After visiting the Muir Woods last time we were in the Bay Area, I knew I wanted to visit the site that John Muir called home. About 30 minutes outside the downtown area, I was surprised at this oasis tucked in off a busy road.

When We Visited: July 2014
Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 4
How long: We spent about an hour and a half and my kids felt super rushed. Its quite a peaceful places and there are plenty of picnic tables!

Our deal was they had to earn a Jr. Ranger badge this week in order to skip school completely while we were out camping with the cousins. I thought I would have more complaining, but the kids actually seemed to really enjoy visiting this Historic Site.

It helps that John Muir had a pretty cool house.

We spent quite a bit of time exploring the house. The Jr. Ranger Book has a scavenger hunt to find objects in the house, plus Rachel and Andrew enjoyed climbing up to the bell tower (Cara had a panic attack at the top and almost refused to climb down the steep stairs!).

My favorite was John Muir’s “Scribble Room”. It seemed to be his private sanctuary and a room where he could pen his thoughts without reservation. Muir spent quite a bit of his early life wandering the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and quite a bit of his later life writing about them to sway public opinion in favor of preserving these beautiful places.

The National Park Service was officially created two years after his death, but was influenced largely by Muir and his constant advocacy for preserving natural wilderness areas.

One voice really can make a difference. As we visit many of these National Parks during our travels, I’m grateful for those who saw beauty and strive to preserve it so that others may enjoy as well!