To say that California’s Big Basin State Park’s newest addition hasn’t had its fair share of trials and tribulations is an understatement. A 153-acre plot of redwood-shrouded land, located on the park’s doorstep, NoraBella was subjected to a series of woes before being acquired by California State Parks. It began with commercial loggers at the turn of the 20th century. They came for the timber, prized for its rich color and texture, resistance to rot, and durability, and in the process, nearly clear-cut the entire area. A century later, NoraBella was featured in the A&E show “Hoarders,” when then owner, Roy Kaylor, faced a years-long legal battle after purchasing the property in 1984 and subsequently gathering piles of broken-down cars, camper vans, rusted boats, and dilapidated buses.

While it was most recently owned by a redwoods conservation land trust, according to a press release, NoraBella was recently acquired by California State Parks and is set to be incorporated into Big Basin State Park. California’s oldest state park, Big Basin, was established in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1902, offering the redwoods protection against logging. It’s a sprawling wilderness, encompassing more than 18,000 acres of mountain streams, trickling falls, shaded hiking trails, and gigantic redwoods, some of which are 1,800 years old and stand more than 300 feet tall. 

Unfortunately, wildfires blazed through Big Basin in August of 2020, causing widespread destruction. The 37-day conflagration affected 97 percent of Big Basin State Park, destroying redwoods, trails, and wildlife habitats, as well as the historic headquarters, the nature center, and campground facilities. California State Park Director Armando Quintero said that the purchase of NoraBella would “…accelerate [Big Basin’s] recovery,” and that the property, with its forested ridges, waters feeding into Boulder Creek, and wildlife that includes mountain lions and gray foxes, will “…serve as a world-class entrance to the park’s new visitor center.”Â