John Muir Woods Hike

At the beginning of the summer we sat the kids down and asked them what they wanted to do. 

Besides, camping, playing with their friends, going to the zoo, they wanted to go hiking.  We have so many fun places to go in the Bay Area, the kids have really enjoyed seeing much of it by foot. 

 We decided to take a hike at Muir Woods National Monument.  It is 15 miles north of San Francisco in the Marin Headlands and about a 50 minute drive from our house.  It is a beautiful place with huge groves of redwood trees.

The woods are about 10 miles from the beach, so even in the summer, it is cool.  Since it is so close to San Francisco, there are a lot of tourist on the trails, and a lot from Europe wanting to see the mighty redwoods.  The next set of well known groves this impressive are 3 hours away to the north.

The trail isn't very hard and there is so much to see.

The kids loved this hike. They have seen redwoods before, but not this impressive. But these just towered over us.  

When I was about Myles age, I remember my parents had taken us to the redwoods outside Eureka and I remember how insignificant I felt.  The kids felt the same way. 

 Emma and Myles loved the wildlife, especially when we came across deer hiding under huge ferns.  Emma, wanting to climb any tree she sees, was in her element.  The kids really enjoyed the nook and crannies for them to hide and play in. Myles especially loved climbing inside the tree trunks.

Sophie learned how small a redwood seed is and how big they grow. She also enjoyed the carved bears. They also learned how big some of the birds they have seen flying on many of their hikes.

 It was a very fun and relaxing day for all.