Muir Beach Closes Today Through End of November

Muir Beach, one of Marin's biggest summertime attractions, will be closed for the rest of the summer, starting today and through the end of November, according to the National Park Service, which oversees the beach as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The closure is to accommodate a large construction project that includes a complete makeover of the beach's parking lot and picnic area, all part of a larger effort to improve the tidal flow in the area, particularly for threatened and endangered species. 

"When the area reopens in late fall, visitors will see dramatic improvements—a newly surfaced and realigned parking lot, new vault toilets, new picnic area, and an extension of the current pedestrian bridge," park service spokesperson Alexandra Picavet said in a statement. 

Those elements are part of the agency's multi-phase watershed restoration project, an effort to connect the Redwood Creek channel to its natural floodplain. 

The beach will be closed to all but people hiking through from areas such as Tennessee Valley along the Coastal Trail, Picavet said, noting that without a place to park, dispose of trash or use the restroom, visitors are strongly urged to not "stop at the beach for any extended period."