What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Stuff to do in No-Cal

G

gtmule

Well Known Member
I'll be in San Fran in early April for 5 days with the girlfriend. We were gonna spend a few days in the city, but I wanted to get you guy's opinion about what the coolest stuff to see OUTSIDE the city would be. I'm not a pilot (yet) so don't say: "rent a plane and fly to.....". I figured there were a lot of people on here who had visited the area, and knew about some cool out of the way places to see. I'd like e to keep it within about a 3 hour drive of San Fran, if possible, but give me all your ideas. I'm thinking we'll probably be getting engaged on the trip, too..... :eek: !!!!!!!!

Wish I could fly my RV out there; give me 5 or 10 years.....

Thanks!
Chuck
 
What to do in Northern Calif

Close in to the city, go across the Golden Gate Bridge. Get on the west side and hike to the top of the hill overlooking the bridge. Beautiful! Continue west to the ocean. Great drive and you can get down to the beach. This is the Marin Headlands.
Go to Sausalito for lunch. Park in the big lot by the marina just at the edge of downtown (unless you're lucky to get street parking). Lots of great places to have lunch. Been a while for me so I don't remember the places I've been.
Drive up the coast to Stinson Beach and maybe all the way up to Bodega Bay. Then you can go a bit further and come back along the Russian River and back through Santa Rosa and Petaluma. You can hit Sonoma and Napa Valleys from there - lots to see.
If you have time, go to Lake Tahoe. About 3 hours no traffic or so. Still lots of snow on the mountains, but unless it's snowed recently, the roads will be fine.
Yosemite Park is about 3-4 hours away.
How's that for a start?

Seb Trost
RV-7A Flying
Cameron Park, CA (O61)
 
No-Cal

Some of my favorites: Just north of the Golden Gate is Muir Woods. You can hike around the big coastal redwoods in an hour or two. Two hours south is Monterey & Carmel. 17 mile drive is very scenic. Point Lobos State Reserve is awesome -- "the greatest meeting of land and water in the world"
 
A trip down PCH from SF through Santa Cruz to Monterey is highly recommended and the Aquarium there is one of the best in the country.
 
Lots of good advice here. My votes... Golden Gate National Park (not city park) and Muir Woods, Napa Valley, Monterey/Carmel.
 
Last edited:
Cool place to stay near Monterey/Carmel

These are cottage cabins with fireplaces. More like your mom's house than a motel. Furnished with books to read, etc. Clean and cozy, near the beach, close to all the good stuff. When the fog rolls in it drips off the trees and there you are, sipping wine in front of the fire...

http://www.andrilcottages.com/index2.htm
 
Muir Woods is a good one. Also if you dig hiking and end up more south bay for some other reason then the Castle Rock State park is a very pretty hike. Fort Funston is also nice/easy/pretty hiking along the coast.

Ano Nuevo park along the coast south of half moon bay is good to see Elephant seals. Peer 39 in SF is touristy, but probably worth seeing the seals there.

When in SF, if you want to visit a beach then Ocean Beach is great - make sure to check out the 1900's arcade behind the Cliffhouse resturant. Also there is a romantic Camera Obscura ;-)

If you visit golden gate park - do it on Sunday when most of the park is closed to cars. In the GG park they have the Steinheart aquarium - which I prefer to even to the Monterey Aquarium.

If you two wanna try paragliding along the SF coastline (like hang gliding but with parawings) - send me a PM and I can put you in touch with someone.

Most tourists go to Alcatraz - but if you don't have a thing for prison history I'd recommend that you go to Angel island instead. They are right next to each other, but Angel Island is far prettier and nice hiking or cheap bike rentals. Both served by the same ferries - buy your ferry tickets in advance via the web, in April the lines to buy tickets at the terminals are HUGE.

I know your emphasis was on non city treks, but if you are doing the cable car thing: Check the map and get on the cable car a couple of blocks from the big end of the line queues.

You mention you might be proposing - if that involves a fancy dinner of some sort, my favorite 'fancy' SF restaurant is http://www.jardiniere.com/. We go to a lot of SF restaurants and this place though pricey is _super_ tasty with a very non snooty vibe. One time we went with a friend who had a seafood allergy (on a very seafood heavy fixed menu) and the waiter said no problem and brought out the chef - she proposed a very tasty set of alternatives).

While in the city the Exploratorium is a great interactive science museum. If you want to visit art museums, I recommend the Legion of Honor museum over any of the others but YMMV. The SF zoo is also pretty good (especially if you like to see tigers up close :p ).

If you wanna go for an RV flight over the city/gate, send me a PM ;-).

On your drive to Montery - stop for lunch here. It is a great burger and beer dive by a creek just off of 280.

Kevin
 
Last edited:
San FranCISCO

If you visit golden gate park - do it on Sunday when most of the park is closed to cars. In the GG park they have the Steinheart aquarium - which I prefer to even to the Monterey Aquarium.​

Steinheart and all that still under construction, to reopen in the fall. But the de Young is open across the street.

For a 5 day trip, you may only have time to go north or south. North is Muir Woods, the Marin Headlands and farther up, Pt. Reyes Nat'l Seashore. Can be done as a long day trip, but there is a hostel inside the park near the beach. Monterey and the aquarium would be hard to do in a day, unless you really hate fish. Angel Island is better as k notes, and you can hike up to the top. You can also camp there, may still be slots during weekdays. Sausalito is a short ferry away.

If you want to make a day of the headlands and Muir Woods, you can crash at this place during weekdays:

http://www.westpointinn.com

It's hike up from Muir Woods. Very rustic, and great views. The caretaker doesn't do reservations or walk-ups, you have to voicemail your request in advance. There's also a beach hostel west of there, don't have a link for it, but should show up in google.

If you go to Chinatown, stay off Kearny and go down Stockton at lunch. If there's no english on the menu, it's authentic.
 
AWESOME suggestions, guys.

We're gettin to SF on Wed night (late) the 2nd, will probabally stay in a decent hotel in SF on thurs and fri, all do all the roaming around the city touristy stuff then. Probabally stay with some friends Saturday, and spend time with them Sand sun morning, then go either north or south (I'm thinking north) on sunday afternoon then come back to SF monday night, stay w/ the friends, then fly back Tues afternoon (8th).

My GF is a little un-adventurous as far as outdoorsy things go (though I'm making progress) but I can definately talk her into some short hikes, if there's a good view (or some big dern trees...) for a payoff at the end. Staying at a lodge/hostel type thing in a park sounds fun. Napa seems cool, but ALL wine tastes like vinegar to me, so it would probabally be wasted on me.

Keep 'em coming!
 
Macy's

Make sure to take her to Macy's in downtown SF. You will have to see it to believe and you still may not believe your eyes. As you ride the escalator and look up the maze of moving steps going up about 8 floors or so she will be in her element if she likes to shop. I can't even describe the thing other than a futuristic, or a space like experience. It's almost "Jetsons" cartoon like inside. If you do check this out take a picture or two of this and post it so others can see.

Here's another good one. If you make it down to fishermans wharf which is kind of the tourist area there are lots of ways to leave your cash with them. I think it is Ripleys Believe it or Not that has this little beauty that I'm trying to tell you about. While walking thru and looking at all the junk you will come across a mirror that is mounted on a wall kind of like a bathroom vanity mirror. It is one of those that distorts your appearance and it is kind of fun to spend some time in front of it. Anyway, get her to really get into it and make faces and get up close to the mirror and have fun. Spend some time there and let her have a great time. Then when you proceed thru the exhibits you will eventually get behind the wall that that mirror is on and discover that it is a two way mirror. Now you get to stand there and watch others who don't know yet that people are watching from the other side. I get a kick out of that kind of stuff.

Make sure you bring warm clothes. San Francisco will make your bones ache from the cold wind and/or fog.
 
Additional options....

If you're at the Fisherman's Wharf area, the National Maritime Museum is pretty cool if you like old boats. You can also grab a tour boat around Alcatraz and over to Sausalito. Way too many things to do!

Half Moon Bay airport is about 15 miles south of SF on PCH and has a decent cafe'. There's also Barb's Fish Shack, as well as a couple other good eateries on the harbor there at Piller Point. If you know surfing, this is the location of the fabled Mavericks, home of the biggest waves on the west coast.

If the GF likes wine, and since you're into aircraft, check out http://www.chandellewinery.com/. This winery is owned by Robert Arnold, grandson of Hap Arnold. They make a pretty good generic red and white wine, but the wine lables are a selection of aviation art. Their winery isn't open to the public, but they do sell through a tasting room in Sonoma (less commercial than Napa). Personally, I like the Sonoma/ Hearldsburg area over Napa.
 
but I can definately talk her into some short hikes, if there's a good view (or some big dern trees...) for a payoff at the end.​

Right idea to spend the weekend out of the city. You're going to be doing a lot of walking in SF if you don't dive into the bus system. Take cabs as necessary. Do NOT rent a car for the city. Take the BART to/from the airports, and rentcars available around Union Square and elsewhere (Enterprise has really cheap weekend rates off season) for the weekend.

Muir Woods is not much of a hike, parking lot right at the entrance. Driving up SF is a bit confusing the first time, get a good map.

West Point, not short, but no more than an hour. Multiple access/parking points, see location info. Each cabin (shack, really) has a back porch and doors that open up to a view of the bay area. Definitely worth it if it's a clear night (but bring your wine and cheese with you).

From the hostel at Pt. Reyes, it's a flat 20 minute walk to the beach. There's dozens of miles of beach, other sections can be driven to. Don't be surprised if you're the only people out there. And hit Cowgirl Creamery in Pt. Reyes Station, all local cheeses.

A big locals thing Sat. mornings is the farmers market at the Embarcadero. End point of Market St. Plenty of food and people watching.

*What Bryan said - wear layers you can throw into a back pack, nothing really heavy. There can be a 10 degree difference between downtown and and the beach (always windy).
 
Last edited:
lucky333 said:
These are cottage cabins with fireplaces. More like your mom's house than a motel. Furnished with books to read, etc. Clean and cozy, near the beach, close to all the good stuff. When the fog rolls in it drips off the trees and there you are, sipping wine in front of the fire...

http://www.andrilcottages.com/index2.htm
Click to expand...

Quite near Monterey in Pacific Grove is the Asilomar Conference Center...but anybody can simply rent a room. Cheaper than nearby motels, but no phones or TVs in the rooms. Walks on and near the beach on boardwalks which is 50-100 yards away.
 
I don't how others feel but I've always felt that San Fransisco was just the Northern end of Southern California.
 
A nice loop

Cross the GGB and take the first rt out to the headlands. Drive up the coast thru Bodega Bay. Catch the John Muir SP, as previously mentioned. Head east at Jenner by the Sea along the Russian River. This will bring you to Santa Rosa and you will be just south of the SR airport when you hit 101. Straight across 101 put you on Mark West Springs Rd to Calistoga. I used to live in Calistoga. Nice town, plenty of spas, etc, although the valley has kinda turned into Disney Land, imho. Calistoga is a good place to spend the night. Try the Calistoga Spa, Roman Spa. Nice because you can walk to dinner in town and have a few glasses of the local pop and not have to drive. From there you can go down 29 or on the east side of the valley down the Silverado Trail. Actually, I'd make a loop out of that and head up Mt St Helena. At the very top of the Mt there is a parking area. It is a great hike to the top of the mountain. the first part is trail and it then hits the fire road all the way to the top. Easy walking. A couple hrs round trip and just a great hike and the views are tremendous. From here you have a decsion. either back down the valley to SF or east on 20 across the valley to Nevada City (where my wife and I just purchased a home) and on up to Tahoe. You can take 80 but I prefer the back rd. You can take a real nice drive on 46 up to Sierraville, which is a beautiful area and drop down to Tahoe.

When you get done with all of this driving, you like me will say, perhaps it is time for me to kick it and finish my private...!!!

You can do the SF, Calistoga, Napa Valley, SF loop in a day. A long day, but a good one. San Francisco is a great city. I'll be out in April too!
 
I would buy a city tour, hit FW then south

I like city tours to get the best coverage in the shortest time. Fisherman's Warf is worth visiting. I was stationed at Hamilton AFB and was a dependent at Maire Island so I moved about in the north area a bit and I liked it OK but I found the area to the south of San Francisco more to my liking (I'm not big on wine either). Monterey to Carmel is especially nice. If you have ever read a John Steinbeck novel you just have to visit Cannery Row. The better restaurants always seemed to be in the Monterey to Pebble Beach area - Carmel restaurants seem more like small town mom and pop shops. The Sardine Factory can be very good or not depending on how the cook feels I guess. The Old Bath House in Pacific Grove we always found to be good. I like the drive down the coast through the Big Sur area to San Simeon and I liked the tours of Hearst Castle (never landed there but I would like to). There is one bridge there in the mountains that I swear I have seen in a hundred car commercials - beautiful. I'm surprised Hearst Castle wasn't mentioned before, it is magnificent but maybe it isn't "cool". I always looked over at it as I flew up or down the coast sitting on it's private little mountain top. When I was a 16 year old (1953) in the 40th Infantry Division of the California National Guard we we did our summer training on land that Mr. Hearst donated for military use on the other side of the mountains. Once you go there you might as well visit Morro Bay have some sea food and contemplate the GIANT ROCK in the bay.

Bob Axsom
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top