Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail

The CZU Lightning Complex fires were wildfires that burned in Northern California starting in August 2020. The fire complex consisted of fires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, including fires that had previously been separately tracked as the Warnella and Waddell fires. The firefighting effort was primarily administered by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).The first fires started around 3:30 A.M. on August 16, 2020, the result of a thunderstorm that produced close to 11,000 bolts of lightning and started hundreds of fires throughout California. These lightning strikes initially started fires separately known as the Warnella Fire, near Davenport and the Waddell Fire, near Waddell Creek, as well as three fires on what would become the northern edge of the CZU Complex fire. Two days after the fires began, a change in wind conditions caused these three northern fires to rapidly expand and merge, growing quickly to over 40,000 acres.The fires destroyed 1,490 buildings, including in the communities of Boulder Creek, Bonny Doon, Swanton, and along Empire Grade Road. Fires burned in both Butano and Big Basin Redwoods state parks, where a number of historic buildings were destroyed, including the visitor's center at Big Basin.On September 22, Cal Fire reported that the complex, which had covered 86,509 acres (35,009 ha), had been fully contained On December 23 Cal Fire announced that the fire was controlled, stating that the fire was fully extinguished and has no risk of reignition. However, it was later discovered that the fire was not quite completely extinguished; redwoods continued to smolder well into 2021. The abbreviation "CZU" refers to the Cal Fire designation for its San Mateo–Santa Cruz Unit, the administrative division for San Mateo, Santa Cruz and San Francisco counties.One person died in the fires, and one other was injured.The documentary The CZU Fire In Their Own Words – Fighting Fires, Losing Homes, and Rebuilding Community covers the fires and was created and directed by Boulder Creek resident Peter Gelblum .

Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Santa Cruz County, about 36 km (22 mi) northwest of Santa Cruz. The park contains almost all of the Waddell Creek watershed, which was formed by the seismic uplift of its rim, and the erosion of its center by the many streams in its bowl-shaped depression. Big Basin is California's oldest State Park, established in 1902, earning its designation as a California Historical Landmark. Its original 3,800 acres (15 km2) have been increased over the years to over 18,000 acres (73 km2). It is part of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion and is home to the largest continuous stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco. It contains 10,800 acres (44 km2) of old-growth forest as well as recovering redwood forest, with mixed conifer, oaks, chaparral and riparian habitats. Elevations in the park vary from sea level to over 600 m (2,000 ft). The climate ranges from foggy and damp near the ocean to sunny, warm ridge tops. The park has over 130 km (81 mi) of trails. Some of these trails link Big Basin to Castle Rock State Park and the eastern reaches of the Santa Cruz range. The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail threads its way through the park along Waddell Creek to Waddell Beach, and the adjacent Theodore J. Hoover Natural Preserve, a freshwater marsh.The park has many waterfalls, a wide variety of environments (from lush canyon bottoms to sparse chaparral-covered slopes), many species of mammals (deer, raccoons, an occasional bobcat) and abundant bird life – including Steller's jays, egrets, herons and acorn woodpeckers. The CZU Lightning Complex fires in August 2020 burned over 97% of Big Basin and destroyed the park headquarters, closing the park for 2 years during rebuilding efforts before it reopened in Summer 2022.

The Headquarters Administration Building of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County, California, was a historic structure built in 1936 by crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was built out of local materials (redwood logs and stone), and was one of the best-preserved examples of the CCC's work in the California state park system. The building continued to perform its original function, housing the park's administrative offices and serving as a contact point for park visitors, until it was destroyed by the wildfires sparked by the lightning storm of August 16, 2020. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017, and was delisted in 2023.

Little Boulder Creek is an eastward-flowing stream in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Rising in Santa Cruz County near Big Basin Redwoods State Park, it crosses into San Mateo County and empties into Pescadero Creek.

Oil Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek.

Slate Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California, and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek.

Waterman Creek is a 3.0-mile-long (4.8 km) southward-flowing stream in southern San Mateo County, California. Rising near Big Basin Way and the Santa Cruz County line, it empties into Pescadero Creek.In 2008, a conservation organization awarded $32,000 to the San Mateo County Farm Bureau to fund removal of a 12-foot (3.7 m) high, 100-year-old log dam that was preventing steelhead from accessing potential spawning grounds in the upper reaches of the creek.

Iverson Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek. It flows about 0.6 miles (1 km) from its source on Butano Ridge in Pescadero Creek County Park to its mouth in Portola Redwoods State Park.

Tip Toe Falls (also known informally as Tiptoe Falls), is a 6-foot (1.8 m) tall waterfall (though commonly mismeasured from 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.4 m)) on Fall Creek in the Portola Redwoods State Park, California. There is also an 8-foot (2.4 m) upper falls, a few hundred feet upstream, which is much lesser known. The falls, fed by Fall Creek (a tributary of Pescadero Creek) starts by cascading down a mossy, 8 foot (2.4m) upper tier into a small pool. The creek continues downstream between grassy banks, and before long, falls over the more well known, 6 foot (1.8 m) lower tier. The lower tier empties into a round pool approximately 6” deep, before the creek cascades over sticks and rocks and continues its way downstream.

Fall Creek is a small river in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in San Mateo County, California. It is a tributary of Pescadero Creek.The creek flows through a Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest in its short course through a narrow canyon. It is a left-bank tributary of Pescadero Creek and is perennial, being fed by rain in the winter and by fog drip in the summer and fall. Near its mouth, the creek plunges over Tip Toe Falls, a series of two waterfalls that has a total drop of 14 feet (4.2m).

Peters Creek is a 7.3-mile-long (11.7 km) stream in San Mateo County, California, and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek. It flows southwestwards through a small canyon to join Pescadero Creek in Portola Redwoods State Park, near La Honda.

Butano State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, showcasing the secluded redwood-filled canyon of Little Butano Creek, a tributary of Butano Creek in the Pescadero Creek watershed. Located in San Mateo County near Pescadero, the 4,728-acre (1,913 ha) park was established in 1956.