Founders Grove

Visitors gather at Founders Grove for a ranger program.

Quick Facts

Amenities

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Scenic View/Photo Spot

This redwood grove includes some of the woods' biggest trees, including the Pinchot tree. The health of the towering redwoods depends on the complex soils of the forest floor, a product of fungal decay and recycling of low greenery, understory trees and the redwoods themselves.

A Life and Death Situation

The impressive size of coast redwoods may suggest dominance over other species in their habitat, but in fact it's just the opposite. Redwoods are only able to grow as a result of their unique biotic community. A healthy redwood forest usually includes massive Douglas firs, tanoaks, madrones and other trees. On the forest floor, among ferns and leafy redwood sorrel, mosses and mushrooms help to regenerate the soil. And of course, the redwoods themselves eventually fall to the forest floor where they decompose and return nutrients to the soil.

Many different shrubs populate the understory of old-growth redwood forests, including numerous berry bushes. Some examples include: huckleberry, blackberry and thimbleberry, which act as seasonal food sources for raccoons and other forest inhabitants.

When left to their own devices, redwood forests are natural recyclers. The 35 inch average yearly rainfall provides the soil with some nutrients, but trees must rely on each other, living and dead, to receive all they need to be healthy. To complete this process, redwoods must decay naturally along the forest floor. These decaying trees are what's known as "nurse logs." When logging occurs and the trees are removed, this cycle is disrupted. Since trees have never been logged at Muir Woods, the natural ecological process continues as nature intended.