Muir Woods (Redwood Creek)
Mill Valley, Marin · near Mill Valley · SF Bay Area
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 4.7 miles
- Elevation gain
- 1,050 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Year-round · Winter/spring for creek flow and coho salmon; weekday mornings to beat crowds
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- MANDATORY advance parking OR shuttle reservation for all vehicles and shuttle riders (gomuirwoods.com, up to 90 days out). $10 parking + $4 shuttle + $15/adult NPS entrance. No on-site parking without a booking.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Old-growth coast redwoods (250+ ft) · Flat accessible valley boardwalk · Cathedral Grove · Ben Johnson–Dipsea loop · Connects to Mt Tam
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Book your parking/shuttle slot the moment you have a date — this is the one Marin hike you cannot improvise. No cell signal in the canyon.
The guide
The Bay Area's most famous stand of old-growth redwoods, and deservedly so — trees to 250-plus feet in a fern-floored canyon 12…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Muir Woods (Redwood Creek) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.8927, -122.5719