Muir Woods Night Tour

This program has a new registration process as of October 2026. Continue reading for more information.

Ever wondered what Muir Woods is like after the park closes?

Join us on our evening tour to explore what keeps the redwood forest awake when we go to sleep. Step outside your comfort zone and into the ancient, nocturnal setting of Muir Woods for this two-hour, two-mile walk.

After all, we're only visitors in a place where countless animals call home - and many are crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn) or fully nocturnal (active at night). By learning about what animals are in the forest and when, we can better understand how to protect and appreciate the whole ecosystem.

The night tour is a 2-mile round-trip ranger-led walk in Muir Woods National Monument using the Redwood Creek and Hillside trails. Redwood Creek is the primary, highly accessible trail. It is flat with boardwalk and pavement. The Hillside trail is a 0.5-mile trail that runs parallel to Redwood Creek trail. After climbing some stairs about 50 feet above Redwood Creek, the trail flattens out, and then descends back into Redwood Creek trail. It is slightly narrow with steep drop offs in some areas with exposed tree roots.

Groups can reserve up to 4 people on Recreation.gov. Registration for 25 tickets opens at 8AM PDT two weeks before the program date, and 5 more are released at 8AM two days before the tour (10/28/26). The program has a $1.00 nonrefundable reservation fee. We recommend that visitors interested in registering create their Recreation.gov account ahead of time and have payment information connected to the account as this is a very popular tour and fills up fast.

Parking reservations are not required for this program unless you plan to arrive more than 1 hour before the tour. Visitors to Muir Woods can make a parking reservation and pay park entry at GoMuirWoods.com. Annual and lifetime park passes can be used to waive entry fees but not parking reservations.