Ben Johnson Trail Loop

Looking for a way to get out of the Muir Woods crowd but still enjoy the redwoods? Try the Ben Johnson trail loop and you will get exactly what you want. This hike explores the ridges and upper reaches of Muir Woods without the crowds. Sometimes on those crowded summer days though, the crowd comes up here but the redwoods will give you the wilderness experience you want. You will not get to the redwoods without hard work though because both the uphills and downhills on the hike are steep. Only the last part of the hike in Muir Woods is not steep. Besides the redwoods, the hike shows you all of the terrains on Mt. Tam's Southside with the redwoods of course but also grassland and riparian woodland.

Terrian: Uphill mostly grassland, downhill redwood forest
Difficulty: moderately steep. Not the best hike for children who do not like short steep uphills.
Crowds: heavy in the last mile, heavier in the summer
Best times: Best in the spring or less crowded days
Length: 3.9 miles
Shade level: First half mostly unshaded, last part completely shaded

Directions:
Take Highway 101 to the Route 1 exit. Exit on Route 1 and follow Shoreline Highway until you are in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and hit Panoramic Highway. Turn right on Panoramic Highway and continue until a four way intersection. Take Muir Woods Rd. on the far left and go down until you see Muir Woods parking lot. Park in the overflow because the first parking lot is always full (although on the less crowded days, it would not hurt to look.)

The hike:
After parking in the overflow parking lot, go onto the trail heading towards Redwood creek. You can choose to make a right turn because the hike loops back but I prefer the left. Once you turn left, you will enter a riparian woodland with a few Douglas Firs but no redwoods. Up ahead, there is a redwood creek crossing on some planks acting as the bridge. If the creek is high, the planks will be underwater. If this is the case, you should return to the road and walk toward Muir Beach. Soon, you will see Deer Park Fire Road to your right. Hike up that and you can continue the loop. This adds about 0.8 miles extra to the hike. Assuming you can cross the creek, the Dipsea trail almost immediately begins a steep climb through the ferns and Douglas Firs. Bear with it because you will get a reward later. 0.4 miles and many switchbacks later, the Dispea trail will cross with Deer Park Fire Road for the first time. They intersect with each other several more times. At this point, I usually choose Deer Park Fire Road although Dipsea is a great option too.



Deer Park Ridge

Right after the first intersection, Deer Park Fire Road rounds a bend with great views of the ocean. Then it taunts you by going near to but not into the forest on the slope going down into Muir Woods. Then you finally cross through a stretch of trees only to discover it was very short. Yet the views on the grassland are nice except that trees are blocking views of the ocean now. Then there is a big open field of grassland with trees at the end. Dipsea intersects with Deer Park Fire Road for the last time on this hike and Deer Park Fire Road enters the redwood forest. I always think there will be no more grassland but I am wrong. The grassland comes back but then Deer Park Fire Road enters the woods again. This time, Deer Park Fire Road stays in the redwoods. If you look at the bark, you will see evidence of a fire that burned here. Also, a tree fell down nearby creating a large opening in the forest floor. You can continue examining the redwoods if you want because they are so wonderful. This is the reward you got for all that work earlier on Deer Park Fire Road.

All too soon, the Muir Woods boundary sign arrives and so does the intersection with Ben Johnson trail. To the left, there is a nice area to sit down with people and more than once I have seen groups sitting there. Turn right and go down the switchbacks through the redwoods. After about 5 minutes, the switchbacks end as the Staplevelt trail goes off to the left. It goes up 1 mile to Pantoll. This is the last trail intersection for about 1 mile. There is a bench here if you want to sit and enjoy the magnificant redwoods here. As you turn right, the trail begins to descend again. It is steep in places so watch your step. Also, there are some roots in the middle of the trail so be careful tripping over them. Also, stepping on the roots creates stress for the redwood trees so make sure to hop over the roots. Along the way down, you will notice holes that fires burnt in the bottom of the trees. There should be a couple you can go in but remember to careful and do not hurt the trees. Take some time to just look at the beauty of this forest that not many people know about. On the crowded days, people do come up here but while you are here, just look at the giants shooting up into the sky with the dead crunchy leaves on the ground near you. Okay, this is a bit off topic because this is a hiking guide and not a guide on how to look at a redwood. So 1 mile after intersecting with the Staplevelt trail and many great redwoods later, you will see the Hillside trail branch off to your right. Stick with the Ben Johnson Trail because one minute later, you will land at the intersection with the Muir Woods main trail after crossing Bridge 4.



Forest on Ben Johnson Trail

To your left is the Bootjack trail which follows the oh so flat and easy canyon until it becomes a long uphill climb which ends 3 miles later at the Mountain Theater. To your right though is the Muir Woods trail that follows the canyon and the redwoods until hitting Muir Woods parking lot. Turn right and you will follow the redwoods. Pretty quickly, you will be able to see the creek easily and salmon breed here often. Once I saw salmon fighting here over mates. Continue walking as you pass Camp Eastwood Road on the left. It goes up to Alice Eastwood Camp and Panoramic Highway. Fern Canyon trail goes up to the left after Camp Eastwood Road. Fern Canyon Trail follows the lovely canyon until going up the ridge to Alice Eastwood Camp. On the fence at this intersection, there is sometimes a ladybug colony but I have not seen them recently. The Muir Woods trail has many landmarks but I will mention most of them on another post. Keep walking on the trail and you will pass through Cathedral Grove and the quiet zones. After Cathedral Grove, you will see Bridge 3. Going either way is great but I prefer going over the bridge to see Bohemian Grove and a large tree with a burl. After exploring the redwoods, walk to Bridge 1 and past that is the main parking lot. If you parked in overflow, follow the path on the right as it takes you through the riparian woodland. Soon, you will be back at the overflow parking lot.

Additional options: You can add about 2 miles to your hike with this option. When you are at the Staplevelt intersection, you can take a left and walk 0.5 miles to the TCC trail (for more information on the TCC trail, look at my post on it.) You can walk 1.5 miles to your right and then take the Bootjack trail down to Muir Woods. This adds about 2.3 miles to the hike and although the TCC trail is really nice, I prefer the Ben Johnson trail to the Bootjack trail.