California’s oldest state park has expanded, as part of a restorative effort after a 2020 fire ravaged the park, state park officials say.
California State Parks and Sempervirens Fund — the state’s first land trust and the only organization dedicated exclusively to protecting the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains — announced the “addition of the 153-acre NoraBella property to expand Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek,” California State Parks said in a Feb. 19 news release.
The $2.415 million acquisition marks the first expansion for Big Basin in 15 years, with the park’s last addition being the Little Basin property in 2011, park officials said.
“Big Basin is California’s oldest state park, and this keystone expansion will help accelerate the park’s recovery from the devastating 2020 CZU wildfire while supporting the Newsom administration’s Outdoors for All and 30×30 initiatives,” California State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in the news release. “NoraBella is the gateway into Big Basin and will serve as a world-class entrance to the park’s new visitor center for generations to come.”
Big Basin Redwoods State Park features ancient redwoods
Big Basin Redwoods, established in 1902, is in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains, state park officials said.
“Its biggest attractions — literally — are its ancient coast redwoods,” park officials said. “Some of these giants are more than 50 feet around and as tall as the Statue of Liberty. At 1,000 to 1,800 years old, some may predate the Roman Empire.
The park also features “spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, many babbling brooks, and a fascinating natural and cultural history,” according to park officials.
Fire burned 97% of Big Basin Redwoods State Park’s forest
In 2020, the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned more than 97% of the state park’s forest area, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The fire, which started on Aug. 16, 2020 after “hundreds of lightning strikes in the Pacific coastal mountains” and took more than a month to fully contain, decimated the park’s ecosystems, wildlife officials said.
“Prior to the CZU fire, nearly all of (the park) was covered with dense live vegetation cover,” wildlife officials said.
The park partially reopened under a limited-access day-use reservation system in July 2022, according to state park officials.
The park continues to use a limited day-use access model as a rebuilding project is ongoing, with more trails and areas gradually reopening, according to the project’s website, Reimagining Big Basin.
These redwoods offer a ‘forest of hope’
Despite the fire’s widespread effects, the park is healing, according to the nonprofit Save the Redwoods League.
In addition to wildlife once again roaming the forest, the coast redwoods are “growing back at a phenomenal rate,” the nonprofit said.
“There is something so inspiring about seeing a forest that was ravaged by fire spring back with such stunning beauty,” Debra Martwick, senior visitor services aide at Big Basin, told Save the Redwoods League in 2025. “I call it a ‘forest of hope.’”
Protecting NoraBella, ‘The Gateway to Big Basin’
State park officials said they have had their sights set on protecting NoraBella, known as the Gateway to Big Basin, since before the 2020 fire, “due to its thriving natural ecosystems.”
“The land, habitats, waterways, and redwoods at NoraBella have been through so much over more than a century — from clearcutting, to being treated like a junkyard, to the CZU wildfire — and it feels like redemption to finally secure the forest’s future as part of Big Basin,” Sempervirens Fund Executive Director Sara Barth said in the release. “Even before the 2020 wildfire, we knew NoraBella would provide a dramatic entranceway to Big Basin, and enhance the conservation values of the park.”
By the turn of the 20th century, NoraBella “was almost entirely clear-cut of redwood trees,” park officials said.
“A century later, the entire 153-acre NoraBella property is forested across three ridges down into creeks, waterfalls and canyons, forming a miniature basin of its own next to Big Basin,” park officials said.
Wildlife observed on the property include mountain lions and gray foxes, according to state park officials.
“NoraBella is a conservation gem,” David Cowman, Sempervirens Fund’s director of land stewardship, said in the release. “Permanent protection of NoraBella as part of Big Basin is critical to ensure the long-term health of the Boulder Creek watershed and the San Lorenzo River system it supports.”
The future of Big Basin Redwoods State Park
After the CZU wildfire, state park officials said they started Reimagining Big Basin: a “first-of-its-kind planning effort to reimagine a state park.”
With the fire leaving nearly all the park’s facilities, infrastructure and trails lost or badly damaged, state park officials have worked to create a new vision for the park.
“This year, State Parks expects to adopt the Facilities Management Plan, a General Plan Amendment, and Supplemental Environmental Impact Report that have been prepared to implement the renewed vision for the park,” park officials said.
From there, park officials said they will begin to design the buildings, which include a new visitor center and recreational facilities, such as campgrounds.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California’s oldest state park expands after devastating fire in 2020
Reporting by Daniella Segura, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
