When some people think of California, they think of big cities and the beach, but there is so much more to offer! California is covered with some of the oldest trees alive. Thankfully, Muir Woods became a National Monument and these redwoods were able to be preserved. Some of the trees in Muir Woods are over 600 years old! So, naturally, we had to go check this place out.
At Muir Woods you have to reserve a spot to visit the park. Online, it is a 1 hour time slot, but as long as you arrive near your time slot you can park and stay as long as you'd like. There is limited cell service so be sure to download your maps or things you would like to do prior to heading into the monument.
We stopped at Cafe Del Soul for food just before heading to the park and I highly recommend it! Their food was very 'soulful'.
We ate it in the parking lot of Muir Woods and then headed in.
These trees are just...huge. In the picture below, this tree is dated from 909 A.D. to 1930 when the tree fell.
Being here makes you realize how small you are compared to the forest and earth around you.
There are tons of trails to hike along for any activity level. There is a large paved trail and other trails branching off of it. We did not have an official trail in mind, but when we saw the sign we decided to do the Canopy View Trail - Lost Trail and back to the Redwood Creek Trail.
The trail was relatively easy. We did not wear hiking shoes and had no problem on the trails.
These trees are amazing! They thankfully were not used for logging like many of the other redwoods in California were during the early 1900s. These are considered coast redwood versus the giant sequoias which are in the Sierra Nevada. The tallest living trees are the coast redwoods, the tallest reaching 379 feet and the tallest one in this forest is 258 feet. As a scale, the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet tall...that is a tall tree!
Crazy enough, fires are actually essential for these trees to continue to prosper. The fire burns out decayed plants along with bacteria and fungi that can kill seeds. This then allows redwood seeds to reach the soil. These trees are made to withstand the fires with their spongy and thick bark that also contains tannin which is fire resistant. The picture below shows what can happen when an extremely hot fire reaches these trees.
I thought this bird art was really neat. On the information board it tells you about each bird and how big they are!
We headed back to Modesto after this. Our original plan of camping at Pantoll Campground, about 30 minutes from Muir Woods, was unfortunately ruined from an unexpected event. We had plans to camp and then head over to the Golden Gate Bridge, but I'll leave the unfortunate event for another blog post. Stay tuned!
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