Date: December 19, 2016
Contact: Nathan Hale Sargent, 415-561-4732
MILL VALLEY, CA -- The National Park Service today posted a prospectus to develop and manage a reservation system and onsite parking for Muir Woods National Monument.
The reservation system, which is scheduled for implementation Fall 2017, will help manage visitation levels to reduce peak season overcrowding at the monument.
Prospective bidders may now submit proposals through April 18, 2017. A site visit is scheduled for January 18, 2017. For more information, visit https://concessions.nps.gov/muwo002-17.html
A New Way to Plan Your Visit to Muir Woods
Growing visitor demand at Muir Woods can lead to overcrowding and traffic congestion during peak visitation periods, conditions that detract from the principal goals for the monument -— providing an inspiring and contemplative experience. Congestion also affects nearby residents.
Through the reservation system, a third-party operator will manage reservations and onsite parking of personal vehicles as well as reservations for the Muir Woods Shuttle. Commercial carriers will be managed through a separate, forthcoming plan.
Annual visitation is expected to be reduced to 924,400 visitors under the new system (from an estimated 1,100,000 visitors in 2015).
For more information about the reservation system, including required elements and pricing structure, please refer to the Muir Woods Reservation System prospectus here.
The reservation system is a cornerstone of a 2015 Memorandum of Understanding between the National Park Service and the County of Marin. The MOU outlines a family of projects that will improve the visitor experience to Muir Woods while working to enhance the health of the Redwood Creek watershed.
The related Muir Woods Sustainable Access Project proposes to modify the parking areas at Muir Woods to improve the flow of traffic and mitigate stormwater runoff. That project was open for public comment through December 5, 2016.
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Additional background on the Muir Woods reservation system can be found in the project’s 2015 Environmental Assessment here.
