BIG BASIN REDWOODS - California State Parks - State of California

Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Preliminary General Plan and Draft EIR
May 2012
visual equipment has been upgraded several times through the years,
and is regularly used for campfire programs and special
presentations.
Big Basin Lodge: The Lodge is occasionally used for interpretive
activities, especially for special events such as Founders’ Day. It is also
used for docent training sessions. Historic photos of the park are
displayed on the interior walls. It is not accessible for people with
mobility disabilities.
Wayside Interpretation: Seven outdoor panels and several historic
markers or plaques are located in the Headquarters area. The panel
topics are:
• Don’t feed the wildlife
• Marbled murrelet natural history and conservation
• Habitats and trails of Big Basin
• The Maddock homestead and tanbark harvesting
• “Relics of the Past” - redwoods
• Redwood life span and size (by redwood round).
A time capsule marker from the 1978 State Park’s 50 th anniversary, a
plaque on a historic water fountain dedicated to Andrew P. Hill in
1924, a plaque with information on the CCC’s park development, and
a state historic site marker noting the 1902 founding of the park
could also be considered interpretive features of the park. There is
also a state historic landmark plaque at Slippery Rock
commemorating the founding of the Sempervirens Club.
The Redwood Round display is the most prominent outdoor
interpretation in the Headquarters area. It is a cut section/slice of a
large redwood trunk. It was originally installed by the CCC in the
1930s. The original round was in deteriorating condition by the
1990s. The district replaced it with a contemporaneous round that
had been displayed inside at the Los Angeles Museum of Science and
Industry. The enclosure is still the Big Basin original. The round is
marked with dates in human history and is located adjacent to the
Headquarters Administration building.
Rancho del Oso
Nature and History Center: The Nature and History Center is the main
interpretive facility in the coastal section of the park. It is currently
open on weekends. The center includes interpretive exhibits, a small
interpretive sales counter, a meeting space, a reference library for
docents and staff, and a small office for the seasonal park interpretive
specialist.
The current interpretive exhibit topics are native flora and fauna, and
RDO history. A taxidermied grizzly bear is the highlight. The Nature
and History Center has also hosted nature-oriented art exhibits. The
Existing Conditions
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