The most gorgeous way to spend a weekend: Muir Woods outside of San Francisco.
Free weekends are made for exploring! Especially when we have guests in town, we’re making a big effort to check out something new in the SF area. A couple of weekends ago our east coast friends Michele and Ian were visiting and we had a full list of activities. On Sunday we made our way up to Muir Woods for a cool walk along the giant trees.
After a little research, we learned that it’s best to get to the Muir Woods early for parking. If you get there after about 9:30am there’s a good chance you’ll have to park really far away and take a shuttle. Muir Woods National Park is less than an hour from downtown SF, we got there around 8:30am. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that if you get there before 9am, entrance is free! Otherwise, it’s $10 per person.
We wandered aimlessly through the park, taking in the fresh clear air and quiet of the forest. Another piece of advice, if you get there early you avoid crowds. After about an hour in the park, it started to get more crowded and very noisy with chatty visitors. If you want to enjoy some solace in the woods, get there early to have some time to yourself.
The hike effort level was pretty low, although we did climb one big hill. There were even some people running through the forest for an early morning workout. If you searched and went further, I’m sure you could find more challenging terrain if that’s what you were after.
After our hike, we made a stop in Sausalito for lunch at Salito’s Crab House. I loved this place, it’s right on the water and gives off the perfect seaside town vibe. I recommend the crab platter and fresh baked bread to share. Bloody Marys were pretty tasty as well. Can you get over these views from our table? I cannot.
We took a quick walk through the main street of Sausalito and grabbed ice cream at Lapperts. Minty Cookie and The Mayor (coffee ice cream with chocolate fudge chunks) for me. I kinda went all out, it’s cool.
I mean look at that double scoop in a waffle cone. It was worth it, ok?
Since we started our day so early, we were back home 3pm. For my SF pals or friends making a visit to the bay area, fit in a little time in Muir Woods and Sausalito, it’s a beautiful way to spend a morning.
