A Trip to Muir Woods

 

While on vacation in San Francisco, my family took a short drive to Muir Woods National Monument. We were surprised to find such tranquility so close to the busy city.

Muir Woods is best known for the towering coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees that made us feel tiny by comparison.

There were multiple other visitors at Muir Woods, but many times we found that we had the trail to ourselves. This may be because we visited the park on a weekday in the fall.  Because it was autumn, we caught a hint of fall foliage, something we sometimes miss from our days living on the East Coast.

Another surprise and benefit to visiting Muir Woods in the late fall was seeing clusters of little red ladybugs huddled together in preparation for the winter.

You can see these clusters of ladybugs beginning in late fall and continuing into early spring. They stay close to each other to keep warm and find a mate. The ladybugs can easily be found on wooden fence posts on the Fern Creek and Bootjack Trails.

We often enjoy attending guided walks when we visit a national park. The guided walk at Muir Woods lead by a volunteer was very informative and something I would recommend.

My daughter was able to add to her collection of Junior Ranger badges by completing an activity booklet and taking a pledge to protect all national parks, continue  learning about them, and to share her knowledge with others.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed our time in San Francisco, and Muir Woods is definitely a spot we would all like to return to one day.

Here is a link to the Muir Woods National Monument website:

National Park Service: Muir Woods National Monument

If you plan to go to San Francisco and are interested in other places to visit, check out this blogpost about the California Academy of Sciences:

Teaching Resources from the California Academy of Sciences

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