder and dean of Stanford University's Engineering and Mining School, the brother of President Herbert Hoover surveyed the property while a student at Stanford. He promised that someday he would earn enough money to buy the land, which he did in 1913. In the early 1970s, his descendants began the process of turning the property over to the people of California. Today, the preserve is a freshwater marsh that is the protected home of more than 150 species of birds.

A short distance past the ranger station, the trail splits with hikers heading up on a single-track trail along the hillside and the service road (for bicyclists, equestrians, and residents), continuing along the valley floor. The trail moves up into the Waddell Creek drainage basin for the next five-plus miles.

To finish the history lesson, William White Waddell was an adventurous pioneer and lumberman who built a large lumber mill near Camp Herbert, forming a backpack camping location (now closed). Finished lumber was hauled out on a five-mile wooden rail system with flat cars pulled by four horse teams. Waddell died in 1875 from injuries suffered in a surprise encounter with a grizzly bear. Incidentally, this area and all of California have been free of grizzly bears for many decades. Mountain lions are known to have roamed through Big Basin, but I've never seen one—here or in any other Bay Area wilderness area.

The single-track hiking trail rejoins the service road at Alder Trail Camp., another former backpacking campground. For the next five miles, you will meander up the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, alongside Waddell Creek with its streamside vegetation of sycamore, alder, and maple trees under tall redwoods and through pretty meadows. Passing by Camp Herbert, the trail crosses East Waddell Creek on a stout steel bridge. In a few more miles, the service road trail ends at a signboard and a bicycle parking rack.

At this point, you must cross the creek, hopping boulders and logs, which can be a bit dicey if the water is high. On the other side of the creek, the trail climbs up a short distance, then back down to Waddell Creek. After one more creek-crossing, the trail climbs along creekside to a signed junction. Straight ahead is the viewing platform facing Berry Creek Falls. You should visit this platform before heading back, but your mission is to capture the bench, so turn right at the signed junction, cross a wooden bridge, and climb the hillside to the first switchback. This is the spot for your Thanksgiving feast.

Now you do what comes naturally. Boil water and add potatoes. Cover the pan, and use the second pan to boil water. Add gravy. Dish both over the turkey. Pour the wine, and enjoy a feast to remember.

It's possible that someone found the bench first, or that the river is too high to cross, or that your six-mile spirit is willing, but the flesh prefers three. Wherever you end up, sit down and eat. Remember to enjoy the journey; the destination is wherever you want it to be.

Where ever you go…what ever you do…HAPPY THANKSGIVING