Muir Woods

Muir Woods was the 1 place in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco that I heard for years that I should visit.  On Day 6, I finally got there.  It didn’t disappoint.  And I made a whole day of it.  First, morning in Sausalito.  Then a hike around Muir Woods National Monument in addition to a visit to see the tall trees.  Finally, and for the 2nd time of the 2018 sightseeing season, I took the ferry back to San Francisco.

Sausalito

Just like I’d done on Day 5, I took the bus over the Golden Gate Bridge in the morning to get where I was going.  But it was only the 1st part of the journey.  To deal with overcrowding, the National Park Service instituted a mandatory reservation system for visiting Muir Woods.  People driving there have to make a reservation for parking.  People like me getting there by public transportation have to make a reservation for the shuttle bus.

So I took the bus over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco to Sausalito, where I’d pick up the shuttle bus to Muir Woods.  Sausalito is southern Marin County’s picturesque seaside city on San Francisco Bay.  (Does that make it technically a bayside city?)  Before catching the shuttle to Muir Woods, I had breakfast and, of course, took some pictures.

Muir Woods National Monument

Okay, enough of seaside (bayside?) Sausalito.  On to the main event!

After a half-hour shuttle ride from Sausalito, I arrived at Muir Wood National Monument.  Muir Woods is one of the few remaining old-growth coastal redwood forests in the Bay Area.  Coastal redwoods are the largest living trees on earth, reaching heights up to about 380 feet.

Muir Woods was named after John Muir.  It was the 2nd time this season I’d visited a National Park Service site named after him.  The 1st was of course John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez.  Muir Woods was designated a national monument in 1907, saving it from the logging industry.  It’s now a component of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Muir Woods is located in the valley of Redwood Creek.  A level walkway lines both sides of the creek, making for accessible viewing of the giants.

After viewing the tall trees along the valley floor, I took a hike up and along a ridge above the valley.

The end of my hike brought me back to the valley floor.

Sausalito Ferry

At the end of the day, I took the shuttle back to Sausalito.  From there I caught the ferry back to San Francisco.

And that concludes the North Bay/Marin County portion of my sightseeing.

[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]