I love that my future grandkids will be able to see the same redwoods that we saw on our visit to Muir Woods! So grateful for our national monuments, state and county parks that preserve the natural environment for everyone to enjoy for years to come.
We had attempted going to Muir Woods last year but sadly did not drag our booties out of bed early enough to get decent parking so we planned ahead this time with a good night sleep the night before and planned to actually get up and on the road early.
Success! We got there about 8:30 am (an hour’s drive from home without traffic) and even got to walk in without paying the entrance fee because we were there before the kiosk was staffed…the sign said “free entrance” which was a nice surprise. If you don’t know about Muir Woods, it is just outside San Francisco and extremely touristy….which means bustling with people speaking various languages, some dressed in heels and some in tennis shoes, some with kids and some in wheelchairs. It is that accessible of a park! They did a fabulous job having the boardwalk where you could easily walk on wide paths or stroll with a wheelchair or push your kids in a stroller and learn about the amazing forest that has been preserved for generations.
We decided to head up out of the fog to see what sort of views we would have. It was called Ocean View trail but the fog was so dense we couldn’t see the ocean when we got to the top and had only a little bit of sunshine. The trails were very well maintained most of the way up which made the 1.5 miles up easier to hike.
Loved seeing the forest so dense and untouched. Being among the trees is so peaceful, I could have spent an entire day exploring the various trails. We took the route less traveled and only ran into a handful of other people along the way which was nice. The trails were marked so well we didn’t even get lost! Bonus!
On the way down it was a million stairs…or so it seemed. The hubs and I were thankful we went up the easier way. People heading up the stairs were asking if it was worth it up at the top. Absolutely! It would be worth walking anywhere in there. It’s so beautiful and the variety of trees and plants you get to see is wonderful!
As per usual we took this trail and that trail, stopped at every giant redwood to admire it’s beauty and respect it’s age, and enjoyed seeing the variety of people that we suddenly started seeing. Apparently the buses of tourists had showed up while we were up exploring.
Seriously, if you are in San Francisco, take a side trip and check out Muir Woods then head out to Muir Beach for a little whale watching. Sometimes we want to pinch ourselves with how amazing North Bay is with all the open land so close to a major metropolitan city.
After our visit at Muir Woods we headed north on Highway 1 and stopped a few times along the way to enjoy the ocean view through the fog. We stopped in Olema, a small town along Highway 1, and had lunch outside while people watching. It was a combination of ranchers, surfers and yuppies walking around. And some old dude that jingled as he walked from all the charms hanging from his neck. After lunch we headed inland toward Petaluma and home to explore one of our frontage roads we hadn’t been on before…hello strawberry stand! Thank you for being open! Amazing delicious tiny strawberries picked just before we bought them! I am ready to go back and get more already!
One of our favorite days in our gorgeous area we live in!
I’ll let the pics below describe our day in more detail. The beauty we saw is way better than any words I could possibly come up with!
Ranchers, surfers, and yuppies…that is quite the “people stew”! Walking among those trees had to have been peaceful. I can almost smell the forest just from looking at your amazing pictures. 🙂
Oh good! I was hoping the pics would convey the beauty we saw and felt! I like your term “people stew”! That is exactly what it was and we loved seeing it =)
wonderful pictures. Parking in Muir Woods has always been a trick. Paying the park entrance fee is kind of on the honor system so if $$ is keeping anybody from seeing the park, you should just go. We are very lucky to have such beautiful places in such close proximity in the Northbay.
I love Muir Woods! So beautiful and your photos are gorgeous. My husband and I did a trail run there about five years ago. Yes quite the hills!
This is on my bucket list. Thanks for wonderful pictures.