Permits, Fees and Other Information

• A permit is required to have a wedding of any size at here. And I'm going to be totally honest--it is VERY difficult to secure a permit here. This site is owned and managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and the staff there refuse to commit to a price, are slow to return emails and phone calls, and basically do everything they can to make the process of securing a permit as difficult as possible. That said, if this is where you want to be married, we'll take on the task of trying to obtain a permit for you.

• At Muir Woods National Monument, weddings may not restrict or limit the access of other visitors to the park. Therefore, permits for weddings are issued outside of peak visitor hours, so either before 10 a.m. or after 4:30 p.m. From March 15 to October 15, we are unable to issue permits for weekends and holidays.

• Capacity determined by site, no groups of more than 30 people. No chairs, lecterns, props, singing or music is allowed and there is no space for receptions on-site. For hopefully obvious reasons, no fire or flames are permitted under any circumstance. We also require that nothing is left behind, including flower petals, confetti, or rice, and all guests must remain on trail at all times. No foot or vehicle access into any closed area is allowed unless accompanied by NPS staff.

• The permit can be anywhere from $300 to 1 gazillion dollars (I say this because they have never given us an "upper limit" price.) Generally speaking, if your wedding is small and informal, they will book you at the $300 - $450 rate, but no promises can be made. 

• In additional, they charge us a $60 non-refundable application fee to apply for the permit. (If you book the site, the $60 is applied to your permit, but if you decline to book (after seeing the price), that $60 is not refundable.

• Your wedding must be--at minimum--six months in the future for us to attempt to book any GGNRA site. (Meaning, we won't apply for a permit if your wedding is less than six months away.) It simply takes too long for them to issue the permit so anything less than six months of lead time isn't workable.

• You must also pre-pay for parking for you, your vendors, and your guests (currently $9 per vehicle) as well as admission. ($15 per person)

• This site does not allow chairs, arches, lecterns or music. The sound of the wind in the trees is all you'll need anyway. You do not have exclusive use of the site when getting married here; most likely there will be tourists alongside your ceremony. This is not the site we recommend if you're looking for total privacy for your ceremony. 

• Note: Muir Woods is managed by the US (Federal) Government. In the event of a government shutdown, the site won't be acessible, even if you have obtaind a permit.

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Mill Valley Calendar of Events

IMPORTANT: be sure to check the calendar of events for the dates you're considering before you submit your date to us. Local events can impact traffic and the accessibility of your site.