Deep in Muir Woods
Last weekend was my birthday and also National Public Lands Day, which translates to free day at National Parks. Well, I jumped at this opportunity to explore Muir Woods because usually, it is $10 a person for a day pass and Brennan and I are frugal people (sometimes). I planned the day out very well because there were many things I wanted to see in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area after we were done exploring Muir Woods. The evening before we left I made a power point Presentation and presented it to Brennan so he would have a clear picture of everything we were going to do. He's a business major and sometimes you just have to speak his language, through excel sheets and power points. It took a lot of planning because we had to get parking reservations and work out all the timings right.
We left early in the morning to get there by 8:00am. For Muir Woods, you either have to pay to have parking reservations or pay to ride the shuttle to the park entrance. It's a small park, and you don't drive through it like other National Parks I've been to. However it's funny how getting there, we have to pay to cross the bridge (#bayareaprobs), and then pay to park. So it was nice that the entrance admission was free. We also passed the San Quentin Prison. That was fun to see, it was big and right on the water. (also side note, ever since working in a forensic unit I have a weird obsession about prisons and love driving past them, on our road trip from LA to Northern California we passed about 5 prisons and each time I kind of freaked out and wanted Brennan to drive slower.)
Once we got to the park and got the last parking spot in the upper lot (the one closest to the park entrance) we began exploring the beautiful tall trees. It was not crowded at all because the park had just opened and also the shuttle didn't start dropping people off until 10:00am so we had about two hours before massive tourists joined us. As we walked through the woods we followed the plank trails through massive groves of trees and gazed in awe at how tall they were (if you didn't know, Redwoods are the tallest trees). As we walked along I couldn't help thinking that it looked so much like Washington, well I guess with fewer pine trees though, but it was so green. I loved it. We decided to go off the paved/boardwalk trail and we followed the dirt "Canopy View Trail," This was a good choice in trails because we got to hike high among the canopy's of the trees and then back down into the forest. It
was a nice 3-mile loop, so full of trees and green and a couple little water streams. I'm sure in the winter the water streams are more like rivers and small waterfalls.
When we descended back into the forest we did the main big loop walk to make sure we saw as many trees as possible, then we visited the gift shop/visitors center and made our way back to the car, and drove to the Golden Gate Recreation Area to explore more beautiful areas. Well, this is where the plan kind of got crazy because apparently the places I wanted to go were super duper popular and there was little to no parking. We pulled up to this overlook spot, where you could see the Golden Gate Bridge (but really there was so much fog that you couldn't really see it). Anyways it was a madhouse to try and get a parking spot. Drivers just idled in their cars until someone pulled out and then tried to be the first one in the spot. There was some serious yelling and swearing in other languages when some cars stole other car's spots. We finally got a spot and were able to walk around and pretend to see the bridge and other beautiful scenes of the sea. When we got
back to our car, someone had parked behind us and we couldn't even leave, so then we were stuck waiting for that someone to pull out so
we could be free.
Next, I wanted to see Point Bonita Lighthouse. Again there was some crazy parking, but this time we were ready for it and a little more aggressive so we got a spot. We hiked down to the lighthouse, now I knew that it was closed today, but I thought that just meant you couldn't get tours of the inside, but I was sure you would still be able to walk close to it. Well as we got to the end of the trail, we stood face to face with a cave-like entrance that was clearly locked and there was no lighthouse in sight. So apparently you had to go through the cave thing to see the lighthouse on the other side. Well hopefully another time we can go to it.
After our excursions in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge (and paid another toll) to get to the city, well more specifically Ghiradelli Square. Let me tell you. That place is second to Disney Land in being the most magical place on earth. I love being surrounded by Chocolate and ice cream AND getting a view of the ocean! We each ordered an ice cream Sundae and ate our weight in deliciousness, totally worth it. After we explored Hyde Street Pier and because it was free day for National Parks, we got to tour old boats and walk through them for freeeeeee! So the summary of the
story is, National Lands day is the best because no one wants to spend that much money.
We left early in the morning to get there by 8:00am. For Muir Woods, you either have to pay to have parking reservations or pay to ride the shuttle to the park entrance. It's a small park, and you don't drive through it like other National Parks I've been to. However it's funny how getting there, we have to pay to cross the bridge (#bayareaprobs), and then pay to park. So it was nice that the entrance admission was free. We also passed the San Quentin Prison. That was fun to see, it was big and right on the water. (also side note, ever since working in a forensic unit I have a weird obsession about prisons and love driving past them, on our road trip from LA to Northern California we passed about 5 prisons and each time I kind of freaked out and wanted Brennan to drive slower.)
Once we got to the park and got the last parking spot in the upper lot (the one closest to the park entrance) we began exploring the beautiful tall trees. It was not crowded at all because the park had just opened and also the shuttle didn't start dropping people off until 10:00am so we had about two hours before massive tourists joined us. As we walked through the woods we followed the plank trails through massive groves of trees and gazed in awe at how tall they were (if you didn't know, Redwoods are the tallest trees). As we walked along I couldn't help thinking that it looked so much like Washington, well I guess with fewer pine trees though, but it was so green. I loved it. We decided to go off the paved/boardwalk trail and we followed the dirt "Canopy View Trail," This was a good choice in trails because we got to hike high among the canopy's of the trees and then back down into the forest. Itwas a nice 3-mile loop, so full of trees and green and a couple little water streams. I'm sure in the winter the water streams are more like rivers and small waterfalls.
When we descended back into the forest we did the main big loop walk to make sure we saw as many trees as possible, then we visited the gift shop/visitors center and made our way back to the car, and drove to the Golden Gate Recreation Area to explore more beautiful areas. Well, this is where the plan kind of got crazy because apparently the places I wanted to go were super duper popular and there was little to no parking. We pulled up to this overlook spot, where you could see the Golden Gate Bridge (but really there was so much fog that you couldn't really see it). Anyways it was a madhouse to try and get a parking spot. Drivers just idled in their cars until someone pulled out and then tried to be the first one in the spot. There was some serious yelling and swearing in other languages when some cars stole other car's spots. We finally got a spot and were able to walk around and pretend to see the bridge and other beautiful scenes of the sea. When we got back to our car, someone had parked behind us and we couldn't even leave, so then we were stuck waiting for that someone to pull out so
Next, I wanted to see Point Bonita Lighthouse. Again there was some crazy parking, but this time we were ready for it and a little more aggressive so we got a spot. We hiked down to the lighthouse, now I knew that it was closed today, but I thought that just meant you couldn't get tours of the inside, but I was sure you would still be able to walk close to it. Well as we got to the end of the trail, we stood face to face with a cave-like entrance that was clearly locked and there was no lighthouse in sight. So apparently you had to go through the cave thing to see the lighthouse on the other side. Well hopefully another time we can go to it.
After our excursions in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge (and paid another toll) to get to the city, well more specifically Ghiradelli Square. Let me tell you. That place is second to Disney Land in being the most magical place on earth. I love being surrounded by Chocolate and ice cream AND getting a view of the ocean! We each ordered an ice cream Sundae and ate our weight in deliciousness, totally worth it. After we explored Hyde Street Pier and because it was free day for National Parks, we got to tour old boats and walk through them for freeeeeee! So the summary of the story is, National Lands day is the best because no one wants to spend that much money.
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