Muir Woods: A Walk Among the Ancients
14 stops· 31 min· 2.4 mi· narrated by Ranger Quinn
Buy the self-guided tour now, or get it in the app.
- Farewell from Muir Woods
- The First Giants — Bohemian Grove
- The Man Who Gave It Away
- Redwood Creek — the Salmon Stream
- How a Redwood Lives Forever
- The Man It's Named For
- The Saved Forest
- Cathedral Grove
A walk back into deep time — through one of the last old-growth coast redwood forests on Earth, tucked in a fog-fed canyon just twelve miles north of the Golden Gate. Ranger Quinn guides you on foot up the main trail along Redwood Creek and back down the Hillside Trail: the tallest living things on the planet, some of them well over a thousand years old, standing in a cathedral hush while a salmon stream runs at their feet. You'll learn how a redwood drinks the fog, why fire only makes it stronger, and how to read a family circle of trees grown from a single fallen giant. Ranger Boone Merrick rides along with the tales this grove has earned: the wealthy couple who bought the canyon to save it from a dam and then refused to put their own name on it; the gentle, wild-haired man it was named for instead; and the spring day in 1945 when the diplomats building the United Nations came here, into the trees, to mourn a president. It's an easy, mostly level walk on a paved path — bring a light jacket, because it's cool and damp under the canopy, and remember your parking or shuttle reservation, because you cannot just drive up to Muir Woods.
Walking route · 14 stops. Live GPS playback and turn-by-turn pins are in the app.
What you'll see and hear
14 narrated stops along the way — waterfalls, overlooks, history, and Ranger Boone's campfire tales.
01🥾 Welcome to Muir Woods
Orientation at the Muir Woods entrance in Marin County — meet the old-growth coast redwoods, get the plan for the loop walk, and the note on parking reservations.
02• Farewell from Muir Woods
Quinn's closing as the loop returns to the entrance — thanks for walking along, a last thought on the old-growth forest, and a request for a review.
03🌲 The First Giants — Bohemian Grove
The first old-growth coast redwoods along the trail — what makes Sequoia sempervirens the tallest tree on Earth, and how to look at one properly.
The First Giants — Bohemian Grove guide →
04🔥 The Man Who Gave It Away
Boone's tale of William and Elizabeth Kent, who bought Redwood Canyon in 1905 to save it from a dam, gave it to the nation, and refused to let it carry their own name.
The Man Who Gave It Away guide →
05🌲 Redwood Creek — the Salmon Stream
Redwood Creek running through the grove — one of the last Bay Area streams where endangered coho salmon and steelhead still spawn, and why the whole forest depends on it.
Redwood Creek — the Salmon Stream guide →
06🌲 How a Redwood Lives Forever
The survival tricks of the coast redwood — drinking fog from the air, shallow interlocking roots, fireproof tannin-rich bark, and cloning from burls into family circles.
How a Redwood Lives Forever guide →
07🔥 The Man It's Named For
Boone on John Muir — the wandering naturalist the monument was named for, and the letter he wrote calling it the best tree-lovers' monument in all the forests of the world.
The Man It's Named For guide →
08🌲 The Saved Forest
Why Muir Woods still exists when nearly every other Bay Area redwood grove was logged — the canyon was too steep and remote to haul timber out of.
The Saved Forest guide →
09🌲 Cathedral Grove
The heart of Muir Woods — the tallest and oldest trees, the designated quiet zone, and the hush that gives the grove its name. (Boone's 1945 U.N. memorial tale dwells here.)
Cathedral Grove guide →
10🥾 Bridge Four — the Turn for Home
Directions at the top of the loop — cross Redwood Creek on Bridge Four and return down the Hillside Trail on the east slope.
Bridge Four — the Turn for Home guide →
11🌲 Look Down — the Forest Floor
The living carpet beneath the redwoods — redwood sorrel, sword ferns, the banana slug, and the spotted owl overhead; the small life that makes the big trees possible.
Look Down — the Forest Floor guide →
12🔥 What This Tree Has Seen
Boone's deep-time tale — walking a listener through the thousand years of human history that passed while a single Muir Woods redwood stood in one spot.
What This Tree Has Seen guide →
13🌲 The High Road — Reading the Canopy
The view from the Hillside Trail — looking down and across into the redwood crowns, and how these coast redwoods relate to their giant sequoia cousins in the Sierra.
The High Road — Reading the Canopy guide →
14🔥 The Forest That Isn't There
Boone's Hillside Trail tale — the vast Bay Area redwood forests that were logged away in a single generation, and why this one lonely canyon was left standing.
The Forest That Isn't There guide →
What you'll see
Tap any landmark for a visitor guide — what it is, where it is, and how to hear its story.
Good to know
- How long is the Muir Woods: A Walk Among the Ancients tour?
- The tour has 14 stops over about 2.4 miles with roughly 31 min of narrated audio. You set the pace — pause, linger, or skip ahead anytime.
- Do I need cell signal to use the tour?
- No. Download the tour before you go and it works completely offline — the audio plays by GPS even with no bars, which is exactly where most park tours lose signal.
- How does a self-guided audio tour work?
- You walk the route at your own pace and the Ranger Tales app plays the story for each stop automatically when you arrive, using your phone's location. No tapping, no reading while you walk. Ranger Quinn guides and Ranger Boone tells the campfire tales.
- Where does the Muir Woods: A Walk Among the Ancients tour take place?
- Muir Woods National Monument (Mill Valley, Marin County, California). One of the last old-growth coast redwood forests on Earth, in a fog-fed canyon just north of the Golden Gate — a flat boardwalk among thousand-year-old giants along a wild salmon stream.
- How do I get the tour?
- Download the free Ranger Tales app from the App Store, then unlock this tour inside the app. The tour downloads to your phone so it's ready offline before you arrive.
- Can I cancel or get a refund?
- Change of mind? Full refund if you request it within 24 hours of purchase. If a verified technical issue prevents access, contact support within 7 days for a refund or credit. All requests are reviewed at our discretion and refunded to your original payment method.
Buy your self-guided tour
Pick a date and book online — checkout is secure, and your unlock code arrives by email. Works offline once it's in the app.
Muir Woods: A Walk Among the Ancients — in your pocket
Download the app, unlock the tour, and let it walk with you. Works offline.
Buy the self-guided tour, or get it in the app.
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