Muir Woods, San Francisco

If you have a car or can afford a tour, a walk in Muir Wood is a must!!
Half an hour drive from the city and you wouldn't regreat it.
These redwoods are really amazing!
If you want to get off the beaten path and take one of these paths going deep into the forest, that's really nice but pay attention, you are gone for a couple of hours, a map is a must!

Easy and convenient way to see some of the huge redwood trees while you're in the area. We went on a weekday in the afternoon and had the place practically to ourselves. The drive is about half an hour from San Francisco and renting a car for the day may be your best bet. You can continue to the wine country from there.

A visit to the Muir Woods is a must! Here you feel close to nature in a serene, pure way.
This Poem by Joseph B. Strauss says it all:

THE REDWOODS

Here, sown by the Creator's hand
In serried ranks, the Redwoods stand:
No other clime honored so,
No other lands their glory know.

The greatest of Earth's living forms,
Tall conquerors that laugh at storms:
Their challenge still unaswered rings,
Through fifty centuries of kings.

....This is their temple, vaulted high,
And here we pause with reverent aye,
With silent tongue and awe-struck sould;
For here we sense life's proper goal:

To be like those, straight, true and fine,
To make our world, like theirs, a shrine:
Sink down, Oh traveller, on your knees,
God stands before you in these trees.

The Muir Woods is an unusual place to visit. There are very old redwood trees there. It is designated a national monument. Located in Marin County, north of the Golden Gate Bridge, it is easily reached by car. There are also bus tours there. I am not certain which bus goes there, but Golden Gate Transit would be the public bus company that might go there.

The greater San Francisco area has two must do activites if you have time and an interest: First, the Napa Valley wine country is a great place to visit the vineyards and sample some of the local wine. If I go back, I'd schedule a hot air balloon ride--but the price (about $150 to $175 per person)was a bit steep for my budget. The other activity many tourists take in is the Muir Woods located about 20 miles North of San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. This is the closest place to the city to view the famously huge California Redwoods. If you go to Muir Woods, I would try to hike further back into the woods where it is quiet and peaceful. Muir Woods is popular with tour buses who drop off a load and then round them up before they have time to get away from the diesel fumes. Muir woods is a great place to take a disposable panoramic camera. The trees are so huge that a normal lens camera will not begin to take it all in.

Not far from SF, you need a ticket to enter($3.50? - sorry I already forget).
You will see the giant redwoods in it. There is a nice gift shop, if you want to purchase some souvenirs.