John Muir National Historic Site — Attraction in Martinez

Martinez' chief tourist attraction is another example of why the National Park Service is America's Best Treasure. The Muir House, as the locals call it, was originally the home and ranch of Naturalist John Muir's father-in-law, Dr Strentzil. Upon designation from the Park Service, the grounds were renamed the John Muir National Historical Site which have neatly housed priceless artifacts, writings, photographs, ramblings, and in an almost magical way, the very spirit of the "father of the National Parks" , the late, great John Muir. After marrying Strenzil's fiercely independent yet touchingly loyal daughter, Louie, Muir moved to the Strenzil ranch where he and Louie raised their family of two daughters, Helen and Wanda. He found Martinez to be his "home base" between many famous expeditions and frequent trips to his beloved Yosemite Valley. Often criticized by outsiders for being away more than at home, his wife, Louie was adamant in her insistence John be free to "climb the mountains and get their glad tidings" which he then would share with the world through his writings, observations and drawings. In a country where now climate change is a threat to the existence of humanity, it is truly a blessing to have the works of America's greatest environmentalist and lover of nature close at hand. Many of the best proposals for saving the earth from the ravages of mankind have come from scholars utilizing the grounds and materials available at the site. The local non profit support groups, The John Muir Association as well as the Muir Heritage Land Trust continue Muir's work on a day to day schedule as well as fund raise for the protection of open space near the park and to support the efforts of the NPS...

This historic site is beautiful and a must-see/do for anyone who loves national parks and wants to know more about the history and story of John Muir.

The grounds are not large at all, but it is very beautiful. It is completely free to tour the grounds, you can take a self-guided tour with an audio narrative using your cell phone. There are numbers along the tour, where you call the number the rangers give you, you also don't have to use up your minutes on your phone by staying online till you reach the next station, you can call back and pick up where you left off when you reach the next station. It's really cool.

I love that this historic site is so close to where I live, the parking area is small but there is parking across the street if the onsite one is all filled up. The tour doesn't take the long, but like I said the ground are beautiful, it's hard not to just take a long stroll through the grounds. It's peaceful.

I saw the video at the end, and I must say it's really empowering. I found his life to be quite fascinating, especially after watching the video! I highly recommend visiting...

I was in Richmond the other day and searched for somewhere I could spend some time, and I decided to visit this NHS in Martinez. I knew I was visiting home of John Muir, but I was astonished to find John Muir was the Father of the National Park System! I was so excited because I just visited some national parks and I liked them all! There was self-guided audio tour available. You could scan the code at the visitor center, or call the phone number on each sign inside the park. By pressing the stop number, you would hear stories about the life of John Muir and his family. The house was also open for visitors. When you go into the house, just grab a brochure at the entrance, read through it while walking in the house, return it before leaving the house. The house was well maintained and the tour brochure was well organized. It was like you were there and the history uncovered in front of you. That was so cool. The rangers were very friendly and helpful too. If you are in Bay Area and love national parks, this is definitely a place that...