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The Muir Woods Shuttle
Insiders Tip: There is no cell service or WiFi service at Muir Woods itself — it’s in a mountain “dead zone.” If you need to download your parking pass or shuttle ticket, call anyone, arrange a ride or anything that you do on a cell phone, do so before taking the Muir Woods shuttle or leaving home. (You’ll see us repeat this warning below since it creates so many problems for visitors.)
Access to Muir Woods is controlled by a reservation system. Unless you hike into the park, you will need either a Muir Woods shuttle reservation (to ride the bus), or a parking reservation (to park your car, and there are no longer any alternate spots on the entry road), or to buy a ticket for a Muir Woods tour provided by an authorized tour operator (where you may have only 90 minutes in the park). Here are the bullet points you need to know:
- Muir Woods shuttle service runs every weekend all year round, but does NOT operate on weekdays except peak summer travel months. For summer, 2024, Muir Woods Shuttle service will be available on weekdays until September 18, 2024.
- During the summer, weekday Muir Woods Shuttle service is ONLY from Sausalito (at Bay & Bridgeway), and weekend/holiday service is ONLY from the Larkspur Ferry parking lot. Please don’t go to the wrong shuttle bus stop, because Godot and the shuttle will never show up.
- There is no parking in the area outside the Muir Woods lots. The old shoulder areas along the narrow roadside are now “No Parking” zones, and if you don’t ride the shuttle you’ll need to make and pay in advance for a parking reservation. These no parking zones have been “actively” enforced, and it’s an expensive ticket so there are no end runs to the parking and shuttle system.
- You need to make an online reservation to get a shuttle seat, and there is no support for walk-ups at the shuttle bus stops, (though if you want to be impulsive and you’re near the shuttle stop you can try to make a shuttle reservation on your phone with just a little lead time.)
- Muir Woods shuttle buses are provided by Marin Transit and will display the identifier, “Route 66” (Larkspur) or “Route 66F” (for Sausalito). Insiders Tip: All of the online Marin Transit schedule pages list Route 66 for all Muir Woods Shuttle service to both Larkspur and Sausalito. But the buses themselves in Sausalito still use the discontinued route number 66F, where “F” previously indicated the route that connected with the Sausalito Ferry.
- The Muir Woods Shuttle schedules change dramatically with the seasons, with minimal service in winter and maximum bus frequency in summer. When you use the online system to reserve your shuttle seats they’ll show you the days and times that are currently available to choose from.
- Your Muir Woods round trip will cost just $3.75 for riders ages 16 and up (an increase of 25 cents over last year). Those younger than 16 ride free, BUT YOU STILL NEED TO MAKE AN ONLINE RESERVATION FOR THEM.
- Clipper Cards are not accepted so there are no discounts on the (already low) Muir Woods Shuttle fare.
- There are two bus stops for Muir Woods shuttle riders, one full service stop in downtown Sausalito (with paid parking lots nearby that charge by the hour) and one weekends-and-holidays-only lot at the Larkspur Golden Gate Ferry Terminal in Larkspur (where weekend parking is free, he noted, doing a little dance of joy).
- The previously-used Manzanita, Marin City Transit Hub and Pohono St. Muir Woods Shuttle Stops are NOT currently being used, though this situation is likely temporary and some service to some of these spots will return as the pandemic recedes.
- You can only buy round trip tickets. There are no one way options. Which is good, since there are also no hotels or campsites in Muir Woods!
- You get to choose when you take the return bus back down the mountain to your shuttle bus stop, and they ask you what time you want to return so that they can reserve you a seat. If you aren’t staying too late you can return later than your return reservation SO LONG AS THERE ARE OPEN SEATS ON THE BUS. If you want to push your luck, you can stay all the way to when they close the park if you wish BUT…
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They warn visitors that the last buses of the day fill up early and they don’t come back for stranded people left in line after the last shuttle. This can leave people stranded up on Mt. Tamalpais in the Muir Woods parking lot, with no cell service and no WiFi to use to call a cab or a friend. It is critical that you not take chances and stay too late at Muir Woods if you are riding the shuttle. Ask the shuttle driver on the way up for advice on what time to line up for the return trip.
- You can cancel a shuttle reservation and get a full refund up to 72 hours ahead of your scheduled trip
- All Muir Woods shuttles can board passengers in wheelchairs.
- Service animals for disabled passengers are permitted on the Muir Woods Shuttle and in Muir Woods. All other animals are not permitted. This article answers many questions about service animals and the ADA.
- Buy your shuttle reservations or parking reservations ahead of time, because they can sell out many days in advance during busy travel times.
- If you have a Muir Woods shuttle reservation you do NOT need a parking pass, and vice versa.
- There is no Muir Woods Shuttle from San Francisco. Visitors from the City take the Sausalito Ferry to Sausalito, then walk about one block to the shuttle stop. Be sure to check the ferry schedule for that day so you know when the last ferry leaves to return to San Francisco. You can also buy Muir Woods bus tour tickets where a bus will pick you up in San Francisco and then return you there from Muir Woods after your visit.
Making Shuttle Reservations
- Visitors can make Muir Woods shuttle reservations up to 90 days in advance of your visit. We recommend that you reserve well in advance to secure the ideal dates and times. Click here to go to the Muir Woods reservations website.
- On the Muir Woods reservations system home page, look at the upper right hand corner of the screen. Click on the date there to display a calendar so you can choose the date you want to visit, then click on the “Reserve Now” button to go to the order page. On the order page you’ll need to:
- Choose which of the two Muir Woods shuttle bus stops in Larkspur and Sausalito you’ll start from (Sausalito or Larkspur), then…
- Choose what time you’ll want to take a bus from that stop
- Enter how many shuttle tickets you want to buy. It defaults to zero, and you have to enter a number before you’ll be allowed to…
- Go to the check-out page and use your credit card to pay the reservation fee
- You can reserve up to ten seats on the same Muir Woods shuttle on a single transaction.
- When you arrive at the Muir Woods shuttle stop be sure to bring a printed copy of your reservation or take a screen shot to make sure you can bring it up on your cell phone without using wifi or cellular. The reservation will have a bar code and the date and time you’ve selected — it’s very similar to the ticket systems used for concerts and Giants games.
- The staff members of the Muir Woods Shuttle are very considerate. They will use a handheld scanner to scan your reservation barcode off your phone, tablet or printed copy, and are happy to answer questions as they do so.
- The Marin Transit information van will often be at the Muir Woods Shuttle stop in Larkspur, and the staff there will also answer questions.
- You’ll buy your Muir Woods ticket once you get to the front gate.
There it is — you can now amaze your friends with the depth of your knowledge about the Muir Woods Shuttle!
