• Tips for Visitors
• Nature
• History

A walk through Muir Woods is a meeting with what one botanist called "a Titan race." The world's most famous grove of virgin redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) grows in a cool, foggy canyon north of the Golden Gate. These tall trees are a spectacular remnant of the vast redwood forests that once graced the slopes and valleys surrounding San Francisco Bay. Easy, flat trails loop through Muir Woods along a creek where salmon spawn each winter. Black-tail deer, gray squirrels, and other wild creatures roam among the majestic redwoods.

At Muir Woods, the average age of the redwoods ranges from 400 to 800 years old; many ancient specimens have been around for more than a millennium. Redwoods grow taller than any other tree species in the world, and thrive in the cool, foggy climate near the coast. Young trees grow from tiny seeds in small cones or sprout from old snags, roots, or burls. The grove's tallest tree stands more than 250 feet high. The only sizable stand of old-growth redwoods remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area, Muir Woods was given national monument status in 1908. ("Old growth" refers to the presence of mature redwoods, seedlings, dead and fallen trees, and diverse understory plants).

The Visitor Center at the Muir Woods entrance has exhibits and an excellent selection of brochures, books, and other information on Muir Woods, including details on hiking, the self-guided walk, and the Junior Ranger program. A café and gift shop is also located near the park entrance.

For details about Muir Woods National Monument, including operating hours, fees, and registration information, visit the National Park Service's website.

No camping, picnicking, smoking, bicycles, or pets are allowed in the monument.

Tips for Visitors

• The paved trails in the monument are wheelchair-accessible.
  
• Park in the Muir Woods lots (two lots, follow the signs). The best time to visit is weekdays, or early or late on weekend days. Summer weekends are very crowded, and parking lots fill quickly.
  
• Visitors 16 years and older must pay an entrance fee.
  
• Escape the crowds by returning to the Visitor Center via the Hillside Trail.
  
• Many of the canyon floor trails are boardwalks, making paths easily accessible to all and giving the massive trees some "legroom."
  
• A nice way to avoid parking problems is to hike in from other park areas. On weekends and holidays, a Golden Gate Transit bus stops on the Panoramic Highway at the Mountain Home Inn, Pantoll, and Bootjack trailheads. From these access points, it's an easy downhill hike to the Woods.

Salmon Spawning in Redwood Creek
During the winter, heavy rains break open the sandbar at Muir Beach where the mouth of Redwood Creek, which flows through Muir Woods, empties into the sea, and sends a stream of fresh water into the Pacific Ocean. The surge of fresh water tells the ocean-going salmon that it's time to return to the stream of their birth to spawn. Fighting their way up the rocky bounds and twists of the creek, the fish arrive battered and exhausted at Muir Woods two or three days later. You can watch the spawning rituals of the brick-red salmon from the footbridges that cross the creek at intervals among the redwoods. First, the male courts the female, chasing other suitors away. Then, the female digs a hollow in the gravel (a redd) and lays eggs. After the male fertilizes the eggs and the female covers them up by swishing loose gravel and sand over them with her tail, the salmon swim listlessly around the pools and shallows of the creek until they die. The biggest spawning runs happen two or three days after a big December, January, or February storm. Salmon runs have declined in recent years, and the NPS is working to restore and enhance habitats in the Redwood Creek watershed to support and encourage their renewal.

Fire
Before European settlers came to the Bay Area, fires burned through the region's forests several times each century. Fire has always been a part of the parks' landscape, whether kindled by storms or by the native people, who used fire to increase seed yields, drive game, and improve visibility for hunting. In the forest, fire actually serves as a natural cleansing agent, clearing out deadwood, killing pests, fertilizing the soil, and giving new plants a chance to grow. Many fire-blackened hollows mark the tree trunks in Muir Woods.

Fog Drip
Northern California has what is known as a Mediterranean climate: wet winters and dry summers. Throughout the year, fog is an important source of moisture. A third of the total moisture available to local plants, including the towering redwoods, is produced by fog drip—a phenomenon in which fog droplets condense on the leaves of trees and coastal scrub. Many California trees and native plants are specifically adapted to make the most of fog drip.

Ladybugs in the Woods
Each year, near the end of May, thousands of ladybugs migrate from California's hot Central Valley to cool coastal areas such as Muir Woods. Clouds of these tiny, bright-red insects swarm and hover among the redwoods during the summer. On cool days, they cluster together to conserve body heat, hanging from branches and shrubs in partial hibernation.

History

Muir Woods Monument Centennial
Muir Woods National Monument, one of the last stands of old-growth coast redwoods in the world, celebrates its 100th anniversary as a National Monument on January 9, 2008. The National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy are proud to be organizing a year-long commemoration of Muir Woods' Centennial Year.

To protect a stand of ancient redwoods in Redwood Canyon, businessman (and later Congressman) William Kent and his wife Elizabeth Thacher Kent donated 298 acres to the federal government. On January 9, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the woods America's 10th National Monument—and the first monument created from land donated by a private individual. Following Kent's wishes, it was named for John Muir, the renowned conservationist who founded the Sierra Club.

The Saving of Muir Woods
Back in Gold Rush times, local forests were being felled right and left in order to build homes, shops, and other facilities for the thousands of people who were descending upon San Francisco. Because it was inaccessible, Muir Woods escaped the saw until 1905, when Marin County conservationist and politician William Kent bought the canyon to save these redwoods. Muir Woods was still in danger, however. Two years later, a local water company sued to condemn the canyon floor for a reservoir. Kent sent a desperate plea for help to President Theodore Roosevelt, who agreed to declare the canyon a national monument. At Kent's special request, the forest was named to honor John Muir.