Muir Woods – A Journey to a World of Redwood Forest
By: James Elliott
Breathtaking beauty with plenty of sky touching trees, sun playing hide and seek behind the high branches and small streams running down the slope. All these describe Muir Woods, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which is a must visit place for nature lovers. This isolated and ancient redwood forest lies near the Pacific coast of California and is quite close to the foot of Mt. Tamalpais. Here one can stroll through 1000 year old giant trees towering 260 feet high. A day long Muirwood tour not only offers solitude but plenty of more things to enjoy such as numerous hiking trails.
Location
The beautiful Muir Woods is located to the north of San Francisco city. It takes a drive of just 35 minutes to reach there. Roads to the park are steep and vehicles over 35 feet long are not allowed to go there. During a holiday in San Francisco one must definitely include a day long tour to Muir Woods. Commuting from the city of San Francisco to Muir Woods is easy. Simply hire a limo from any reputed San Francisco limousine rental service providing company and arrive here in style.
Flora
People come to a Muirwood tour to see the renowned Coast Redwood trees that are famous for their height. Here one can see nearly 250 to 380 feet long trees as if they are touching the sky. The average age of the redwoods found here are between 500 and 800 years old. Apart from redwoods, there are other tree species also such as the California Bay Laurel, the Bigleaf Maple and the Tanoak.
Fauna
Along with the rich and unique flora collection, Muir Woods is also famous for the diverse fauna that can be found here. Two famous species of the salmon family Coho or silver salmon and Steelhead Trout can be seen here during the winter days. Moreover, Muir Woods is home to over 50 species of birds and a wide variety of mammals such as Northern Spotted Owls, Woodpeckers, American Shrew Mole, larger Deer, Black Bears and Bats.
Activities
There are also well maintained paved walking trails where visitors can take a leisurely walk to enjoy the magnificent giants from very close distance. There are lots of different trails to follow in the woods and adventurous people can indulge in biking or hiking activities too. One can also enjoy moonlight walks here that are held on nights with a full moon for which prior reservations are must. Here with a proper permit couples can even plan their weddings too.
Footrace
On a Muir wood tour, if you are not participating in the annual footraces you are definitely missing something. Every year, footraces between the Mill Valley and Stinson Beach passing though the Muir Woods are organized. The annual Dipsea Race takes place on the second Sunday in June. While the Double Dipsea happens in the end of June, the Quad Dipsea is organized during the month of November.
A tour to Muirwood guarantees non-stop fun. Travel to this beautiful place in a luxurious and comfortable limo that can be hired from any reputed San Francisco limousine service.
San fran is a travel journalist whose write-ups mainly focus on luxury and high living. He has contributed several articles guiding on Sonoma wine tours Muirwood tour and on San Francisco limousine rental companies conducting them.
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