It's Fun 4 Me!: Muir Woods National Monument, California Redwoods

Monday, February 4, 2013

Muir Woods National Monument, California Redwoods

Okay, we picked up our rental car and said goodbye to the great city of San Francisco. It has been a goal of mine to get my family to a redwood forest. Unfortunately it never works out.... Since we were going to be in Northern California for the first half of this trip I figured it was now or possibly never.... Unfortunately, the great redwoods that I was familiar with from past vacations was too far north to justify the drive. Luckily, a family member reminded me of a smaller forest just 11 miles north of San Francisco!!! First, let me tell you that you can hop on a shuttle in San Francisco to get to this forest. You do not need to have a car!

Here's our experience:

Muir Woods National Monument

Parking: I didn't take a picture of the parking lot but it is small and once it is full you have no other options. It is recommended that you plan your visit for earlier in the day. We got there first thing in the morning but by the time we left cars were circling waiting for an opening.

This picture was a little shaded but I was glad I took in on the way in.
The people I saw trying to snap a shot of this later had sun issues to deal with.

Visitors Center. There is a small park fee to get in. There is also a small shop in the center.
It's a National Park so if you have the park "passport" you can have it stamped here.

Once in the park there is a bigger store, nice restrooms, and food service.

The path is really nice and I believe wheelchair friendly.
There are many trails you can take but the smaller/main trail that we took was perfect for our kiddos.

Lots of unique trees!

Look at how big!!
The trees we saw are not as big as the ones further north (Redwood National Park) but they were
perfect for the rest of my family who have never experienced red woods.