Background
Berry Creek Falls Loop is an 11-mile trail in California's Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The loop goes on the Skyline To The Sea Trail and also the Sunset Trail. The hike can be done in either direction but to come up to the falls and see better views, go clockwise along Berry Creek and connect to Sunset Trail. In this case, the second part of the hike, Sunset Trail, is more difficult with ups and downs. Getting into the park costs $10 and you need to pay in cash at the stand (credit cards are supposedly accepted in the visitor center). The park gets very busy all week long and it is hard to find a place to park.
I went on Berry Creek Falls Loop on Saturday, July 13th, 2019, starting on the loop at about 1:00PM and the waterfalls were still flowing well. When I started the hike, I accidentally went the wrong direction on Skyline To The Sea Trail when entering it from a bridge, costing me an hour and half detour (I had originally started hiking at 11:15AM). Make sure to go the correct direction on this trail! There is a sign that says this is a strenuous hike once you approach the loop and that it will take 6-hours from there. Start to finish, with breaks for eating and photos, it took me 4 hours, 15 minutes to do this loop from that sign with a detour on part of it. It is still a bit further, 20 minutes or so, from this sign to the parking lot areas.
Overall, I think these are some of the best waterfalls in the San Francisco Bay Area. It took about an hour and half on a winding, narrow road, to get to the park. Bug spray is helpful to bring. Most of the hike is in the shade so sunscreen helps only a bit. Have ample water and some food for this hike, it can get muddy on the trail so have appropriate footwear.
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