Just inside the entrance, Founders Grove honors the couple who saved the forest: Congressman William Kent and his wife Elizabeth, who bought this canyon in 1905 to keep it from being logged — and then from being flooded by a proposed reservoir.
In 1908, they donated the land to the federal government, and President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a national monument. Kent asked that it be named not for himself but for the naturalist John Muir, who called it “the best tree-lovers’ monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world.”
When Muir wrote to thank Kent for naming the monument after him rather than himself, Kent replied that if he’d “praised the redwoods, my name would be lost, and that of Muir would be forever associated with them.”
The Pinchot Tree, one of the grove’s giants, was named for the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service — a reminder of the conservation movement that Muir Woods helped ignite.
Pro tip: Read the Kent story before you walk in — knowing a private citizen bought and gave away this forest a century ago changes how every tree feels on the way up the trail.
- • Founders Grove is right near the start of the Main Trail — easy to see even on a short visit.
- • Interpretive signs tell the Kent and Muir story along the boardwalk.
- • This is a good turnaround point if you only have 30–45 minutes.
- Who saved Muir Woods and who is it named after?
- William and Elizabeth Kent bought the canyon in 1905 to save it from logging and a proposed dam, then donated it to the government in 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt made it a national monument, and Kent asked that it be named for the naturalist John Muir.
