Whether you’re getting to Muir Woods by direct tour and transportation, public shuttle, or car — here’s everything you need to know in planning how to get to Muir Woods.
If you head north across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods, you’ll find the best place to see the redwoods near San Francisco.
Visiting Muir Woods is a must for anyone who is exploring the Bay Area, and there are several ways to get to the national monument. You can visit the redwoods on a tour, take the direct San Francisco to Muir Woods shuttle, or even drive to the redwood forest on your own.
There’s a lot to know about visiting Muir Woods, this post only covers different options of getting to Muir Woods.
How To Get To Muir Woods
Those who get motion sickness easily be warned, the only route to Muir Woods is a winding one. The perk of tackling the drive to Muir Woods with one of our minibus Muir Woods tours is that our guides take these roads nice and easy!
Can you drive through Muir Woods? No, you can not drive through Muir Woods. While you can enjoy the Muir Woods drive, you can not drive through the park, and there are no redwoods you can drive through.
The Best Option: Tour with Direct Transportation to Muir Woods
Enjoy drop-offs and pick-ups at the entrance to Muir Woods, and a ride back to San Francisco on all of our Muir Woods tours!
We might be a little biased, but we firmly believe the easiest and most fun way of getting to Muir Woods is with a Muir Woods tour. Our Famous San Francisco Tour with Muir Woods and Ride the Woods (aka Bike the Golden Gate Bridge & Muir Woods Shuttle Tour) are both great options because we take care of all of the details — from getting to Muir Woods to reservations. So you can just sit back and enjoy a stress-free day of exploring Muir Woods!
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Drive Your Own Car To Muir Woods
You Need a Reservation to Park Your Car Near Muir Woods
If you are planning to go on a nice Muir Woods day trip, paying the Muir Woods entrance fee isn’t the only thing you have to worry about.
Starting in 2018 Muir Woods created a new Muir Woods parking reservations system. You now need to make parking reservations at Muir Woods in advance, meaning that parking without reservations is going to be next to impossible. Parking at Muir Woods costs approximately $8 per car.
However, your Muir Woods reservation doesn’t guarantee you have a reserved parking spot waiting for you. *Having a Muir Woods parking reservation only means that once a spot is available, then you can park there. So even if you have a Muir Woods parking reservation, you might still end up circling the parking lot for a while!
Another thing to note when you are visiting Muir Woods is that there’s no WiFi or cell phone reception. If you drive to Muir Woods from San Francisco without a parking reservation, you’ll need to drive to the bottom of the mountain to get cell phone reception to buy a parking spot, and hopefully, they haven’t sold out for that day.
Public Muir Woods Shuttle
You Need a Reservation to Take the Public Muir Woods Shuttle
How can you get to Muir Woods from San Francisco without driving? Marin Transit offers a budget-friendly Muir Woods Shuttle from Sausalito, Mill Valley, and Marin City Hub.
If parking at Muir Woods sounds like an adventure that you do not want to tackle, the Go Muir Woods shuttle is always an option. You will need a reservation for that as well. Also please note that Marin Transit’s shuttles only runs on the weekends, except during the summer.
PRO TIP: The Muir Woods shuttle that will bring you back to Sausalito is not scheduled and operates on a first come, first serve basis. If you’re not getting to the redwoods on a Muir Woods tour, be prepared to begin queuing up early to ensure you get a ride back down the mountain.
If you don’t want to deal with the public shuttle that leaves from Marin, our Famous San Francisco Tour with Muir Woods is a great option.
Uber of Lyft to Muir Woods
If you Uber or Lyft to Muir Woods, you’ll need to take a $75 cab to get to the Golden Gate Bridge
With Muir Woods parking being so limited and the Muir Woods shuttle usually only running on the weekends, we understand how ordering an Uber or Lyft up to the forest sounds like a good idea.
Here’s the problem with that, there’s no cell reception at Muir Woods, which makes it a bit impossible to order an Uber or Lyft back to the city. If you’re lucky, there will be a few cabs waiting around. These cabs usually charge about $75 just to get to the Golden Gate Bridge.
But if you’re willing to pay for a cab, we’d recommend just opting for a Muir Woods tour instead!
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