Best Airport For Seeing San Francisco

Wife and I are planning a 2 week west coast flying vacation for this June (actual dates not set yet). With so much to see, we have to be efficient so local knowledge is key. You'll probably see many of these types of posts from me over the next few weeks as we get deeper into our trip planning.

I searched the forums but didn't get a good answer. We want to spend 1 day seeing San Fran and would rather do it without renting a car. SFO looks to be the best airport for this mission, but I can't imagine it being GA friendly. The next best option looks to be San Carlos (KSQL), so I'd like to query the locals for an answer (pun intended for all you IT nerds sorry, I couldn't pass it up).

Thanks!

Ga friendly

Koak is ga friendly and why not start your bay tour from KOAK. Hotels within walking distance. Just don't venture east of the freeway

KCCR

Don't overlook Concord.
1 : Hotel and airplane parking on the field.
2 : No Bravo or Charlie airspace to deal with.
3 : Bay Area Rapid Transit BART about a mile from the airport and a short ride to the city. BART ticket will cost you less than parking in the city, besides you do want to take the Cable Car to get around in San Francisco, it will take you
to all the attractive places in the City by the Bay.
There are no accomodations for small GA aircraft at SFO.

I highly recommend San Carlos. Fuel service is fast and easy off a truck that will be there in one or two minutes. Rental cars available there, or a short cab ride up to BART (subway) at SFO. Nice cafe at the airport. Airport does charge a small overnight fee that you can pay in office or mail in (they will leave tag on your prop). Very unbureaucratic airport. Easy in and out of the city. Seems very secure for overnighting on the ramp.

There is a mess of Class D and C airspace, so mapping GPS is particularly helpful. Note the VFR waypoints on the chart that are also in your GPS. I find SFO approach to be less helpful than most. They have never failed to dump me off before I get to the bay, still 12 to 15 miles out from SQL with "proceed PD, squawk VFR, call SQL tower when able." So, I dont use them anymore.

Depending on your arrival direction, you can scoot in under the Class B from the east side of the bay, routing over VPKGO waypoint at 1400 feet, lights one, call SQL tower not later than when you cross that waypoint (GPS and you'll see the radio towers at the east edge of the bay) and, bam, you are there. Plan on proceeding direct from VPKGO to SQL since you will have class D airspace to the surface both north and south of that route. SQL has a lot of planes based there, but I have never found the tower dealing with more than 2 planes in the air, so no sequencing complications. Maybe weekend mornings are different.

If you are interested, note that most of the city of SF is under, but not in, the Class B. You can make a nice sightseeing pass over the city on your way out.

I'm based out of San Carlos. Rental cars on site, nice secure/cheap transient parking, nice controllers and close to downtown. If you need service on your plane call me (phone # on whitepages).

You planning to rent a car?

I always do but I have close to a fear of public transportation. When I fly into that area I tend to stay well clear of San Francisco itself. I had a kind of bold headstrong "I got my rights" neighbor (nice guy really) the flew into San Francisco International with his Piper Arrow IV and they put him through the stress ringer - he was still coming down from it when he told me of the experience a week or so later. I have landed at Hayward, Oakland, San Jose, Watsonville and Monterey and I like Monterey, well because I like Monterey, Carmel and all the places in between more than San Francisco but again that's just me. Your first choice sounds like a good one from the reports here.

Bob Axsom

For a day trip into the city, I would strongly advise flying into either KOAK or KSQL and avoid renting a car. There is a BART station close to either airport with service that will take you to downtown San Franxisco. http://www.bart.gov/
A car is a real problem in the city and the public transit is very good. Parking a car will cost more than a cheap rental, currently over $50 a day in the center of the city! Enjoy your trip, San Francisco is a wonderful destination. Don't forget to try one of these. http://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html



John Clark ATP, CFI
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA

Dave,

Don't forget to go to KHAF for a burger.
On the coast and can run HWY 1 for some good
scenery.

It used to be my favorite City

For all the charming reasons everyone mentions I used to love San Francisco. "The city that never was a town" Will Rogers said, etc. Then in 1990 I was on assignment as software delivery manager working with a small crew of key specialists to modify test and release a major software system to the Army at Ft. Hood and get it accredited by a govenment agency. This was one of the those assignments where all restraints are removed from the team in the field to make it work, get it accredited at any cost. It took 3 days to build the system for each release after the current changes were turned over to the "glass room" build control person and we were turning them about once a week including integration and test. We ate on the job in a secure area, worked until we could work no more slept a few hours (usually less than 8) and worked again some times 36 hours straight. After a release was turned over to the customer we would ocasionally get a weekend off. So, on one of these ocassions I decided to take Jeanine to our favorite city and stay in the best hotel - live it large! Dine at Ernie's that Earnest K. Gann mentioned in his books. From the description in AAA's TourBook The Hotel with its breath taking views from the windows of the rooms and top star rating was the Fairmont. We flew our plane to Oakland. Got our rental car and drove to the city. We used the valet parking at the hotel - so far so good:

Then we went to our room and checked the view:

We went to Ernie's and found it had obviously changed hands and the charm was gone. It was a disaster that completely turned me off on San Francisco - perhaps unfairly but I was so up for that visit to give us a little reward for the tremendously difficult time we (especially she) were going through and it was just the opposite. We never went back even though I had to visit Stanford and Ames several times on subsequent projects.

Bob Axsom

VISITING SAN FRANCISCO

Arrive just a few blocks from Fisherman's Wharf to start your adventure in San Francisco.
From there you walk or jump a cable car to all of the locations on your guide.

Start by landing at Novato airport. DVO. Take the Novato taxi (415-453-6030) about $15.00 to Redwood & Grant
to get on the Golden Gate Transit...... http://goldengatetransit.org/services/documents/Map_Marin.pdf

Bus schedule http://goldengatetransit.org/services/routelocator.php LOOK FOR LARKSPUR and NOVATO.

Take it to the Larkspur ferry........ http://goldengateferry.org/schedules/Larkspur.php

It will take you across the bay to the Golden Gate ferry building.... Best way to enter the city.

Cable car routes...... http://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html If you walk the cable car route, you will have fun. Stop in at the cable car barn.

Cable car riders guide..... http://www.sfcablecar.com/riders.html

Stop at the cable car barn..... http://www.sfcablecar.com/barn.html

Foot tours....... http://www.sfcityguides.org/

Some facts about our bridge......http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#RivetsinTower

Have fun.

ps. bring a jacket!

N427EF said:

besides you do want to take the Cable Car to get around in San Francisco

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In June the lines to take the cable cars will be 60-90 mins long. Take one for the fun of it, then be prepared to walk, take taxis, or figure out the complicated transit system the locals use. If you have an iPhone (and maybe on an Android phone) the Google Map app will figure out public transit routes for you in seconds...really amazing.

DBone said:

Wife and I are planning a 2 week west coast flying vacation for this June (actual dates not set yet). With so much to see, we have to be efficient so local knowledge is key. You'll probably see many of these types of posts from me over the next few weeks as we get deeper into our trip planning.

I searched the forums but didn't get a good answer. We want to spend 1 day seeing San Fran and would rather do it without renting a car. SFO looks to be the best airport for this mission, but I can't imagine it being GA friendly. The next best option looks to be San Carlos (KSQL), so I'd like to query the locals for an answer (pun intended for all you IT nerds sorry, I couldn't pass it up).

Thanks!

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What about the rest of your trip? You say "west coast", is that literally true, i.e. Washington, Oregon, California? I ask because the Seattle area (Puget Sound) from the air is spectacular; Oregon is scenic either inland down the Willamette Valley or along the coast; and California has a lot to offer throughout the state. Let us know!

BTW just one day in SF is not enough, of course, and you might want to rent a car to get to some places otherwise impossible. For instance the view from Twin Peaks, or near one of the ends of the Golden Gate Bridge to walk part way across, or touring Golden Gate Park. I find driving not too bad in SF if you have a GPS. Parking is pricey but can be worth it. Anyway with just one day, pick 2 or 3 things to see and do those and forget the rest. Personally I think Fisherman's Wharf sucks and never take visitors there unless they request it, complete tourist trap.

Well here's what I would do in one day. 1) Get to the Ferry Building (kind of Pier Zero) and take a commuter ferry to Sausalito. Way cheaper than the tourist ferries and just as scenic. Get a snack or lunch in Sausalito, take ferry back. 2) From there walk up to and around Chinatown. Get lunch in some hole-in-the-wall place. 3) Get to the SF end of the GG Bridge and walk part way across. 4) Find a nice place for dinner, than get back to your starting motel and day done.

DBone said:

The next best option looks to be San Carlos (KSQL), so I'd like to query the locals for an answer (pun intended for all you IT nerds sorry, I couldn't pass it up).

Thanks!

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I parked at KSQL a couple of years ago and walked to the CALTRAIN station. Its about a one mile walk, not too bad if you're up for that sort of thing. From the station in the city to anything worth seeing is probably another mile at least.

Thanks for the help!

Lots of good suggestions! I'll have to go over them and see what's going to work for us. I especially love the "how to see San Fran in a day" sample itineraries suggested by gasman and buggsy2. Those kinds of tips are golden.

Buggsy2, yes we mean a WEST COAST TRIP. We have 15 days to depart and return to our home in Dallas (possibly June 9-24). There is so much to see, it really becomes difficult to cut down the list. We have already made the decision to cut everything in New Mexico and most likely all of Arizona, because we can do a lot of that stuff as weekend trips from Dallas. Gotta love the speed of the RV! Our plans are far from finalized, but right now I think we?re going to depart early on a Saturday in June and head west for the LA area. It?s just over 1000 nm for us, and we?ll be gaining 2 hours of daylight as we head west. From there, we?ll be heading up the coast stopping at Yosemite and San Fran before heading into Oregon (Vans, Willamette Valley, Crater Lake) and Washington (san juan islands, seattle, mt rainier). We?ll probably head east from there and maybe go as far as Mt Rushmore before turning south for home.

For anybody that?s planned a trip like this, you know a lot goes into the stop/don?t stop decisions. For us, we are putting more weight to places the furthest from dallas. For example, we?re not going to skip a day in the san juan islands (Washington) to see Carlsbad Caverns (384nm from Dallas). And then there?s the ?how badly do we want to see it? vs the PITA factor. For example, we would like to see the Hearst Castle, but it would cost us a whole day to see it because of logistics. It?s not like we?ll never be back in the area, but it will probably be a few years before we do another US based 2 week trip so it?s about ranking places we want to see on our ?first pass? at the West Coast. I hope that makes sense!

Thanks again for the help and suggestions!

By pass Hearst Castle?

Too bad on that decision. I've been to the Biltmore in NC and the Breakers in RI and I think Hearst Castle on the mountain top has them beat and the drive down California 1 is worth a day trip by itself. Another such drive is the one on the two lane road above the Columbia River gorge between Portland and Hood River. While in Oregon the jet boat ride up the Rogue River from Gold Beach for scenery, wild life and lunch is special. Speaking of food, a stop at Harris Ranch for the best a steak anywhere, is more than a meal. Ah, there I go again, sorry.

Bob Axsom

DBone said:

Lots of good suggestions! I'll have to go over them and see what's going to work for us.

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While you are doing that ... keep in mind that if you are VFR, many of the Bay Area Airports are covered with fog and low stratus most morning and many evenings in the summer. So you may want to plan as alternates at least, Concord, Livermore, South County. Sometimes Palo Alto is still VFR when San Carlos is IFR.

Bob Axsom said:

Speaking of food, a stop at Harris Ranch for the best a steak anywhere, is more than a meal. Ah, there I go again, sorry.
Bob Axsom

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$32 for a rib eye is a bit steep. Good, but I wouldn't say the best for what it costs. We prefer Tahoe. Large selection of eating options, nice view. And it smells like pine not cow poo.

DBone said:

right now I think we?re going to depart early on a Saturday in June and head west for the LA area. It?s just over 1000 nm for us, and we?ll be gaining 2 hours of daylight as we head west. From there, we?ll be heading up the coast stopping at Yosemite and San Fran before heading into Oregon (Vans, Willamette Valley, Crater Lake) and Washington (san juan islands, seattle, mt rainier). We?ll probably head east from there and maybe go as far as Mt Rushmore before turning south for home.

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OK, great. You can see a lot: some from the ground, more from the air. For instance, you should make a slight jog on your flight north and circle the Mt. St. Helens volcano area. The devestation is remarkable from either the air or the ground...and very convenient for you from the air.

Likewise, there's a lot to see in the Puget Sound area but simply flying up the Sound is amazing. Just do Flight Following, you don't need to get into the Class B of SeaTac, and enjoy the views.

Yosemite is a National Park and has minimum altitude limits around it so you can't get close from the air. Besides you'll want to take the time to see it from the ground. Find a local airport that rents cars (you might have to rent from an airport in the Central Valley) and be sure to take the time to drive up to Glacier Point...the views are unbelievable. In the Yosemite Valley, park somewhere and take the tram ride all around the park. Maybe get off at one point and walk to a water fall. They probably won't be too good this year because it's so far been a very dry winter...but since it's your first view it won't matter

IF you have the time near Yosemite...and you might not...stop by Columbia Airport and take the 10 minute walk through the woods to the Gold Rush era town of Columbia. It's been deliberately preserved and is kinda fun. I like it, and Half Moon Bay already mentioned, because it's one of the few GA airports where you can walk from the airport to something nice to do.

Well any of us could give you way too many ideas of things to do. You'll have a great trip regardless what you pick and what you put aside.

There have been some good transport links, but many are available from 511.org, which covers the whole bay.

If you are interested in Alcatraz at all, buy your tickets well in advance. Cable cars run through the city from Market St. to the Wharf. Streetcars run around the periphery of downtown from the wharf, Embarcadero (street along the wharfs) down Market out to Castro. Buses go everywhere, even out to the GG bridge.

The wharf is very touristy, go for seafood and the cable car ride. I strongly encourage riding the cable car at night, less crowded, more lights. For Chinatown, more Stockton street (where locals go), not Grant (where tourists go).

Plenty to do in Golden Gate park, rent a bike, ride to the Ocean, check out the great museums.

You probably don't have time, but if you have an extra day, rent a car in town and drive out to Muir Woods to see the Redwoods. Above that, on Mt. Tam, there is a lodge that you can hike to (not hard, couple of miles) and overnight. It's cheap, and has spectacular views of the ocean and bay.

http://www.westpointinn.com/

For Yosemite, try to arrive in the early part of the week. It gets really crowded, best luck would be before the CA schools let out in June. Take a bus from the valley up to Glacier Point, it takes an hour+ to go up and the buses sometimes have their own lanes. If you hike, you can hike down to the valley from there (it looks like a cliff down, but it's actually pretty reasonable and spectacular).

edit: oh, and layers. Bay is always cold, temp from Ocean Beach to Downtown can vary by 20 degrees.