Big Basin's Rebuilding Plan Is Approved: What's Coming and When

If you've been waiting to camp or wander Big Basin again, the plan that makes it possible finally has a signature on it. On July 2, 2026, California State Parks approved the Reimagining Big Basin Facilities Management Plan and a related amendment to the park's General Plan, the roadmap for rebuilding California's oldest state park after the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire burned through nearly all of it.

That's a milestone, not a ribbon-cutting. State Parks describes design, permitting, and phased construction stretching over several years, so the park you visit today, limited day use with much still closed, won't change overnight. The official Big Basin Redwoods State Park page and the Reimagining Big Basin site remain the source of truth as this moves forward.

What was approved

Two linked documents got the green light: an amendment to the Big Basin Redwoods State Park General Plan, and the adoption of the Facilities Management Plan that spells out how the park will be rebuilt.

The action was recorded in a Notice of Determination filed with the state on July 6, 2026, after an environmental review process that included public comment. What that means on the ground: the vision is now official, and the park can move from planning into design and construction.

Behind all of it is the 2020 CZU fire, which burned the great majority of Big Basin and destroyed nearly every building, including the historic headquarters. Most of the ancient redwoods survived. Roads, water systems, campgrounds, and visitor facilities did not, which is why rebuilding is a years-long project rather than a quick repair.

What the rebuilt park is meant to look like

State Parks has described a park that treats the old-growth core more gently than the pre-fire layout did. The main pieces:

• A lighter-touch day-use hub. The former headquarters area is set to be rebuilt as a smaller, more ecologically sensitive day-use hub, with less paving and building footprint than before and restored forest habitat.
• A new entrance at Saddle Mountain. The plan calls for a new park entrance at Saddle Mountain with a visitor center, café, and store, plus parking. From there, visitors would take a roughly 15-minute shuttle into the old-growth core, a system meant to run on weekends year-round and to keep car traffic out of the most sensitive groves.
• Rebuilt campgrounds, in different places. Campgrounds are slated to return at forest-edge locations, including Huckleberry, Lower and Upper Sky Meadow, Sequoia Group Camp, and Little Basin, with a mix of car camping, cabins, walk-in sites, group sites, and trail camps. Three campgrounds that sat in sensitive old-growth stands, Blooms Creek, Sempervirens, and Wastahi, are slated to be removed and the land restored to habitat.
• A cultural center at Little Basin. The plan includes a new cultural center at Little Basin for partnership with Indigenous groups, tied to ecological restoration and cultural activities. State Parks identifies the park as ancestral homelands of the Quiroste and Cotoni peoples.

These are the plan's intentions as approved. Exact designs, locations, and amenities can still shift through the engineering and permitting stages, so treat specifics as direction, not a finished blueprint.

What happens next

Approval starts the clock on the slow part. State Parks describes the next phases as design, permitting, and phased construction over several years, with individual pieces of the park reopening as they're built and made safe rather than all at once.

There's no single reopening date, and State Parks has not published construction start dates for the campgrounds, visitor center, or shuttle. Until those facilities are built, Big Basin continues to run on its recovery pattern of limited day use, 8 a.m. to sunset, with campgrounds in the main park closed.

So if you're waiting to camp at Big Basin again: this is the plan that makes it possible, and it will still be a while. Watch the official park page for milestone announcements.

Why this matters for Boulder Creek

Boulder Creek has been Big Basin's front door since the park was founded in 1902, and Highway 236 runs from downtown straight to the entrance. How the park rebuilds shapes traffic, tourism, and the rhythm of the season here, from a shuttle model that could change how visitors move through town to the timeline for when the campgrounds, and the visitors they bring, return.

For the fuller story of how the park came to be, read how Big Basin became California's first state park. To plan a visit under current conditions, see is Big Basin open.

Frequently asked questions

Was Big Basin's rebuilding plan really approved?

Yes. California State Parks approved the Reimagining Big Basin Facilities Management Plan and a General Plan Amendment on July 2, 2026, recorded in a Notice of Determination filed July 6, 2026. It's the official roadmap for rebuilding the park after the 2020 fire.

When will Big Basin be fully rebuilt and reopened?

There's no single date. State Parks describes design, permitting, and phased construction over several years, with parts of the park reopening as they're completed. No construction start or campground reopening dates have been published. Check parks.ca.gov/bigbasin for milestones.

Will camping come back to Big Basin?

That's the plan. Approved documents call for rebuilt campgrounds at forest-edge sites like Huckleberry, Sky Meadow, Sequoia Group Camp, and Little Basin, while three old-growth campgrounds are removed and restored. Until they're built, main-park campgrounds stay closed.

What is the Saddle Mountain entrance and shuttle?

The plan calls for a new entrance at Saddle Mountain with a visitor center, café, store, and parking, where visitors would board a roughly 15-minute shuttle into the old-growth core, aimed at reducing car traffic in sensitive areas. It isn't built yet.

Can I visit Big Basin right now?

Yes, for limited day use, 8 a.m. to sunset, with much of the park still closed while it recovers. See our is Big Basin open guide and confirm conditions on the official park page before you go.

We'll update this as State Parks announces rebuilding milestones. For current park conditions, the official source is always the Big Basin Redwoods State Park page. Spot something here that's out of date? Send it to us. Last reviewed July 20, 2026.