Muir Woods Visitor Center — Attraction in Mill Valley

For my first visit to San Francisco, I knew that I HAD to see some Redwood Trees. So, I bought 2 tickets to Muir Woods National Monument AND I reserved a 10:30-11:00 am parking slot. (This is extremely important, folks! If you're going to drive a car to Muir Woods, you have to reserve your parking spot. In fact, this is so important that there are (at least) two digital signs along the highway reminding you to have this reservation before you arrive.)

Anyway, my boyfriend and I arrived right on time in our rented car and had no trouble finding the place (thank you Google Maps) and no trouble parking either. (Make sure you have a copy of your parking voucher with you.)

The weather was stunningly perfect (we were there in early May 2025) with the sun shining through the trees like magical spotlights. Each beam of light just highlighted the woods so beautifully.

Much of the park is paved with a very well-maintained boardwalk, making it possible for wheelchair-bound visitors to enjoy the Woods as easily as anyone else.

I encourage you to be quiet while you're there. It's nice for YOU to enjoy everything more fully, and it allows others to hear the birds, the wind in the leaves, the babbling creek, and all the sounds an ancient forest might make. I also encourage you to read all the signs, sit on several benches (just to savor the majestic scenery), and look up a LOT. Some of those sequoias are 500-800 years old.

There are several routes through the Woods all varying in length. Most are perfectly flat and the only difference in difficulty is distance. Make sure you get a map when you check-in - it's really easy to follow.

For me, this visit was not only a chance to explore nature, but it also felt like an act of worship walking among those giants. I cannot recommend a place more enthusiastically than this one. I wish, oh how I wish, I lived closer so I could go...

When visiting be sure to arrive on a motorcycle or in a RV, because there’s, like, 40 parking spaces available for cars. There were plenty of RV/bus spots open.

This place has Sequoias, but they're not giant Sequoias. Still cool, though. They also have organic cold brewed ice coffee — not sure what “organic” means in this context.

If you can't find a parking spot in the lot, you will have to fallback to attempting to park along the narrow, windy road. There's very little space on the shoulder and no shortage of morons who don't know how to pull completely off the road when parking. The best thing to do is stalk the parking lot and wait for a car to come out. The parking attendant won't want you to do that, so just pretend like you have your head up your a** and don't know how to drive so you can stay put until a spot opens. When the attendant opens the gate, proceed in as if you believed he was waving you in and he will be forced to allow you entry. He won't ask you to back up because you previously established your cluelessness.

There's no WiFi or cell service here, so it'll be like a throwback to the 1920’s before Internet existed. Forget summoning an Uber. There's a Pay Phone (see photo if you're under 30) with which you can use to call a cab. Use the Yellow Pages to locate a cab company. I do not know how much that cab ride would cost, and I'm...

Red woods are 5* but the park organization is a 1*. The maps here are absolutely atrocious. The Vanderbilt trail (probably got the name wrong) after Hillsee (also probably wrong) has this trail map that is U shaped and at each end it says "Muir Woods". It makes you think you'll end up back at the visitors center. You won't. It's not even U shaped according to Google maps. I got to the end of the U and I was WAY far out in a straight line. It also doesn't indicate how long the trail is.

I turned around about 2 miles in after talking to a couple who came from further up indicating there was no return to the center. On the way back, two couples stopped me, confused for exactly the same reasons.

When I got back to the junction back at Hillsee, the signage there pointed back up Hillsee as the only way to the visitors center, when I could've gone left and taken the main bridge 4 route. There was no signage for bridge 4 at this intersection.

It is astounding to me that one of California's most important and popular parks has some of THE WORST trail signage I've ever seen in my life.

All made worse because vanlifers cannot stay more than 2 hours. So I literally had to run back just to get back before my time expired. It ruined my entire peaceful experience. At least half of it was peaceful, but my god. Get...