Muir Woods National Monument, National monument in Marin County, United States
Muir Woods is a protected area of coast redwoods in Marin County, north of San Francisco, where dense foliage from trees several hundred years old shades the valleys. The trees rise more than 250 feet (76 meters) and form a closed canopy, while a shallow creek runs through the floor and keeps the forest ground moist.
A California congressman transferred the land to the federal government in 1908 after loggers had started clearing forests further north. President Roosevelt signed the proclamation and protected the valley as one of the first monuments of its kind in the early 20th century.
William Kent chose the name to honour John Muir, the naturalist and writer whose advocacy helped establish national parks; Muir never visited the grove. Kent, elected to Congress in 1910, helped create the National Park Service. Alice Eastwood, curator at the California Academy of Sciences, organised a drive to raise $80,000 to buy forest land from the North Coast Water Company.
The approach follows a winding mountain road, and travelers should reserve parking before arrival because capacity is limited. Wide wooden boardwalks lead through the main area and allow easy access, while steeper side trails climb higher into the slopes.
The redwoods here were spared because they stood on a slope too steep for loggers to reach, while trees elsewhere on Mount Tamalpais were felled to build San Francisco and, after 1906, to rebuild it. The oldest tree in the monument is said to be over 1,100 years old, and the tallest reach about 79 metres.
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