Weather Prompts Closure Of Muir Woods National Monument, Other Recreational Sites

MARIN COUNTY, CA – A winter storm moving through the North Bay Thursday has prompted the closure of several sites in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service officials said.

Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, Muir Beach Overlook, Stinson Beach and Tennessee Valley Beach are all closed. The Marin Headlands Visitors Center, however, remains open.

Park service officials said Muir Woods National Monument was closed due to safety concerns surrounding falling redwoods and their branches. This is the fifth weather-related closure of Muir Woods since winter storms began Jan. 8.

Other recreational sites, officials said, were closed because of the possibility of flooding.

A wind advisory is in effect until 4 p.m. for lower elevations in the North Bay. Winds gusts could be as high as 45 mph.

A flood warning for the North Bay coast is also in effect until noon, according to the National Weather Service.

Muir Woods and the other sites were open Wednesday and could reopen Friday.

Park service officials decide each day whether to reopen or close recreational sites, spokesman Nathan Hale Sargent said.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

Image by daveynin via flickr.com, under Creative Commons