Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
at busy times, a short hike will get you out of the densest crowds and onto trails with huge
trees and stunning vistas. A lovely cafe serves local and organic goodies and hot drinks
that hit the spot on foggy days.
Activities
The 1-mile
Main Trail Loop
is a gentle walk alongside Redwood Creek to the 1000-year-
old trees at
Cathedral Grove
; it returns via
Bohemian Grove
, where the tallest tree in the
park stands 254ft high. The
Dipsea Trail
is a good 2-mile hike up to the top of aptly
named
Cardiac Hill
.
You can also walk down into Muir Woods by taking trails from the Panoramic Hwy,
such as the
Bootjack Trail
from the Bootjack picnic area, or from Mt Tamalpais' Pantoll
Station campground, along the
Ben Johnson Trail
.
Getting There & Away
The parking lot is insanely full during busy periods, so consider taking the seasonal
Muir
Woods Shuttle
(Route 66F;
www.marintransit.org
; round trip adult/child $5/free; weekends &
holidays late-Mar-Oct)
. The 40-minute shuttle connects with Sausalito ferries arriving from
San Francisco before 3pm.
To get there by car, drive north on Hwy 101, exit at Hwy 1 and continue north along
Hwy 1/Shoreline Hwy to the Panoramic Hwy (a right-hand fork). Follow that for about 1
mile to Four Corners, where you turn left onto Muir Woods Rd (there are plenty of signs).
Muir Beach
The turnoff to Muir Beach from Hwy 1 is marked by the longest row of mailboxes on the
north coast. Muir Beach is a quiet little town with a nice beach, but it has no direct bus ser-
vice. Just north of Muir Beach there are superb views up and down the coast from the
surrounding concrete lookouts for invading Japanese ships.
Sleeping & Eating