Explore Rancho del Oso
Located off of Highway 1, Rancho del Oso is a popular stop for nature-lovers and thrill-seekers. Its seven distinct ecosystems make it the best place to find a huge number of the area’s plant and animal species, and its geography makes it a great place to hike, bike, and kite-surf.
The land of Rancho del Oso was incorporated into Big Basin in the 1970s after being donated by Hulda Hoover McLean, to fulfill her wish of the park reaching all the way to the ocean. In fact, Hulda donated her house to the park, and it became our Nature and History Center. Visitors can still see many of Hulda’s watercolors in the center, including above the original mantle of the house.
We highly recommend scheduling both virtual and in-person field trips as means to create a deeper and more meaningful connection for you and your students. Rancho del Oso offers a two-hour in-person field trip that can be adjusted to be suitable for a wide age range. Seeds: Nature’s Stowaways focuses on all the ways seeds end up in new places, especially after a fire. Students learn about different types of native and non-native plants, and how they can help keep plants out of areas where they don’t belong.
Rancho del Oso State Park also offers a 45 minute virtual field trip: Burn-Zone Biology. It explores what the park area looks like before and after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, mostly by sharing objects found around the park after the fire.