Los Altos family donates $6 million to rebuild Big Basin
A Los Altos family has donated $6 million to help rebuild Big Basin Redwoods State Park, a record single contribution for Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks.
The Reyneri family’s gift, announced Monday through the nonprofit, will pay for a new Redwood Ecology Interpretive Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains park. The 2,400-square-foot building is planned as a visitor starting point with a staffed information desk and exhibits on the park’s ecology and history.
Big Basin has been recovering since the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire destroyed the park village and damaged trails and campgrounds. Only part of the park has reopened with limited services, though many of its signature redwoods survived. State Parks is rebuilding roads, power and water systems as part of what officials have described as a decades-long rehabilitation.
The donation was made in honor of Cesare Reyneri, who died in 2023, by his wife Barbara Reyneri and the couple’s three children. The family has long ties to the park, where Cesare Reyneri regularly visited with relatives.
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