On The Road In The Parks: Muir Woods, Muir Beach, And Point Bonita Light

Nightmarish parking conditions might dissuade all but the most resolute from visiting Muir Woods National Monument in California, but it’s absolutely worth the hassle. Once you leave your rig behind you will disappear into the coolness of the tall trees. Meld with the moss; it’s a great way to spend a fall day. As for parking, help is on the way.

The world has grown up around the monument that President Theodore Roosevelt created in 1908 through the use of the Antiquities Act. A century later, asphalt, buildings, and long streaming lines of vehicles winding through the neighborhoods of Mill Valley, California, have risen up along the approach to Muir Woods. But at the end of the road, Muir Woods and nearby Muir Beach and Point Bonita at Golden Gate National Recreation Area embrace you.

The monument, designated to honor John Muir’s environmental consciousness, is only 553 acres in size. But beneath the towering coastal Redwoods you will find a wonderful network of hiking trails to some of the highlights — Founders Grove, the Bohemian Grove, the Cathedral Grove — as well as up to surrounding Mount Tamalpais State Park or down to the crashing breakers at Stinson Beach.

If you need to cool off and don't want to hike all the way down to Stinson Beach and back, head three miles south along Highway 1 to Muir Beach. This small but alluring sweep of sandy beach is pinched between hillsides and is inviting on hot days. The cool — OK, cold — waters of the Pacific Ocean will take the heat off your shoulders. It’s a great place to enjoy a picnic dinner as the Pacific Ocean swallows the sun.

The beach is part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and to get to the beach you’ll walk along a 450-foot-long pathway from the parking area over the surrounding Redwood Creek flood plain. During the fall months look for some of the thousands of Monarch butterflies that come to winter in the pine grove. Come back during the winter and you just might catch sight of whales migrating down the coastline.

Wrap up your road trip with a visit to Point Bonita Lighthouse, which is just 14 miles (but a half-hour in the hectic traffic) south of Muir Woods. Located at the southern tip of the Marin Headlands at the mouth to San Francisco Bay, the lighthouse went into service at this location in 1870. It's still operational and is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. The lighthouse is reached by a half-mile trail. A tunnel you pass through to reach the lighthouse is only open Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

As for the parking woes at Muir Woods, which might have you parking on the roadside and walking a mile or two? Consideration is being given to a reservation system to complement the existing shuttle system from Mill Valley. Stay tuned.