Waddell Creek is the name given to both the creek

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 and the watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 that run through Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Santa Cruz County, about northwest of Santa Cruz. The park contains almost all of the Waddell Creek watershed, which was formed by the seismic uplift of its rim, and the erosion of its center by the many...

 in Santa Cruz County

Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. There are actually several smaller creeks, including both East and West Waddell Creeks, which become Waddell Creek halfway through the park, before reaching Waddell Beach and emptying into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

Western Waddell Creek and then Waddell Creek mostly coexist with the 34.5 mi. (55.5 km) hiking trail which descends from Sanborn Park

Sanborn Park

Sanborn Park is a public park situated in the Santa Cruz Mountains owned and managed by the county of Santa Clara, California. The park, originally named Sanborn-Skyline County Park is also known as Sanborn Skyline Park or Sanborn County Park. The holding is heavily forested and offers hiking...

 at the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains

Santa Cruz Mountains

The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...

, called the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail

Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail

The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail is a 29.5-mile hiking trail that descends from the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California to the Pacific Ocean, passing through Castle Rock State Park and Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Big Basin is California's first state park...

. The hike along the creek is very popular among hiking enthusiasts.