The Redwood Trail is an interpretive loop trail which is easily accessed from across park headquarters. The trail leaves from Big Basin's main parking area and travels from point to point where an interpretive brochure explains each marker. Many of Big Basin's ecological features can be found on this loop trail and the largest tree in all of Big Basin - Mother of the Forest - is located on this trail. For those short on time who want to experience the beauty of an old growth Redwood forest, the Redwood Trail is a fine choice.

Coast Redwoods, like these on the Redwood Trail, are the tallest trees in the world

Perspective - a hiker stands beneath a fallen redwood and next to a healthy tree

Looking up at Mother of the Forest - the tallest redwood in Big Basin at 329' high

A redwood burl - also referred to as burlwood is thought to consist of masses of dormant buds which encircle the tree. Huckleberry bush dominates the foreground and is common in the park.

The trunk of Father of the Forest - a massive redwood whose age exceeds 2000 years

The thick, fibrous bark of redwood trees has a high tannin concentration which gives it is reddish color

Father of the Forest - its trunk at the ground is over 66 feet in circumference

The redwood canopy blocks out most sunlight making it a precious commodity within a redwood forest

A redwood depression circle - an indication that a giant coast redwood once stood here for centuries

A man-made pool once existed here in the 1940's before this rare meadow was restored to its natural form in 1952