Adventures With Amy | San Francisco 2003

San Francisco 2003: Muir Woods

Muir Woods National Monument, 12 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, is reached by U.S. 101 and California Hwy 1. Roads to the park are steep and winding and we weren't sure we even arrived at the right place. For some reason I thought we would see lots of very tall trees as we approached, but we did not. I even asked the park ranger before we paid our admission if we would see tall trees. He assured me there were lots of tall trees and the smaller tall tree pictured below is just a baby.

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"This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world," declared conservationist John Muir when describing the majestic coast redwoods of Muir Woods.

Until the 1800's, many northern California coastal valleys were covered with coast redwood trees similar to those now found in Muir Woods National Monument. The forest along Redwood Creek in today's Muir Woods was spared from logging because it was hard to get to. Noting that Redwood Creek contained one of the San Francisco Bay Area's last uncut stands of old-growth redwood, Congressman William Kent and his wife, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, bought 295 acres here for $45,000 in 1905. To protect the redwoods the Kents donated the land to the United States Federal Government and, in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a national monument. Roosevelt suggested naming the area after Kent, but Kent wanted it named for conservationist John Muir.

The coast redwoods are the tallest living things and can be found in Northern California and Southern Oregon. The Bohemian and Cathedral groves contain the biggest trees in Muir Woods---one 252 feet tall and one 14 feet wide. Most of these trees range in age of 800-1000 years old! The bark is spongy and fibrous and can range in thickness anywhere from 6 to 12 inches. The bark acts as insulation against fire damage. The forest's long-term ecological well-being benefit from fires because it clears the floor of duff so redwood seeds can reach mineral soil.

In addition to being home to one of the last stands of old growth redwoods, Muir Woods is rich with other wildlife, including ferns, flowers, lichens, deer, chipmunks, birds and salamanders.

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