The Main Trail Loop Along Redwood Creek
How the loop works
The Main Trail starts at the entrance plaza and the Visitor Center and runs up the canyon beside Redwood Creek. Four footbridges, numbered 1 to 4, cross the creek. Walkers go out on one side and come back on the other, and the bridge chosen sets the length of the walk. A free trail-map brochure is handed out at the entrance, and the Visitor Center is open from 8 am to 30 minutes before closing.
What the valley floor passes
Old-growth coast redwoods line the trail from the start. Some of them stand in rings: new trees sprout in a circle around the base of an old or felled trunk, a pattern known as a family circle or fairy ring. Beyond Bridge 2 the trail reaches Cathedral Grove, signposted as a quiet zone where visitors are asked to lower their voices. A plaque there records the memorial service held on 19 May 1945 by delegates to the United Nations conference in San Francisco for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Cathedral Grove page has the short history. The Bridge 3 loop turns after the grove; the Bridge 4 loop continues and returns on the Hillside Trail, above the valley floor.
Is it a flat trail?
The Bridge 2 and Bridge 3 loops are flat, and the NPS lists them as wheelchair and stroller accessible. The Bridge 4 loop adds 90 feet of gain on the Hillside Trail, which is the only climbing on the Main Trail routes. Trainers or comfortable walking shoes are enough for all three. The wheelchair access page covers the accessible loops and the ADA shuttle reservations.
Redwood Creek through the year
The creek runs low and clear in summer. After the first heavy winter rains, roughly December to February, coho salmon and steelhead trout come up Redwood Creek to spawn, and the Main Trail footbridges are the places to look from. Visitors stay out of the water. The salmon page explains the run. The canyon is cool and shaded all year, so a layer helps at any season.
Rules on the valley floor
Walkers keep to the trail and the boardwalk. Eating is limited to the entrance plaza and the café patio; there are no picnics in the forest. Pets are not allowed, apart from working service animals, and bicycles stay outside the monument. There is no phone signal, so anyone meeting a group needs to agree a time and a place before splitting up.
The loop on a guided tour
The guided tours from San Francisco are built around this loop. Their time in the forest runs from about an hour on the wine-country day to 1.5 hours on the half-day trip and the roundtrip tour, enough for the Bridge 3 loop with stops or the Bridge 4 loop at a steady pace. The half-day tours page sets out each itinerary. For walkers who want to leave the valley floor, the climbing routes start from the same trail; see the Ben Johnson and Dipsea loop.
The valley floor is quieter early in the day. Cathedral Grove, in particular, is easier to hear as a quiet zone before the midday crowds arrive.
Frequently asked questions
Is Muir Woods an easy walk?
On the valley floor, yes. The Main Trail is flat, paved and boardwalk, with loops of 0.5 and 1 mile that the NPS lists as wheelchair and stroller accessible.
Is Muir Woods a flat trail?
The Bridge 2 and Bridge 3 loops are flat. The Bridge 4 loop adds 90 feet of gain on the Hillside Trail. The wheelchair access page has the details.
How long does the Main Trail loop take?
About 30 minutes to Bridge 2, about an hour to Bridge 3 and about 1.5 hours for the Bridge 4 loop with the Hillside Trail.
Where is Cathedral Grove on the Main Trail?
On the valley floor beyond Bridge 2, inside the Bridge 3 loop. See the Cathedral Grove page.