These photos were taken last week at Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County, California, a short drive north of San Francisco. Muir Woods is part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. You can click on the images to enlarge and view at a higher resolution.
Muir Woods is an old growth redwood forest. It feels like a church or a library or a little bit of both. At least until the tour buses arrive.
The coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is the tallest and among the oldest of living things.
The tallest trees at Muir come to around 250 feet, and the oldest ones are around 1200 years old.
The tallest and oldest trees at Muir Woods are relatively short and young for coastal redwoods which used to cover two million acres of coastal California and Oregon.
Most of that is gone now.
