We will be in San Francisco without a car and want to go out to Muir Woods. Would prefer not to take a tour as they only spend 45min - 1 hour there which doesn't seem enough time . Can we get there by ourselves. A tour costs about $80 for two so could you go by public transport so far and perhaps get a taxi out to the Woods or is this not possible. Have no idea how far it is from San Francisco. Any help would be appreciated.

From the milebymile.com website:

No public transportation directly serves the park. Golden Gate Transit (415-923-2000) bus #63 runs on weekends and holidays and makes stops at the Mountain Home Inn, Pantoll, and Bootjack on Panoramic Highway. From any of these stops it is a 1-1.8 mile hike down to Muir Woods.

If renting a car for a day is possible, it would allow you to make wonderful stops along the way at the Golden Gate bridge, the recreation area across from the bridge in Marin county, and Sausalito. Muir Woods is not far, only 13 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge (1/2 hour).

By all means - rent a car for the day. Simple to get there, cheapest, quickest, and allows the most flexibilty. Try to go on a weekday and get there EARLY - Muir Woods later in the day gets very crowded which, IMO, detracts from the experience. However, if you can't go early AM, you should STILL go - it's a "don't miss" kind of place.

If you are able to rent a car, then suggest that you also include the Marin Headlands and Sausalito in your itinerary north of San Francisco.

We will be in SF in mid September and will have a car. We will either be staying at Cow Hollow or Columbus Motor Inn, or maybe at FW if I can get a good deal on Priceline. With the plans we already have it would be afternoon before we would be able to drive to Muir Woods. Will traffic be a major problem around 2 or 3 in the afternoon? What route will we take to get there from the area where we are staying? We would also like to stop in Sausalito on the way back. Are shops open in the early evening?

mlm: Try to leave as soon as possible. 3pm is a bit late, so try to leave at 2pm or earlier. It's not so much the traffic, as you will not have much time to visit Muir Woods if you are leaving at 3pm from SF.

Cow Hollow is on Lombard. Just follow Lombard to the west, Lombard itself is Highway 101. If you keep following the signs for 101, it will take you across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Columbus Motor Inn is on Columbus. Go north on Columbus and turn left on Bay Street. Follow Bay Street until Laguna. Turn right on Laguna and keep following the turns. You should end up on Marina Boulevard which is parallel to the yacht harbor. Follow Marina all the way and it will carry you across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once across the GG Bridge, take the very first exit on the right. It will take you to a viewpoint. Spectacular views of the Bay!

Once you are back on Highway 101, just follow the signs for Muir Woods.

After your visit to Muir Woods, on your way back, follow the signs for Sausalito. I would suggest dinner in Sausalito. Try the Spinnaker Restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants there. Wonderful views of the Bay again.

Ask your hotel concierge to map the route for you if you have any problems. Have fun!

Any othr restaurant recommendations for Sausalito? or other "north counties" - - any location that would complement a day out in Marin (with Muir Woods as the primary focus)

Thanks in advance...

Rex
(mainly from the Europe forum)

Mountain Home Inn on Panoramic Hwy-you should pass it going to/from the Muir Woods. Spectacular view of Bay and Ocean!
R5

For directions and all the facts: http://www.mtnhomeinn.com
R5

I took bus #63 to Stinson Beach, and on the way the driver tried to explain to 2 hikers how to get to Muir Woods... take this bus only if you want to get lost in the mountains!

If you can rent a car (several rental locations in the city) this would be the best. Include Stinson Beach in your Muir Woods itinerary if you can.

Sausalito is easily accessible by bus and ferry, Golden Gate bus, not to be confused with MUNI. I think it's bus # 10, runs along Mission street and Van Ness.

Rex,

The Buckeye Roadhouse finally made it into the Top100 restauants of SF (and environs)f. The Oysters Bingo are not to be missed, fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.

The Buckeye Roadhouse is on your way home from Muir woods.

My other favorite is Guaymas. Upscale Mexican food at the very tip of Tiburon with a great view of the bay and San Francisco. On a warm late spring evening, it's perfect to be outside.

If there is fog the food, is still good, but I'd go to the Buckeye myself.

When considering staying at a FW hotel with a car, make sure to include the price of parking in your budget. A great deal with Priceline could be negated by parking rates. We've stayed at the Marriot and the Sheraton and the parking was around $30/day.

I really appreciate all these replies. We are re-thinking Muir Woods, since we are staying just 10 minutes away from Tuolomne Grove in Yosemite. We have been to Muir Woods before (my wife and I); our kids have not (ages 20, 21, 23).

Anyone have thoughts on the comparison between the two?

Although both have redwood trees, the coastal redwood forests are much different than the redwood forests in the high country. The coastal forests are fed by the fog, so different types of plants grow around the trees. The high country forests are drier and higher so there is different vegetation in the forest.

If you are just interested in seeing some REALLY big trees, then either forest will satisfy you. If you are interested in the forest as a whole, it's definitely worth the time to see both.

It just depends on how interested you are in seeing the different forests versus the bzillion other things in the state.

My wife and I also want to do Muir Woods when we vacation in SF in July. If we got an early enough start, could we hypothetically do Muir Woods, Marin, Stinson Beach, a meander around Port Reyes, AND dinner in Sausalito in one day--and still be able to return our rental car back to our hotel by the 6pm drop-off time? Or is that too much day-trippin'? Would it be more feasible to save Sausalito for another day and take a ferry out to it?