Mark Your Calendar: The Final Muir Woods Night Tour of the Year Goes on Sale Soon

The last of Muir Woods National Monument’s incredibly popular night tours is taking place right before Halloween — and the park has just changed the process for snagging the tickets.

Park ranger Siena Hinshelwood told KQED that the new sign-up process is moving to the Recreation.gov page, the same site where campers can book sites at federal campgrounds. Previously, slots for the Muir Woods night tour were available to reserve through nps.gov. 

Tickets for the last Muir Woods night tour of 2026 on Friday, Oct. 30 will now be released at 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16 and will cost $1. The tour was previously free.

The night tour, which typically sells out immediately, takes hikers through the old-growth part of the park to observe and enjoy the redwood forest at dusk.

It lasts about two hours and takes hikers through two miles of the park, meandering along the Redwood Grove Trail and Hillside Trail to pass landmarks like Founders Grove and Cathedral Grove. The hike is mostly flat with one section of stairs. 

In the past, sign-ups for the tour have been extremely competitive, so getting a ticket right when they’re released is critical. This is also the last tour of the year, Hinshelwood confirmed, before 2027 dates are finalized.

In the new process, registration for the tour opens on recreation.gov two weeks before at 2 p.m. — rather than the previous opening time of 8 a.m. The tour is capped at just 30 people total, but 25 tickets will be released on that day. 

Missed out on the first round? The remaining five tickets will be released at midnight the day before the tour — in this case, on Thursday, Oct. 29.

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So, if you missed out on the first round of tickets, try logging in the night before for a second chance.

When registering, you can request tickets for up to four people. You’ll also have to pay a $1 nonrefundable reservation fee per person. 

For the best chances at these highly coveted tickets, make sure to create an account with Recreation.gov ahead of time, be logged in several minutes before the tickets are released and have your payment information ready. 

While parking reservations are typically required at Muir Woods before 6 p.m., you don’t need one to attend this event unless you plan on visiting the park more than an hour beforehand. 

If you miss out on these tickets, don’t stress. Many other park tours are happening all the time at Muir Woods, including:

• “Welcome to The Woods” 15-minute talks: Offered daily at 10:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. (and at 3:15 p.m. starting in May)
• One-hour ranger tours: Offered Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 11 a.m.
• Occasional Muir Woods Junior Ranger Days with activities for all ages