Places

This listing below primarily represents places named for Muir.

For places important to him, which he or others wrote about his experiences there, see:

  • Solar System – Universe
  • Minor Planet Named for John Muir (2006) – This 1-mile diameter celestial body, now named “Johnmuir” is Solar System object number 2004PX42. It was named by its discoverer, amateur astronomer R.E. Jones, in honor of our pioneer conservationist. Seems appropriate for someone who gave his address as “Earth-Planet, Universe.”

Planet Earth

Australia

John Muir visited Australia as part of his 1903-1904 world tour.

John Muir visited zoological and botanical gardens and parks in Fremantle, Melbourne, and Sydney. He traveled inland to see the eucalyptus forests of the Great Dividing Range and took the train from Sydney to Mt. Victoria in the Blue Mountains to see the Jenolan Caves. He went to Queensland to see the Hoop Pine and saw the Great Barrier Reef from his ship.

The Narbethong Special Purposes Reserve preserves some of the beech trees, eucalyptus, and tree ferns that Muir saw on his trip.

Muir’s journals of his Australia trip have never been published, but can be found, together with letters he wrote from Australia to family and friends, in the John Muir Papers, Microform edition, at the Holt-Atherton Library, University of the Pacific.

The best source for information about Muir’s Australian travels is the article “John Muir’s Travels in Australasia, 1903-1904: Their Significance for Conservation and Environmental Thought” by C. Michael Hall, in John Muir: Life and Work edited by Sally M. Miller (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1993). C. Michael Hall is with the Department of Tourism and Communication, University of Canberra, Australia.

See also “John Muir and Tall Trees of Australia” by P.J. Ryan: in John Muir: Life and Legacy, the Pacific Historian, Vol. 29, No. 2 & 3 (Summer/Fall 1985) (PDF available from University of Oregon)

Brazil

  • “John Muir in the Amazon Basin” , by Laurel Bemis
  • John Muir’s Last Journey – Press Release about Muir’s travel journals and correspondence covering his travels to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile – fulfilling his life-long dream to explore the Amazon. On the same trip, he also traveled to Africa, after visiting Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay,  especially to see the famed Monkey-Puzzle Tree of Chile.

Canada

  • General: Canada on John Muir Global Network
  • Taking the train route from Madison Wisconsin via Chicago on March 1, 1864, Muir crossed the international border at Windsor, Canada West, which later became the Province of Ontario. Alighting somewhere in present southern Ontario, his purpose was to botanize and pursue his inventions. He explored the area bounded by lakes Erie, Ontario, and Huron over the following several months. He spent the spring, summer, and fall of 1864 exploring the woods and swamps, and collecting plants around the southern reaches of Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay. Muir hiked along the Niagara Escarpment, including much of today’s Bruce Trail. In May of 1864, he had penetrated northward as far as Simcoe County. On the 18th of that month he started on a three weeks’ ramble through Simcoe and Grey Counties, walking an estimated distance of about three hundred miles. During July he was botanizing north of Toronto in the Holland River swamps, and on highlands near Hamilton and Burlington bays. In August he is again about the shores of Lake Ontario and in the vicinity of Niagara Falls, which he described as “the grandest sight in all the world.” With his money running low and winter coming, he reunited with his brother Daniel near Meaford, Ontario, who persuaded him to work with him at the sawmill and rake factory of William Trout and Charles Jay. Muir lived with the Trout family in an area called Trout Hollow, south of Meaford, on the Bighead River. He did not leave Canada until March of 1866, when the rake factory burned down.
  • Trout Family History – a blog by a descendent of the family who hired and befriended John Muir during his two years in Meaford, Canada.
  •  Ontario
    • Bruce Trail
    • “The Calypso Borealis” by John Muir, excerpted from The Life and Letters of John Muir.
    • Was John Muir a Draft Dodger? by Harold Wood. Essay details the timeline of Muir’s Canada sojourns, and specific locations, showing that Muir did not go to Canada to evade the Civil War draft.
    • Meaford – Muir wrote, “When I came to the Georgian Bey of Lake Huron, whose waters are so transparent and beautiful, and the forests about its shores with their ferny, mossy dells and deposits of boulder clay, it seemed to be a most favorable place for study… In a beautiful dell, only a mile or two from the magnificent bay, I fortunately found work in a factory where there was a sawmill and lathes for turning out rakes, broom, and fork handles, etc.” Muir worked at Trout’s mill for a year and a half, greatly improving the efficiency of output of rake handles by making efficiency improvements. But on February 21 of 1866, the factory building and all of its contents took fire, thus ending Muir’s Meaford sojourn.
    •  John Muir lived in Meaford 150 years ago – the Meaford Museum includes information about Muir’s youthful stay there for two years.

    Chile

    Cuba

    New Zealand

    Scotland

    • General: Scotland on John Muir Global Network
    • John Muir Way – The John Muir Way stretches 134 miles or 215 km across Scotland’s heartland, running between Helensburgh in the west through to Dunbar on the east coast and Muir’s birthplace. It is a walking and cycling path, that can also be ridden in parts by horseback. Opened in 2014, the centenary of John Muir’s death, the John Muir Way encourages Scots to engage with nature on their doorstep and to awaken interest and respect for John Muir’s philosophy across Scotland.
    • Dunbar
      • Photo Essay of John Muir’s Dunbar (20 photos with text) from BBC!
      • Text Essay of John Muir’s Dunbar (Discover how John Muir’s life and legacy were shaped by his boyhood in East Lothian, Scotland, in this illustrated essay from the BBC.
      • Muir’s View – a putting green located on the Winterfield Golf Course, overlooking the beach at Belhaven Bay which is part of the John Muir Country Park.
      • John Muir Country Park – The Park is a coastline area of land of 1,667 acres set aside for the conservation of nature and for people to freely enjoy the beautiful coastline. The Park begins at the Dunbar Castle where Muir played as a child, and extends northward. The park was approved in 1976 and was the first of its kind in Scotland.
      • John Muir Birthplace Re-Opens (August, 2003)
      • Friends of John Muir’s Birthplace – A new interpretive center has been developed by the John Muir Birthplace Trust. (offsite links)
      • A series of street names in the former Lochend Estate to the south of the town are named for Muir: John Muir Crescent, John Muir Gardens, John Muir Place, John Muir Road, and John Muir Way. David Anderson, a Dunbar resident writes: “All of the streets in this residential development of approximately 500 new homes (2002-2003) will be named after notable Dunbar people (mind you, some are only notable to us). A large woodland associated with the old estate will be preserved for community use and will be managed for the benefit of wildlife.”
      • Discover Dunbar – Official Website
    • Edinburgh
      • John Muir Building – at The University of Edinburgh
      • John Muir Building – at Heriot-Watt University, housing programs in Biology, Marine Science and Environmental Management, Sport and Exercise Science, and the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD)
      • Engraved John Muir Quote at Scottish Parliament Building
      • Makar’s Court – engraved flagstone with John Muir quote – installed in 2014 at the Edinburgh Writer’s Museum. On Tuesday 29th April 2014 John Muir, became the thirty-eighth Scot to be commemorated at Makars’ Court with the unveiling of an inscribed flagstone. The flagstone, which has been sponsored by the John Muir Birthplace Trust, bears the inscription: John Muir (1838 –1914) “I care only to entice people to look at Nature’s loveliness.” (from The Life and Letters of John Muir by William Frederic Bade, Volume 11, Chapter XI On Widening Currents 1873-1875. Letter to Mrs Carr from John Muir, Yosemite Valley, 7 October 1874).
      • John Muir Grove – in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. A popular venue for weddings, the grove feature California Redwoods over 24 meters in height that were planted in the 1920s, as well as rhododendrons. John Muir quotes are sometimes featured in exhibitions elsewhere in the Garden.
    • Glasgow – John Muir Room and four stained-glass panels, created by the artist John K Clark, includied a glass quotation from Muir, was unveiled on April 29, 2008 at Oran Mor, a popular bar, restaurant and entertainment events venue located in a historic converted church in west Glasgow.
    • Haddington – John Muir House – East Lothian Council (local government) headquarters (click on link to view photo)

    United States of America

    • Alaska
      • Glacier Bay National Park
        • John Muir Cabin – Tongass National Forest
        • Muir Glacier – Named about 1880 for John Muir, 1834-1918, the American naturalist and conservationist who discovered this glacier on his 1879 trip to Alaska. In Glacier Bay National Monument, heads about 9 mi. S of Mount Harris, trends SE to Muir Inlet, 6 mi. NW of Westdahl Point and 77 mi. NW of Hoonah, St. Elias Mts.
        • Muir Inlet
        • Muir Point– The USGS reports (via Orth) that Camp Muir was named in 1890 by Reid (1892, p. 21). “On July 1st the George W. Elder cast anchor in Muir Inlet, not far from the glacier, and landed our instruments, tents, personal baggage, and provisions on the eastern shore. We found Professor Muir and Mr. Loomis encamped there * * *. This was our base-camp, and, in honor of Professor Muir we named it Camp Muir.” The point of land was named for the camp. Located at mouth of Adams Inlet, on Muir Inlet, in Glacier Bay National Monument, 2 mi. SSW of Point George, 55 mi. NW of Hoonah; St. Elias Mts.
        • Mount Muir – The USGS states that this was a name reported in 1908 by Grant and Higgins (1910, pl. 2) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Probably named for John Muir. Located NW of Harriman Fiord, 8 mi. NW of Point Doran and 50 mi. E of Anchorage, Chugach Mts.Ketchikan
      • Ketchikan
        • At one time, there was a Blueberry Hill Bed and Breakfast Inn, with a John Muir Room. The Proprietors note: ed”John Muir Room: An exceptionally spacious room with Deer Mountain and water views from picture windows. Once a library, this warm, light, airy room provides an ample sitting area. Early morning and afternoon light. Extra spacious, full private bath.”
      • Wrangell
    • California
      • General: California on John Muir Global Network
      • Anaheim
        • Disney California Adventure Theme Park
          • Grizzly Peak Airfield – officially opened May 15, 2015
            • Mt. Muir Lookout
            • Sign with Muir quote: “Come to the woods, for here is rest.”
            • Sign with Muir quote: “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
      • Berkeley
        • John Muir School
          • General Information – The school is located in a historic 1916 Tudor-style building , and sits nestled among redwood trees, a large grassy field, native plants, flourishing vegetable gardens, and a burbling creek. As of 7 January 2022, the school’s official website, and its independent PTA website states: “The John Muir community is proud of and connected to their school’s namesake and to the natural beauty of their environment.” However, Berkeley School Disrtrict, like many others, are re-considering names of historic figures in its schools. It recently changed the name of its Washington and Jefferson schools. The former Jefferson schoool is now the Ruth Acty School, named for the first teacher of color in ?Berkeley Unified School District?. The Washington School will be renamed in the near future, currrently targeted for March, 2022. Will Berkeley school officials re-name Muir elementary school as well?
          • John Muir School PTA
          • City of Berkeley Landmark designated in 1983. (off-site link).
      • Burbank
      • Chico
        • John Muir Luminary Art Bench – see our sculpture page.
      • Coarsegold
        • John Muir Court
        • John Muir Drive
      • Coulterville
        • John Muir Highway – The John Muir Highway was established to honor the legendary naturalist John Muir by developing visitor sites along the County Road J132 route of Muir’s 1868 walk to Yosemite from San Francisco.
        • John Muir Geotourism Center – Educational organization, growing out of the John Muir Highway project, promoting exploring, learning, sharing, and preserving the natural environment for mental, spiritual and physical development, as exemplified in John Muir’s life.
      • Corcoran
      • Cupertino
      • Elk Grove
        • John Muir Court
      • Fontana
        • Muir Street (in Village of Heritage)
      • Fresno (City)
      • Fresno County
        • Kings Canyon National Park
            • John Muir Lodge, Grant Grove Village. Muir’s travels in the area are commemorated in the lobby paintings and photos. See also National Park Service Page on John Muir Lodge (Off-site link)
            • Muir Rock – in Kings Canyon National Park, at Road’s End in Cedar Grove. An interpretive marker nearby notes that Muir used to lecture on geology and natural history on this large river-side flat-topped granite boulder during early-day Sierra Club Outings to the area.
            • John Muir Rock – A natural pillar located along the slopes of Mt. Henry off the John Muir trail at the north end of Kings Canyon National Park; Latitude: 37.2179943°N Longitude: -118.8237249°W Approx Elevation: 8,353 ft (2,546 m). Found on the Mount Henry USGS topographic quad map
            • John Muir Memorial Muir Shelter (aka as “Muir Hut”) – Located on Muir Pass. Read more….
            • Muir Pass
      • Glendale
      • Groveland
          • Pine Mountain Yosemite Lake Lodge (Bed and Breakfast Inn), John Muir Room. The proprietors note: “Decorated in warm hues of nature’s bounty and accented by hand-hewn log furnishings, the John Muir room honors the great naturalist known the world over for his preservation work. Quite eccentric, Muir once tied himself to the top of a pine tree in a storm so that he could feel the power of Mother Nature. Featuring a queen bed and private bath with shower, this first-floor room’s majestic pine furnishings and natural accents provide guests a small glimpse of John Muir’s love affair with nature.”
      • Hayward
          • Muir Elementary School (Closed 2009) -It appears the building is now used as a parent resource center.
      • Idyllwild
          • John Muir Road
      • La Jolla
      • Lake Arrowhead
          • John Muir Road
      • Lodi
          • John Muir Elementary School (K-6), 2303 Whistler Way, Stockton, CA 95209., Lodi Unified School District. As of February 2022, the school’s website notes: “John Muir Elementary School is named after the famous environmentalist, Yosemite advocate and founder of the Sierra Club. John Muir also known as “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks”, was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States of America.” The school quotes Muir: “Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”
      • Lone Pine
          • East Muir St.
      • Long Beach
      • Los Angeles (city)
      • Los Angeles County
          • Muir Peak – A peak with an elevation of 4682 feet. According to the USGS, Named for John Muir (1838-1914), naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club, who devoted his life to the conservaton movement. (US-T121) Location: 4 km (2.5 mi) southwest of Mount Wilson and 7.2 km (4.5 mi) north of Pasadena. (US-T121). the USGS indicates that the name is not“John Muir’s Peak” or “Muirs Peak” but simply “Muir Peak.”
          •  
      • Mammoth Lakes
          • John Muir Road
          • Mammoth Country Inn (Bed & Breakfast), John Muir Room. Website deleted as of 2022. The proprietors noted: “Take a step back to the early days in the Sierra with the John Muir Room. Antique furnishings and early photographs will transport you back to the days of John Muir’s tramping through the great wilderness of the Sierra Nevadas. This room has a private full bath, although not adjoining. Or, consider using the room as an inexpensive second bedroom for a family or small group.
      • Marin County
        • Muir Woods National Monument
          • Muir Beach, an unincorporated community in Marin County, and a census designated place with a population of about 300 people. Unlike many other entities in the area, it is not named directly in honor of conservationist John Muir; instead, it was named after Muir Woods National Monument to capitalize on the latter’s popularity. According to Jim Wood, until 1940 the area was called Bello Beach, after Portuguese immigrant Constantino Bello who operated his Golden Gate Dairy here on the three ranches he bought on surrounding lands. The community itself flanks the northwest side of the beach.
        • John Muir Room at Cavallo Point – the Lodge at the Golden Gate in Sausalito.
      • Mariposa County
        • John Muir Highway – The John Muir Highway was established to honor the legendary naturalist John Muir by developing visitor sites along the County Road J132 route of Muir’s 1868 walk to Yosemite from San Francisco. In 2010, both Mariposa and Tuolumne counties designated Highway 132 from Coulterville to Highway 120, a major route into Yosemite National Park, as the John Muir Highway. See: Yosemite Highway Dedicated to John Muir – Press Release by Yosemite/Mariposa County Tourism Bureau. See also the Friends of John Muir Highway on Facebook.
        • John Muir Geotourism Center – Educational organization, in Coulterville (Mariposa County) growing out of the John Muir Highway project, promoting exploring, learning, sharing, and preserving the natural environment for mental, spiritual and physical development, as exemplified in John Muir’s life.
      • Martinez
        • John Muir Elementary School (K-5) – Martinez Unified School District (offsite link)
        • John Muir Inn
        • John Muir National Historic Site (Our pages)
        • John Muir National Historic Site (offsite link to National Park Service official site)
        • Carol Mendel Pictorial Map (offsite link)
        • John Muir Park – A small park with a dirt pathway in the shape of a circle, symbolizing wholeness. Located on Vista Way and Pine Street next to the John Muir School.
        • John Muir Parkway – The section of California State Route 4 between Interstate-80 in Hercules to Interstate-680 east of Martinez.
        • John Muir Statue
        • John Muir Road
        • Muir Lodge Motel
        • Muir Station – This was a historic railroad station depot which entered service May 1, 1900, and named in honor of John Muir. It was located just east of the Alhambra Valley Trestle, for which John Muir and his wife conveyed the right-of-way to the railroad company. See John Muir and the Alhambra Valley Trestle by National Park Service (PDF) , and The Alhambra Valley Trestle: Then and Now: A Centennial by John A. Keibel (1999). The train station is gone; but there is today a shopping center in Martinez nearby with the same name.
        • Muir Station Road
        • John Muir Mural on Alhambra Ave. – See Christopher Castle web page for more information about the two John Muir murals in Martinez.
      • Mather (Near Groveland & north entrance to Yosemite National Park)
        • John Muir House at Evergreen Lodge – Built in 2009, this rental cabin is a  2,500 square foot rental home with three bedrooms and a large loft. Actually located in the Mather area (on Evergreen Road (off Hwy 120) along the entrance to Hetch Hetchy) the Evergreen Lodge official mailing address is Groveland, California.
      •  Merced
        • John Muir Elementary School – (offs-sitelink to Merced School District)
        • John Muir Conference Room – in the Social Sciences and Management Building, University of California, Merced.
      • Mill Valley
          • John Muir Rd.
      • Modesto
        • John Muir Elementary School (built in 1923, this school was originally in a brick building at 800 East Morris Ave. The John Muir School moved to their current location at 1215 Lucern Ave, Modesto, CA 95350 in 1951. The original site on Morris Ave. was abandoned as a school ,and burned down in October, 2007) .
        • John Muir Park, 816 High St.
        • John Muir Hall, Modesto Junior College, West Campus, 2201 Blue Gum Avenue.
        • Muir Road
      • Mountain View
        • John Muir Drive
      • Napa
        • The John Muir Inn (hotel now closed
        • Muir-Hanna Vineyards – Family Wine label from John Muir’s descendents, now discontinued.
      • Newark
        • John Muir Drive
      • Oakland
      • Pasadena
      • Pleasant Hill
        • Contra Costa County Office of Education, John Muir Room
      • Riverside
        • Mt. Rubidoux – A plaque with a quote by John Muir is featured on Huntington Rock at Mount Rubidoux in Riverside. The famed naturalist visited the site himself in June, 1907.
      •  Sacramento
        • John Muir Park
        • John Muir Charter School (off-site link) – provides high school services to over 35 California Conservation Corps, Local Conservation Corps, YouthBuild, and Job Corps sites around the state of California. Established in 2002.
      • San Bernardino
        • Muir Mountain Way (street)
      • San Bruno
        • John Muir Elementary School
      • San Diego
        • John Muir Language Academy (formerly known as John Muir School) is a dedicated district magnet school focused on Spanish language immersion, global citizenship and Paideia teaching strategies.
        • John Muir College, University of California, San Diego (also listed under La Jolla)
      • San Francisco
      • San Jose
      • San Leandro
      • Santa Ana
      • Santa Monica
      • Sebastopol
        • Muir’s Tea Room – Inspired by the great conservationist, and Scottish native John Muir, Muir’s Tea Room opened in December, 2014. Located in downtown Sebastopol in a historic Victorian, Muir’s Tea Room offers traditional Scottish/ English tea service.
      • Sierra Nevada
        • John Muir Trail – 211.9 miles long, beginning originally at the Sierra Club’s LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite, now beginning at Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley, and ending on the summit of Mount Whitney. The John Muir Trail was created by state legislation on behalf of the Sierra Club for a specific purpose; that of recognizing the service John Muir made in “making known to the world the wonders of the mountains of California.” In 1915, the year after Muir died, the Sierra Club won passage of California state legislation appropriating $10 grand for construction of the John Muir Trail, the first of five such appropriations. Together with the appropriation, the California legislature stated, in language originally drafted by Sierra Club Secretary William E Colby: “Section 3. The trail to be constructed with the moneys hereby appropriated shall be known as the ‘John Muir Trail”‘in honor of the late John Muir who has performed an inestimable service in making known to the world the wonders of the mountains of California.” The memorial idea came first, and the JMT then was created to be that memorial. As Sierra Club leader Francis Farquahar has said, “[The John Muir Trail is] a magnificent memorial, a highway for devout pilgrims blessing the memory of the prophet who was the first to sing the praises of this glorious sequence of mountain, meadow, pass, and lake. “
        • Inyo and Sierra National Forests
          • John Muir Wilderness – Inyo National Forest and Sierra National Forest share management responsibility for the John Muir Wilderness.
            • Muir Lake
      • Siskiyou County
        • Black Butte, a “plug dome” volcano located between Mt. Shasta City and Weed, was once known as Muir Peak. It has sometimes been called a cinder cone, resulting from one of Mount Shasta’s many eruptions…but is actually a separate volcano, complete with a well defined hiking trail to the summit. Source: Siskiyou County Visitors Bureau
      • Sonora
        • “John Muir Building,” so named in the 1990’s, at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds, has now been re-named “Tribes of Tuolumne” building. It is the largest building at this fair, at 11,250 sq. ft. According to the book “History of the 29th District Agricultural Association, Mother Lode Fair,” by Joseph and Betty Sparagna, the John Muir building, built in 1949, was originally called the Main Exhibit building. Several buildings at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds are getting new names as part of sponsorship program to raise money for maintenance needs and upgrades to the facilities. The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California are jointly sponsoring the Tribe of Tuolumne building. Ken Alstott, chief executive officer of the Mother Lode Fairground said the sponsorships will provide over $23,400 in revenue combined over the next three years. “This is done at a lot of fairgrounds across the state to generate revenue,” he said. All county fairs lost state funding years ago that used to make a sizeable chunk of their budgets due to the money being redirected by lawmakers for other uses. State funding used to account for more than a third of the Mother Lode Fairgrounds’ annual operating budget, which is currently just under $500,000 a year. The fairgrounds has received state grants and done fundraising in recent years to upkeep and improve the facilities, such as putting new bathrooms in all of the buildings. “This will continue to provide funding to keep upgrading the fairgrounds,” Alstott said of the sponsorship program. See “John Muir, Creekside buildings at Mother Lode Fairgrounds to get new name,” by Alex MacLean, The Union Democrat 1 July 2019.
      • Stockton
      • Sugar Pine
        • Back in 2005, the small All Seasons Sugar Pine Resort (Bed & Breakfast, on Sonora Pass Highway (CA Hwy 108)), had a John Muir Room/Suite. The proprietors noted: ” John Muir was the consummate hiker, explorer and traveler. I honor his spirit with a very special Suite. A King size Cedar bed is featured with a twig canopy carved from the wood from this property. A mural of forests, the sky, a waterfall, leafs, and finally John Muir, makes this room a work of art. The majority of furniture is hand made by local artists with bedding and drapes custom appointed to enhance the world-class experience.” As of 2022, this bed and breakfast does not exist by that name.
      • Tuolumne County
          • In 2010, both Mariposa and Tuolumne counties designated Highway 132 from Coulterville to Highway 120, a major route into Yosemite National Park, as the John Muir Highway. See: Yosemite Highway Dedicated to John Muir – Press Release by Yosemite/Mariposa County Tourism Bureau. Website: John Muir Highway – named for the route of a portion of Muir’s 1868 walk to Yosemite from San Francisco.
          • Yosemite National Park
            • Muir Gorge
            • Muir Plaque, in Yosemite Valley
      • Tulare County
        • John Muir Lodge – SCICON (Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation) (Note to be confused with the hotel John Muir Lodge, Grant Grove Village, Kings Canyon National Park. (Off-site linka)
        • Lemon Cove
        • Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park
          • John Muir Lodge in Grant Grove Village. Muir’s travels in the area are commemorated in the lobby paintings and photos.
          • Muir Grove (of Giant Sequoias)
          • Muir Mountain
          • Mount Muir
        • Visalia
          • 056 John Muir Building – New science building (2007) at College of the Sequoias.
      • Walnut Creek
  • Connecticut
  • Florida
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
    • “Among Kentucky Forests and Caves,” Chapter One of A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, by John Muir
    • John Muir’s Longest Walk by John Earl (book jacket summary) 
    • In Muir’s Steps: Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of John Muir’s Trek Through Kentucky (in 3 parts) by Andrew Berry (September 1, 2017; accesed May 16, 2024) – off-site link to Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest
    • Retracing John Muir’s Famous Walks and Travels
    • Retracing John Muir’s Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf By Chad Gilpin (Master’s Thesis, 2017, University of Kentucky.) (PDF) (off-site link)
    • John Muir’s Southern Trek, 150 Years – Conserved Land Along Muir’s Path Through Kentucky September 1, 2017 (off-site link)
    • John Muir’s Exploration in Kentucky by Ken Johnson (November 24, 2020, accessed May 16, 2024) (Off-site link to Bernheim Forest and Arboretum website)
    • John Muir Highway – Highway 90 starts in Cave City, KY, and goes 35 miles to Burksville, KY.
    • Hart County
      • Munfordville
        • John Muir and Robert Munford Historical Plaque erected by the Munfordville Tourism Commission. Tells the story of Johh Muir meeting the founder of Munfordville, Robert Munford, a surveyor and bee-keeper on September 5, 1867, as told in Muir’s book A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf.
    • Wolfe County
      • Muir Valley – a privately owned nature preserve and rock climbing area in the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky. The Valley is approximately 400 acres in size and walled in by over seven miles of majestic cliffs of hard Corbin Sandstone. The owners, Rick & Liz Weber, chose the name, “Muir Valley”, to honor the memory of John Muir. They write:

        “John Muir is revered as the “Father of the National Parks.” His reputation as a conservationist has overshadowed his achievements as a rock climber. The climbing community recognizes him as the greatest climber in America during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, in terms of first ascents and technical skills. His achievements are especially impressive in view of the fact that he free soloed his climbs and did so without the benefit of modern climbing equipment.

        Muir discovered that climbing rock provided him with an enchanting perspective of the natural beauty around him that viewing from the ground could not. Many of us who climb have been fortunate to make this same discovery. We believe, as John Muir did, that responsible rock climbing in places of natural beauty is altogether fitting and proper.

        In 1890, when Yosemite Valley was set aside as a national park, solely due to Muir’s efforts, the land was scarred by logging trails and tree stumps. With much work and the natural healing effects of time, Yosemite has grown into a wondrous place for all lovers of nature — flatlanders and rock climbers alike. On a much smaller scale, we are faced with similar challenges and hold hopes that this little Kentucky valley, with its waterfalls, caves, and breathtaking cliffs will grow into a place that old Muir would have enjoyed climbing in and sauntering through.”

  • Nebraska
    • Writing in July 1896 to his daughter Wanda, Muir wrote “Nebraska is monotonously level like a green grassy sea – no hills or mountains in sight for hundreds of miles. Here, too, are cornfields without end and full of promise this year, after three years of famine from drouth. (From Life and Letters of John Muir. vol. 2, 1924.)
  • New York
    • Amherst (Buffalo suburb)
      • John Muir Drive
    • Bronx, New York City
      • John Muir Nature Trail – a feature of Van Cortlandt Park. Begun in 1997, the trail passes through forests, with 100 foot trees, wetlands with frogs and salamanders, and grasslands filled with songbirds. Located on Van Cortlandt Park’s north side, John Muir Trail’s 4-mile out-and-back winds through the Northwest Forest before crossing over to the park’s east side and into the Croton Woods.
  • North Carolina
    • Greensboro
      • John Muir Free School – An apparently now-defunct home school, which stated: “We like having our school named for John Muir because he learned from nature and taught others to care for the earth.”
  • Ohio
  • Oregon
    • John Muir in Oregon , by Ronald Eber
    • John Muir’s Mount Hood, by Ronald Eber
    • John Muir and the Pioneer Conservationists of the Pacific Northwest by Ron Eber (PDF), from John Muir in Historical Perspective (1999).
    • Pelican Bay, Upper Klamath Lake – In 1907 Muir visited Edward H. Harriman at his country lodge at Pelican Bay. To encourage Muir’s book-writing, Harriman instructed his private secretary to follow Muir around and record in shorthand everything he said. The resulting transcript eventually became The Story of My Boyhood and Youth.
    • The Physical and Climatic Characteristics of Oregon, Chapter 21 of Steep Trails by John Muir (1918)
    • The Forests of Oregon and Their Inhabitants, Chapter 22 of Steep Trailsby John Muir (1918)
    • The Rivers of Oregon, Chapter 23 of Steep Trails by John Muir (1918)
    • William Gladstone Steel – father of Crater Lake National Park and Muir colleague on conservation efforts.
    • History of the Prospect Hotel – History of a still-operating hotel that Muir stayed at located near Crater Lake National Park.
    • John Muir in Portland – Exhibit by Anton Vetterlein – Museum of the City, Portland, Oregon. (off-site link)
    • Ashland – John Muir Outdoor School – First opened in the fall of 2006, the John Muir Outdoor School was intended as ascience and art magnet school serving children in kindergarten through eighth grade. On November 8, 2021, after months of controversy, the school board voted to abandon the name “John Muir,” as a result of a widespread re-assessment of many historical figures, including John Muir, taking place on a national basis since 2020. One student has since commented, “They never made John Muir their backing up of all their beliefs about the outdoors,” which perhaps explains why it was easy for the school authorities to abandon nuance and proportional assessment of historical figures’ lives, instead of incorporating Muir’s inspring life and writings as foundational to the school’s curriculum to promote environmental awareness as we recommend in the Educational Resources available on this site.
    • Prospect
      • Prospect Hotel, John Muir Room. The proprietors note: “John Muir, the famed wilderness explorer and conservationist, is best known as a founder of the Sierra Club. His support of William Steel to propose a National Park for Crater Lake inspired him to write “The trees and their lovers will sing their praises, and generations yet unborn will rise up and call them blessed.”  The John Muir Room is on the third floor and features a full size bed, handmade quilt, private bath and phone.
  • South Dakota
    • Black Hills: Writing on July 6, 1896 to his daughters, Muir wrote:
    • “South Dakota, by the way we came, is dry and desert-like until you get into the Black Hills. The latter get their name from the dark color they have in the distance from the pine forests that cover them. The pine of these woods is the ponderosa or yellow pine, the same as the one that grows in the Sierra, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and all the West in general. No other pine in the world has so wide a range or is so hardy at all heights and under all circumstances and conditions of climate and soil. This is near its eastern limit, and here it is interesting to find that many plants of the Atlantic and Pacific slopes meet and grow well together….
    • Writing from the Sylvan Lake Hotel, Custer, South Dakota: “How wonderful you would think this hollow in the rocky Black Hills is! It is wonderfull even to me after seeing so many wild mountains — curious rocks rising alone or in clusters, gray and jagged and rounded in the midst of a forest of pines and spruces and pop¬ lars and birches, with a little lake in the middle and carpet of meadow gay with flowers. It is in the heart of the famous Black Hills where the Indians and Whites quarreled and fought so much. The whites wanted the gold in the rocks, and the Indians wanted the game — the deer and elk that used to abound here. As a grand deer pasture this was said to have been the best in America, and no wonder the Indians wanted to keep it, for wherever the white man goes the game vanishes.
    • “We came here this forenoon from Hot Springs, fifty miles by rail and twelve by wagon. And most of the way was through woods fairly carpeted with beautiful flowers. A lovely red lily, Lilium Pennsylvanicunij was common, two kinds of spiraea and a beautiful wild rose in full bloom, anemones, calochortus, larkspur, etc., etc., far beyond time to tell. But I must not fail to mention linnsea. How sweet the air is!” From Life and Letters of John Muir. vol. 2, 1924.)
  • Tennessee
    • Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (Scott County)
    • Cherokee National Forest (Polk County)
      • John Muir National Recreation Trail #156 – Said to follow the approximate location of part of Muir’s 1,000 mile walk to the Gulf; follows along the corridor of the Hiwassee River for 17 miles. More info: Cherokee National Forest
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  •  Texas
    • Colleyville
      • According to press reports, a subdivision adjacent to Whittier Heights in Colleyville, Texas (a suburb of Fort Worth), has a street named after John Muir and other streets named after other naturalists and conservationists.
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Washington State|
    • General
    •  Kirkland
      • John Muir Elementary School, a public school in the Lake Washington School District. The school website which includes a portrait of Muir on their “About Us” page, notes, “The school was built in 1970 and is named after John Muir, the famous naturalist, writer, conservationist, and founder of the Sierra Club. Muir was active in creating the National Parks along with 26th President Teddy Roosevelt. John Muir’s work is as relevant today as it was over 100 years ago when he dedicated his work and life to preserving nature and the environment. The school’s shared spaces are named after National Parks. Construction of a new school began in 2010 and was built “green” reflecting the beliefs of the naturalist John Muir.” The site quotes Muir: “Let children walk with nature…as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star…” Their “Academics” page quotes Muir (who himself was re-quoting earlier writers) “The power of imagination makes us infinite,” and their “Library” page quotes what is perhaps his most valuable statement of ecological consciousness: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”
    • Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
      • On June 1, 1935, the John Muir School, Seattle Washington, dedicated a bit of natural forest preserved under their auspices and named the “John Muir School Grove” in Snoqualmie National Forest near the Dulles Campground on the Mather Memorial Highway with a large wooden sign and a bronze plaque reading “America’s Forests – the Glory of the World” – John Muir. Dedicated to The Great Western Nature Lover by the John Muir School, Seattle, June 1, 1935.”
      • “John Muir Nature Trail,” located at the Dalles Campground, on State Hwy 410.
    • Mount Rainier National Park
      • Camp Muir (off-site link to Wikipedia). Once known as “Cloud Camp,” it was re-named for naturalist John Muir after his ascent to the summit in 1888. Outdoor lore has it that during his party’s climb, he suggested it as a good spot to camp in the mistaken belief that it would provide shelter from the wind. Following his visit, Muir went on to play a major role in the campaign to establish Mount Rainier as a national park.
      • John Muir and his efforts to preserve Mount Rainier by National Park Service (off-site link)
    • Seattle
      • John Muir Elementary School (K-5) – A 2002 book by the Seattle Public Schools on the histories of its schools commented, “Probably no group in the city holds the name of their school in higher esteem than do all connected with John Muir; the name, life and character of John Muir being honored and beloved, and a constant inspiration to pupils.” Originally opened in 1910 under a series of other names, “in 1921, Principal Jessie Lockwood was asked to select a new name for the school. She chose to honor Scottish-born naturalist John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club in 1892 and was instrumental in establishing Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service. Part of her motivation for selecting Muir was the hope that students would develop a love of nature and a desire to conserve natural beauty.” Indeed, in 1925, the Pupils of the John Muir School published The John Muir Book, filled with photos and a “Pageant” composition containing many Muir quotes, and including a foreword by S. Hall Young. In the Introduction, Principal Lockwood stated, “John Muir was selected as the name for our school because it is the name of a man who was the embodiment of the spirit of nature of our great West, because of his service to his fellow man, because of his pure and high ideals, and because his name typifies those qualities of character which we can hold before our boys and girls as desirable.”
        Later, in 1938, in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of John Muir, The Pupils of the John Muir School published John Muir: A Pictorial Biography, in a limited edition of 300 copies. This book is filled with full-page photographs depicting Muir, his family, his friends, his sketches, and many places he visited, accompanied by quotations or passages from Muir and others. The students expressed their goal this way: “In publishing this book we hope to help establish John Muir in the hearts of all people as one who gave his life to the preservation of our forests and wildlife.” As noted in the entry for Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, on June 1, 1935, the John Muir School, Seattle Washington, dedicated a bit of natural forest preserved under their auspices and named the “John Muir School Grove” in Snoqualmie National Forest near the Dulles Campground on the Mather Memorial Highway with a large wooden sign and a bronze plaque reading “America’s Forests – the Glory of the World” – John Muir. Dedicated to The Great Western Nature Lover by the John Muir School, Seattle, June 1, 1935.”
  • Wisconsin
      • General: Wisconsin on John Muir Global Network
      • Columbia County (half mile south of Poynette)
      • Green Bay
        • John Muir Park – Located in Green Bay at West Mason to Military Avenue, south to Biemeret Street, west to Wiesner Street. A typical city park, Green Bay’s John Muir Park offers playground equipment, horseshoe pit, basketball court, softball diamond, lighted tennis courts and volleyball.  It has an enclosed shelter with the capacity of 60 people. There are 6 picnic tables inside the shelter along with a serving table. There are approximately 15 picnic tables throughout the park. In winter there is an ice skating rink, weather permitting.
      • Kettle Moraine State Forest
      • Madison
        • Historic Arbor Inn, an Environmental Inn, John Muir Room.(a historic B & B – for sale in 2018) .The proprietor’s describe the room “The JOHN MUIR ROOM is for the rugged, wilderness traveler in search of more comfortable surroundings. Complete with vaulted ceilings, a pine sleigh bed, rich plaid linens, and a big, comfy lodge chair. Even the balcony is among the trees.” Gaylord Nelson, a Wisconsin Senator who sponsored the first Earth Day in 9170, once stayed in this room.
        • John Muir Elementary School (offsite link)
        • Muir Knoll – on the campus of the University of Wisconsin (offsite link)
        • John Muir’s Study Desk, Historical Library, University of Wisconsin
      • Marquette County
        • Muir Memorial County Park – at the site of what was called “Fountain Lake” during Muir’s boyhood, now sometimes referred to as “Ennis Lake” or “Muir Lake.” (for photo of plaque and Fountain Lake, see Places Important to John Muir).
      • Middleton
        • John Muir Drive
      • Portage
      • Wausau
        • John Muir Middle School – The school’s website (as of February 2022) notes that the school was named for the famed naturalist and conservationist, John Muir, and pointed out that the Muir family settled in the wilderness of central Wisconsin. The site further explains: “When he was 22 years old he began studying at the University of Wisconsin. He remained a man of the wilderness until his death in 1914. John Muir Middle School was erected in 1960 and opened its doors as a junior high school in the 1961-1962 school year…. The school mascot is the Highlander, depicted with a blue logo of a generic Scotsman with a tartanhat and the words “John Muir Highlanders.”

Uruguay

  • On December 7, 1911, in Montevideo, Uruguay, John Muir  was asked to speak to the Y.M.C.A. of Montevideo about American forests, and as usual, a large crowd turned out to hear him speak about forest conservation. He promised a short talk, but that soon laste two hours. At the close of the lecture when most of the audience came forward to thank him, Muir noted in his journal, “Never was this wanderer more heartily cheered.” (Source:  John Muir’s Last Journey by Michael Branch (2001).

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