20 John Muir Travel Quotes to inspire you on your journey.
John Muir is known as the father of the national parks. He was an advocate for the preservation of forests in the US.
Here you will find some of his best travel quotes, each with an image and interpretation to help you with the meaning.
Get inspired with more Travel Quotes!
- Mark Twain Quotes
- Homesick Quotes to help you during your trip
- Safe Travel Quotes for good trips
Table of Contents
1. The mountains are calling and I must go.
You know the feeling when you need to get out and about, to breathe some fresh forest air. Nothing beats a day in the mountains to clear your mind and soul from our daily lives. John Muir clearly reminds us of all this in this quote.
Maybe you can plan a trip to the national parks with your family to spend some precious days with them.
2. The world’s big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.
Yes, we are mortal and should remember that. To travel and see the world before our lives end, ought to be at the top of our list. Enjoy it while the sun shines!
This also reminds us that our time on earth is precious. The last few years made it obvious that traveling and experiencing the world as it is, is not always an option.
This is one of the most well-known John Muir quotes.
3. As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing…
As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.
John Muir
When traveling in nature, put all your heart and soul in it, take it all in with your senses. Immerse yourself with every step hat you take in this world.
A touch of nature can help you in your life, especially if you are looking to root yourself again, to find purpose.
It’s almost a necessity which we have come to dismiss because we are stuck in the trivial world of men.
4. In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
A trip through the forests, desserts, over an ocean or across the great plains will always be full of surprises and fulfillment.
If you grew up and lived in the city, you might have your reservations. Taking a walk in nature may seem boring, but you might be surprise yourself, and you might actually like it.
You don’t have to turn into a mountain dweller, just half an hour or half a day might do you good and you might discover more than expected!
5. When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
This is the actual quote from John Muir. Another wrong one is making rounds, but he never wrote that one, which is: ” When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world”.
With the original quote, he meant to remind us that everything is connected in the universe and that nothing is by itself on its own.
Plants require rain water to grow, trees need carbo dioxide, we need oxygen etc.
6. This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere…
This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapour is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.
Johnr Muir
He reminds us in his words how beautiful earth and our world can be. Reading it, I’m longing to travel and experience nature and the world again.
The sun always rises somewhere in the world, and it always sets somewhere else at the same time. The world it round and big, and we have numerous landscapes to discover.
7. The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
If you can relate to John Muir’s perspective, then you will most probably feel mostly at home when in a forest or in nature.
Naturalists, adventurists, travelers of the wild, whichever you call yourself. They all have one thing in common. The love for nature.
If you are a philosopher, on top of this, you might argue that the real world can be done in the wilderness of our forests and jungles. Like the legend of the fountain of youth.
8. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you…
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.
John Muir
Because every season is wonderful, and we ought to not forget that when we go to new places in this world. Nature’s love will follow you everywhere.
A forest of trees, a lake, the beach or the great plains, whichever you choose, shall help you relax and help you find your inner peace.
Fill up your lungs with some fresh air and enjoy every bit of the outdoors!
9. Keep close to Nature’s heart…
Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
John Muir
Occasionally, the best way to reset and to clear your perspective is to just hangout in the woods or in the mountains. You will feel anew again!
If you do that once in a while, you can make this a new way of life, helping yourself to take a break from the hustle and bustle out there. It can be rather refreshing!
10. Most people are on the world, not in it.
Yes, we humans have turned into souless shells, walking this earth preoccupied and sometimes also unhappy. When you travel, and you are in nature, you are reminded of who you are.
You should be able to feel every pore in your skin, this is true freedom!
Here is food for, though; Do you think bees would miss out on their true purpose to collect nectar from flowers?
11. Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad…
Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.
John Muir
We are not always kind to nature and our planet, but mother earth is still healing in all aspects and taking our blows. Let’s remember this on our travels when we try to be more conscious and sustainable.
We mortals will, to a 100% certainty, make our earth our place of rest at some point in time as do millions of other creatures every single moment.
12. Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer.
Just go out and live your life. Don’t bother to share it on your social media. Do it for yourself, truthfully, and you shall taste freedom.
Refresh yourself with the good water coming down the mountain stream, take in the beautiful sight of meadows in the morning hours, savor the electrified sweetness in the air of a coming thunderstorm. You are surrounded by natural beauty!
13. When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop…
When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.
John Muir
This quote only emphasizes what we love about our planet, all the beautiful places, each unique in their ways. Our earth is unique, and we should go out to discover it.
Plan a glorious day to Yosemite park, take your family to the beach, or plan a hike with your friend through a forest of pine trees. Whichever you choose, do it with all your heart and think about this quote of John Muir and its meaning for you.
14. And into the woods I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
Yes, sometimes a walk in the forest can do this to you, and it’s a good thing. It’s a cleanse of yourself, to be, once again, truthfully you.
You don’t have to become one of these permanent mountain dwellers!
When things become too much at home or at work, go for a walk in the woods. Look up at the forest trees and watch them move in the winds, listen to the birds chirping and singing a song, it will help your state of mind.
I do this to repose my chatting monkey in my mind, and it has always worked for me. A chatting monkey mind is when you can’t stop thinking, and you are carried away.
15. Only by going alone in silence, without baggage,…
Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.
John Muir
Have you ever tried to travel with the bare minimum to places in the wild? It is truly freeing and something all of us should experience once in a lifetime.
It helps you to deal with forgetfulness (you can’t forget something if you didn’t bring it) and it’s a great adventure, which you can tell your family or friends one day.
16. We all travel the Milky Way together, trees and men.
We are all part of our mother earth, let’s not forget this. And so, we are making our rounds together on earth, breathing the same air, walking the same roads, trying to unearth the meaning of all this.
Johnr Muir was a great lover of wilderness, they also called him John of the mountains.
17. Most people who travel look only at what they are directed to look at…
Most people who travel look only at what they are directed to look at. Great is the power of the guidebook maker, however ignorant.
John Muir
Yes, we travelers, writing and guiding you from A to B, want you to know that you should go out there and discover the world for yourself.
I’m just here to help you get going, and I want you to add your perspective so that we can all learn from each other. Nobody ever knows everything, even in the world of travel.
It’s time for you to make a list of wonderful countries that you would like to travel too. Before you set out, make some initial plans to get there safely, and then you are good to go to discover the marbles of the world.
18. There is nothing more eloquent in nature than a mountain stream.
A mountain water stream is always a beautiful surprise when we take a hike across mountains.
It’s crystal clear, vivid, ice-cold, refreshing and absolutely free. I mean, how can you not want to drink it on a sunny, hot day after a long walk?
If you have never drank from a mountain stream in the wild, then I can only recommend that you add that to your bucket list ASAP! It’s an underestimated experience, but one that every human should do in this world.
A mountain stream collects water from the snow melt and rain water. The water flows between rocks, pebbles and sand, filtering and enriching water with natural minerals at the same time. There is nothing healthier than that!
19. Between every two pines, there is a doorway to a new world.
Imagine going through two pines, like going through a gate and getting into a magical world, a forest.
The floor is soft, laid out with moss. Majestic, massive trees stand tall.
A secret world of insects can be observed in all corners, and colorful mushrooms and flowers appear in the least expected places.
John Muir was born in Scotland, but immigrated as a kid with his family to the US. He was known to have a great love of wild nature and didn’t like to hang out with civilized people.
Thanks to him, the preservation and conservation of natural parks in the United States made good progress early on.
20. Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.
Ah, the eternal youth of nature! Or is more like that, that we appear to feel like children again when we roam the outdoors?
I think there is nothing more freeing, than to get some dirt under the finger nails on a trip through the mountains. It has something therapeutic to it.
It helps you to feel rooted again and frees your mind once again.
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You will see it too, and much more. Now go out and discover the world for yourself!
