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Muir Woods National Monument AA - D; *** ; 5+ miles vSJ MORE INFO
Of course, the trees are the point, and if you don't already know what
it is to be in a grove of old growth redwoods, you should use the link
above for more photos and descriptions. It is only my discomfort in
crowds that keeps me from giving this beautiful park my highest rating.
No doubt getting there early, in winter, in bad weather, or all three
would help, and the park is open at 8 am year round. The valley floor trails, totalling almost 2 miles, are all wheelchair
accessible, though even the first, most travelled sections are on the
bumpy side. The boardwalks are of the thump-thump-thump variety and,
not surprisingly, tree roots are very much in evidence pushing up the
asphalt. If you must visit during outdoor "prime time," and like me,
you want to find more solitude, try the trails that climb the sides
of the canyon. There are several I haven't visited, but I can report
that Ocean View and Fern Creek Trails both became too
steep and narrow for me after less than a hundred feet. We had better
luck at the next junction, Eastwood Trail (clearly signed, but
not named on the map provided) which is wide, fairly well graded hard
fine gravel, and, though it's a long climb, has only a few uncomfortably
steep stretches. Over about a mile, it switchbacks past smaller redwoods
until it reaches the mixed woods and shrubbery above, passing grassy
clearings where the sun reaches the ground to end outside Muir Woods
Monument, at the Alice Eastwood group campground, which has accessible
restrooms, though they may be locked.
If you know how accessible other trails in the Monument are, including Bootjack, Ben Johnson, and Hillside, please email me! Details: A free Golden
Gate Transit shuttle bus serves Muir Woods every half hour on weekends
and holidays. Driving, from Highway 101 north of Sausalito, take Highway
1 about three miles towards Stinson Beach, turn right on Panoramic Highway,
and after one mile, left on Muir Woods Drive, one mile down the steep
winding grade to the park. Six van-accessible designated parking spaces
are by the (accessible) restrooms in the usually crowded parking lot.
More restrooms are near the café. |
Muir
Woods may be the most-visited nature preserve in the Bay Area, which
is to say, you may encounter more people than trees there-and that's
a lot. Especially within the first 0.5 mile of the entrance, the trails
were so crowded even on a weekday morning that it was hard to look up
at the giant trees without bumping into someone. Fortunately the paved
trails and boardwalks have low rails to keep the crowds on course, also
frequent pullouts with benches, where it's safer to enjoy the scenery.
Fortunately,
you need to go less than a quarter mile to visit remarkable old growth
coastal redwoods, including a hollow one that has been ramped for wheelchairs.
These coastal redwoods are smaller in girth than the giant Sequoias
found in the Sierra. Some of them have space inside for a small
car.
We
met only a handful of other hikers on this trail, and the experience
of leaving and reentering the canyon enriched our enjoyment of its cathedral-columned
green shadows and cool humid fragrance.