We will be in Rohnert Park for a college volleyball tournament the end of August. We will be traveling with an 11 yr. old who has never seen redwoods before. We fly into Oakland on a Thursday morning and will be staying in Rohnert Park that night. The tournament is on Friday and Saturday at Sonoma State, then we fly back out of Oakland Sunday night. We will have a car and would like to do a little sight-seeing on Thursday and Sunday while we travel between the Bay Area and Rohnert Park. I know of Muir Woods in SF and also have heard of a large redwood grove near the Russian River area north of Santa Rosa. What would be best to try to see given our limited time?

Thanks for any tips you can give.

Muir Woods are not in San Francisco. They are in Marin north of SF. If it were me - I'd go to Muir Woods after landing in Oakland, on the way up to Rohnert Park. Your other option is on Sunday - but Sunday will be MUCH more crowded in the park

From OAK - cross the Bay bridge into SF, and then cross the Golden Gate bridge out of the city and follow the signs to Muir Woods. After your visit, hop on 101 and head up to Rohnert Pk.

I think you are talking about Armstrong Redwoods Park up in the wine country. Either Muir Woods or Armstrong are doable in a daytrip out of Oakland. Muir Woods is probably closer, but if you want to combine the trip with a drive through the wine country, Armstrong will be your best option.

To get to Muir Woods, would it be better to go through SF and over the GG bridge, or would it be better to bypass SF entirely and go over the San Rafael bridge? The San Rafael bridge is sort of the long way around, but would traffic be better? I am not familiar with the traffic patterns up that way, but I thought I would throw it out there as an alternate possibility. Maybe someone has more experience with that route.

Yeah - I was first going to send the OP over San Rafael Br -- but since they have all day and may not have another chance during their short trip to see the Golden Gate/a bit of SF I fugured the GG would be better. And actually I don't think San Rafael would save much if any time.

Actually I was waiting a reply to J.Correa's question since we will probably be going from San Rafael to Muir Woods (will already have been in San Francisco), so if you would tell us the best route I would appreciate it. Actually we probably will be going back and forth, so if there are two different scenic routes that would be great.

If we have time,we were considering going from Muir Woods to Point Reyes or down to the Marin Headlands area.

Thanks for the replies. Part of what I was looking for was which redwoods are the most impressive....Muir Redwoods or Armstrong Redwoods?

I know we can fit either place into our schedule, but don't know which redwoods would be the best to visit. My husband and I have been to Sequoia and Kings National Parks before, but youngest daughter has not seen any of the giant trees and we want to be sure she gets to on this trip.

Thanks again for the help!

To visit the Armstrong Redwoods (near the Russian River EAST of Santa Rosa)from Rohnert Park is a snap. Take Hwy 101
North to it's junction with Hwy 12.
Head west on 12 over to Sebstopol and take hwy 116 west up over into Guerneville.

A good map of the Sonoma County area will make it quite clear. While you're in Rohnert Park
find a Long's drugstore and purchase one of the Compass brands maps near the checkout lanes.

If you want to see the Muir Woods , I'd try to go as early in the AM as you can,
which may rule out Thursday AM.
If you still want to do the Muir Woods from OAK on Thursday AM and want to go the scenic route over
the Bay Bridge & the Golden Gate you can, traffic may be snarly.

You could also take Hwy 80 to Hwy 580
and cross the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, then head south on 101 to Mill Valley and head up Hwy 1 to Muir Woods via Panoramic. After your visit to Muir Woods, you could continue up Hwy 1
through Stinson Beach and Oleama/Pt Reyes. At Olema you could head east over to Petaluma and pick up Hwy 101
north and continue into Rohnert Park.

Or if you just want to head back up 101 north after Muir you could that-just do it BEFORE 3PM on a weekday, as commute traffic is ugly.

R5

Both Armstrong and Muir woods are stands of coastal redwoods, the difference between them and those you saw at Sequoia are here:
http://tinyurl.com/jpzs9

I prefer Armstrong because it's not
as crowded and you can truly feel the
magnificence of 300' tall trees! Driving along the Russian River is nice as well.

R5

Thanks for the opinion on the redwood groves .... that's what I was looking for. I'm leaning heavily toward missing out on traffic jams in the Bay area.

I know the coastal redwoods are different than the sequoias, but I'm sure they will impress our daughter.

Would a drive from Rohnert Park over to Bodega Bay be worth our time? We live in the Pacific Northwest and have spent some time on the Washington and Oregon coasts, but always enjoy a trip to the ocean.

I agree re the Armstrong Grove - both are fine but Armstrong would be a bit better

BUT "leaning heavily toward missing out on traffic jams in the Bay area. " -- don't think you will miss traffic by detouring around SF. Oakland is about smack dab in the middle of the Bay area and which ever way you end up driving there will be heavy traffic

I would go to Armstrong. Then continue out to the Coast and go south to Bodega Bay. Head back to Rhonert Park through the little town of Bodega, Sebastapol and then Rhonert Park. It's an easy day drive and you'll see some of the best Sonoma County has to offer; wine country, redwoods, coast and farm lands.

Thanks Catbert.....that's the kind of information I was really hoping for.

Do also consider a stop near Jenner
(where 116 stops at the coast)
turn left on to Hwy 1 and drive a few miles to Goat Rock State Park. Park your car and hike over the dunes to the beach. Turn right and walk toward the confluence of the Russian River and the Pacific. Enjoy the viewing the seals lounging around this area as as well.

Then you can head down to Bodega Bay
and back through Bodega and Sebastopol
as Catbert has so wisely suggested.


R5

I think Armstrong is where you want to go. It is much closer to Rohnert Park (take Hwy 116 to Guerneville, Armstrong is 2 miles north on an easy to find road). And Armstrong has taller trees ( up to 300 feet vs. 250 at Muir) and a better preserved understory, and a more interesting pamphlet for the nature trail. Armstrong does not get nearly as crowded as Muir, you will not have to park a mile from the entrance to get there, even on a Sunday, even the one Mother's Day I visited, which was the only time I would say it was "crowded" (I guess it was the thing to take Mom and the kids for a little hike there after church--even that did not compare to a typical Muir summer weekend). You can park in the lot just before the entrance and walk in for free, or pay and drive back among the redwoods, not a very common setup for redwoods. Neither park is a very large grove, only about a mile long, but Armstrong is a bit wider and has more flat land with easy hiking and larger redwoods throughout-- at Muir there is one main, paved trail with the biggest trees, while Armstrong has large trees along several trails branching off the main route.