Muir Woods National Monument is a 554 acre area managed by the National Park Service and is home to over 200 acres of "old growth" redwood forest. And when you're talking about redwoods, you're talking about really old: most of the trees at Muir Woods are 500 to 800 years old, with the oldest estimated at around 1,200 years old. Redwood Creek is an important habitat for salmon and the preserve is also home to over 50 species of birds.
Muir Woods was designated a National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 on land purchased by California Congressman William Kent who donated 295 acres to the federal government. It is named in honor of naturalist John Muir, who was one of the leaders in the creation of the National Park system. Muir Woods is less than 20 miles north of downtown San Francisco. The opening of the Golden Gate Bridge (in 1937) made it easy for hundreds of thousands of tourists to visit every year.