Well, I’m in San Jose this week for work.  I flew out on Sunday morning in order to visit Muir Woods National Monument which is a short drive north of San Francisco.  I arrived around noon, grabbed some lunch and then found the Muir Woods shuttle bus.  The park has very limited parking and with its proximity to the Bay Area it fills up early, so the shuttle is perfect, and for 3 bucks round-trip you can’t beat it.  The shuttle takes a slightly different route than cars as the car road is apparently a bit too twisty.  Even so, the route the shuttle takes is like a roller coaster!  The bus route gives you a glimpse of the ocean (Muir Beach) and then it’s up into the woods.

The monument is actually located in the center of a California State Park and it offers an easy 2 mile loop hike along a stream through the woods and access to numerous other trails.  I visited on a beautiful Sunday afternoon so there were lots of people.  It’s quite a magnificent place to take a stroll with all of the enourmous trees.  There was a pair of deer enjoying the day as well.

Definitely worth the visit!