Muir Woods National Monument

I have heard that visiting Muir Woods today is a different experience than it was. Reservations are required and there are timed entries in order to manage the number of people visiting the park each day.

The few times I visited Muir Woods National Monument there was more flexibility. My strategy was the same: arrive before the park opened. I wanted to be standing at the gate as the park opened.

Once inside, we would walk straight down the quiet park to a particular tree that you sit inside. Being the first ones there made it possible to capture that special photography before anyone else arrived. In those early morning moments, the forest felt still. The towering redwoods, the light filtering through the branches and the quiet created an atmosphere that is unforgettable.

Muir Woods protects one of the last remaining stands of coast redwood, the tallest trees on earth. Some of the giants here rise more than 250 feet into the sky, and many are hundreds of years old. Walking beneath them feels cathedral-like, which is why one of the best-known sections of the park is called Cathedral Grove.

The monument was established in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt, after conservationist William Kent donated the land to the federal government to protect the redwoods from logging. Kent names the forest in honor of naturalist John Muir, whose writing helped inspire the early conservation movement in the United States.