Hike Skyline to the Sea Trail to Maddock Cabin Site, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California

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Forms loop with either Sequoia (via Slippery Rock trail connector) or Shadowbrook Trails. "You are standing at the site of a pioneer's cabin, home to the Maddock family in the late 1800s. Tom Maddock and his wife Alice traveled from Ireland to California, eventually settling in the Santa Cruz Mountains with their young children. Opal Creek area Trailhead: Across the street from Park Headquarters, at the large Redwood Trail Marker, cross bridge at Opal Creek Comfort Station, turn right.Maddock Cabin Site sign reads "After five years living as squatters in a lean-to near Opal Creek, Tom filed a claim for this site and 100 acres of surrounding forest for $7.50. With just simple hand tools, Tom and his 11-year old son John built a new cabin for the family from a single redwood tree.Think of the challenges Alice faced living alone with her children while Tom traveled to other settlements selling bark from tan oaks.on of pioneer After a decade of life rugged pioneer life and concerns about educating their children, the Maddocks moved down the mountain, close to a school. The Maddock family sold their land in 1902 to the State of California. The cabin was restored in the 1930s and became a popular attraction for park visitors, but later fell into disrepair and was demolished.During the earlier years at the cabin, the Maddock family survived primarily on food from the forest. Eating a simple diet of fish and deer meat and edible plants, the children also enjoyed pies made from wild huckleberries."

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