Hiking: Muir Woods (Including Steep Ravine/Dipsea Trails)

Hi There!!!

Today, I’m posting a hiking experience I did on Sunday, July 13, 2014. A few people found it useful when I did it on my personal Facebook status and since a few friends are enjoy hikes, I thought I’ll add it to my crafting world blog as well. I hope for those who find it useful, let me know by posting a comment on my blog. I also hope those who follow me for crafting don’t mind me posting pictures about my joy of hiking, as much as my joy for crafting =)

|-- Muir Woods National Monument --|

Location: 1 Muir Woods Road, Mill Valley, CA 94941
Difficulty: Moderate, Some areas of inclines/declines/stairs/flats/paved
Length: Many different trails to choose from, so it varies
Duration: Depends on which trails you choose from
Parking: Some parks like Pantoll is $8. Some parking is free, street parking as well as lot parking. Admission to Muirwood is $7/person. You can avoid the fee altogether by starting your hike at any of the surrounding trails that will lead you inside the park. However, it's a long way to get there if you just want to view the Redwoods.
Overview: If you love fresh air, nature, green lush foliage, and beautiful coastal redwoods, you will love this National Monument. You do not have to be an avid hiker to walk these trails, some of which are even paved. Muir Woods has trails for varied levels of fitness, you pick and choose and plan your today’s adventure. ;) And make memories with whoever you are going, so make sure to smile for the camera/phone. Make sure you’re ready to POSE, BE SILLY, ENJOY AND CUTE ;) SMILE!!!

|-- Resources I Used --|
Map: Please print out the map, especially if you want to explore and don’t want to get lost. Plus you can extend or shorten your trail as you go: http://www.nps.gov/muwo/upload/muir_woods_pad_map.pdf. At Muir Woods, there are the bigger map brochure. But I actually like this a lot more because it was simplified and easier to follow.
Every Trail: http://www.everytrail.com/destination/muir-woods-national-monument
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/muir-woods-national-monument-mill-valley
Muir Woods Website: www.nps.gov/muwo

|-- Recommendations Based on Today’s --|

Water: 2-3 bottles per person, depending how long you hike
Food: Snacks/Make a sandwich/Power Bars/etc.
Family Friendly: From Muir Woods entrance (you might not be able to avoid the fee), the road is paved and even friendly to push stroller and wheelchair accessible too. This spot is a well-known tourist, so it gets packed and loud at times.

|-- My Today’s Hiking Adventure Overview  --|
Time: Started at 8am, Finished by 1pm
Duration: 9-10ish miles
Weather: Overcast, 60ish, breezy
Trails: We did two different trails.

·      Our first trail was Dipsea to Steep Ravine Loop: http://www.everytrail.com/guide/dipsea-trail-steep-ravine-loop: From Pantoll Ranger Station, $8.00 fee for parking, we started the Steep Ravine Trail. It was all decline, you walk along the stream, so peaceful and full of lushy green and tall trees. Then you’ll see the trail split, if you're heading to Dipsea to Stinson take that route, but we wanted to do Dipsea Trail to Muir Woods. On this trail, you go up a flight of stairs to heaven hehe there were like about 100 steps or maybe it felt like it. Then headed back taking Old Mine Trail to Pantoll Ranger Station.

·       Then we were like heck we are here and it’s sooo nice out here and we are still full of energy, let’s go to Muir Woods!!!! So…From Pantoll Ranger Station, we took Old Mine Trail to Dipsea Trail to Muir Woods Entrance. There is a split, you can either take Dipsea/Ben Johson to get to Muir Woods Entrance. Once you get to Muir Woods Enterance, it's all paved and that's the tourist spot. It's sooo pretty there, take lots of photos!!! Then we headed back taking the Ben Johnson Trail to Old Mine Trail back to Pantoll Ranger Station. It was SUPER worth the extra hike! The great thing about hiking today is that, you can pick and choose which trails you want to take! Make it shorter, make it longer...Totally up to you! =)

|-- Here Are Some Pictures of Our Hiking Adventure --|
For those who doesn't know me, I ENJOY capturing moments and I LOVE silly funny pictures because when you look back at pictures, it adds that extra uplifting smile ;) I tried to organized our pictures based on the trails we did. The first five pictures are all the first trail we did. The rest are to Muir Woods.



See what I meant by the beautiful of Muir Woods and all it's surrounding. It's just sooooooo BEAUTIFUL!!! And with the right company, it added the extra fun to today's hike!

|-- Special Thanks --|
For this year’s birthday, all I wanted was to go HIKING!!! So…for my another birthday hike celebration on Sunday, July 13, 2014 with the Cruzs – my good friend, Emily and her husband, Jeremie took me to hike the many different trails of Muir Woods. Oh, we totally EXPLORED!!! It’s been years I haven’t been there and I’ve always wanted to go back and so glad I did! I can’t believe it took me sooo long to go back!! I loved all the super pretty beautiful magnificent coastal redwood!!! IT’S SOOOO PRETTY!!! So THANK YOU CRUZS, I super enjoyed your company and I super-duper LOVED my birthday giftsss. They even treated me out for dinner at San Tung Chinese Restaurant located: 1031 Irving Street, San Francisco, CA 94122, they are famous for their wings. And OH MY MY MY, this bakery is a MUST TRY…Schubert’s Bakery located 521 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118 Hehe I even got my own little cake, it’s soooooo good J!!! Thank you for not making me share ;) hehe Thank you again sooo soooo much Em Em and Jer Jer for today's fun!!! =)

I hope you find today's posting helpful for those who are enjoying the hiking adventure! =) Let me know if you have any questions and those who've hiked, if you find anything useful, please post comments. Much appreciate! =)

Please note: Pictures were approved before posting. This is based on my personal hiking experiences, make adjustments as you go on more hiking trips and personal research. Who you go with, the weather makes a huge differences. To me, no trail is too hard, as long as you enjoy, plan it, take it easy and most importantly HAVE FUN!!! 

Love always, SMILE!!!

MUI HOANG

E: muihoang0708@gmail.com