Muir Woods National Monument was a side note on a recent trip to California, but after visiting the national monument, I now understand why it is so popular. Although it is not a large area and this post will be relatively short, I don’t want to understate the natural beauty of Muir Woods. It’s proximity to San Francisco makes it easier to visit than other redwood forests, including the Redwood National Forest in northern California.
Getting There
My husband and I left San Francisco about 8 am on a Tuesday morning and arrived at the Muir Woods parking lot around 8:45 am. It is located 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge on Muir Woods Road. We found the signs very easy to follow and did not have any issues finding parking. There are numerous warnings from the National Park Service about the limited parking available at Muir Woods. If you plan on visiting on a weekend in the summer, it is highly recommended to use the Muir Woods Shuttle or use a local tour company to get to Muir Woods. Because we arrived early on a Tuesday morning in late September, we did not have any issues. In fact we were on of only a few people on the hiking trails.
Hiking
Muir Woods contains 6 miles of hiking trails of which a majority are paved or boardwalked. There are several loops you can take, including a 1/2 hour, 1 hour or 1 1/2 hour loop. The main trail in Muir Woods has 4 bridges along the way that make the loops and we opted to go all the way to the fourth bridge. From there, we took the Hillside trail, an unpaved upper level trail back to the second bridge to make a 2 mile roundtrip hike. There are also numerous trails that connect to the adjacent Mount Tamalpais State Park.
Redwood Groves
There are obviously other types of trees in Muir Woods, but the National Park Service has done a great job identifying the various groves of redwood trees, including the Bohemian Grove and the Cathedral Grove. Although the redwood trees in Muir Woods are not the tallest in California they are still beautiful and mesmerizing.
Photo Opportunities
Because we visited in the morning, the sun was starting to peak through the trees and provided for some amazing photos. In case I haven’t enticed you enough to visit Muir Woods, I decided to include a few more of my favorites pictures.
Even when I look back at these pictures; however, they really don’t do justice to the natural beauty of Muir Woods that you simply need to see in person.
**Tip– There is a small cafe and gift shop near the entrance of Muir Woods, and we purchased a few snacks before heading on our way to Napa Valley. It was also a little chilly the morning we visited and the coffee hit the spot!
If you are visiting Muir Woods as part of a trip to San Francisco, don’t forget to check out my post (here) on what to see and do there!