Driving up to the parking area is steep, and it's a premonition of what the trail will be like. You guessed it, the ascent will be too. However, switchbacks make the climb much easier. Near the top of the ridge, it flattens out and becomes a fire road.

One can start the hike to the Ben Johnson Trail through Muir Woods National Monument by either the Redwood Creek Trail or the Hillside Trail.