What's good within a few hours drive of San Francisco?
Discussion
I'm fortunate enough to be going to San Francisco this year for a second time (went last year) for work. I go for a week and am pretty much stuck in SF for most of the week but we basically get a day and a half spare before we have to fly home. Last year I hired a Dodge Challenger and we went down to Santa Cruz for the day, stayed there and then came back to SFO to fly home the next day.
Saw a lot of the sights in SF last year and indeed plan again on doing stuff in the evenings whilst there this year as well so not bothered about what else to see IN SF itself...
So my question is, with a similar sort of time frame in mind, what else is worth going to see within a few hours of San Francisco? Going to hire a car again (Corvette is not much more expensive than a Challenger... grin) and would like to travel somewhere, have a few hours to look around and stuff, stay there overnight, kill a few more hours then - and drive back again to get our early evening flight home.
Going to Reno, NV crossed my mind as that's a reasonable drive away but am also open to 'interesting' rather than 'wallet emptying' attractions!
Good vineyards, national parks...?
Thanks!
Saw a lot of the sights in SF last year and indeed plan again on doing stuff in the evenings whilst there this year as well so not bothered about what else to see IN SF itself...
So my question is, with a similar sort of time frame in mind, what else is worth going to see within a few hours of San Francisco? Going to hire a car again (Corvette is not much more expensive than a Challenger... grin) and would like to travel somewhere, have a few hours to look around and stuff, stay there overnight, kill a few more hours then - and drive back again to get our early evening flight home.
Going to Reno, NV crossed my mind as that's a reasonable drive away but am also open to 'interesting' rather than 'wallet emptying' attractions!
Good vineyards, national parks...?Thanks!
blindswelledrat said:
Yosemite is utterly stunning and 3 hours or so from SF. Cant recommend it highly enough.
Just make sure you work out where you are staying before you go because its pretty difficult to find accommodation at night not knowing the area.
Hmm cool.. Yosemite looked a bit too much of a drive but 3 hours sounds reasonable. I'd book accommodation well in advance rather than just rocking up so that wouldn't be a problem! I'll do some research - thanks!Just make sure you work out where you are staying before you go because its pretty difficult to find accommodation at night not knowing the area.
Chicane-UK said:
blindswelledrat said:
Yosemite is utterly stunning and 3 hours or so from SF. Cant recommend it highly enough.
Just make sure you work out where you are staying before you go because its pretty difficult to find accommodation at night not knowing the area.
Hmm cool.. Yosemite looked a bit too much of a drive but 3 hours sounds reasonable. I'd book accommodation well in advance rather than just rocking up so that wouldn't be a problem! I'll do some research - thanks!Just make sure you work out where you are staying before you go because its pretty difficult to find accommodation at night not knowing the area.
blindswelledrat said:
Yosemite is utterly stunning and 3 hours or so from SF. Cant recommend it highly enough.
Just make sure you work out where you are staying before you go because its pretty difficult to find accommodation at night not knowing the area.
Another vote for Yosemite, there are only a couple of options to stay inside the park but there are lots of places just outside. The http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/yosemite_a... is a great place to stay inside if you can get a reservation!Just make sure you work out where you are staying before you go because its pretty difficult to find accommodation at night not knowing the area.
Also Tahoe is a good bet, wondrerful sceanery and also casinos if you like. Monteray is nice with a great coastline and 17 mile drive if you are in the corvette.
Chicane-UK said:
Going to Reno, NV crossed my mind as that's a reasonable drive away but am also open to 'interesting' rather than 'wallet emptying' attractions! Good vineyards, national parks...?
Thanks!
Reno is about 2.5-3 hours drive, Fairly boring until you get up into the mountains east of Sacramento, Reno itself is not much to look at, a poor mans Vegas in downtown and just another US desert city elsewhere. For your timescales I would look to spending your night in south Tahoe, stay somewhere near the state line such as the embassy suites/Marriott or one of the casinos, this is the nicest part of south lake Tahoe as it has all the heavenly money spent at the bottom of the gondola. Good vineyards, national parks...?Thanks!
Arrive via US50 into SLT, spend you first night in the casinos, Quick trip up the gondola and then drive up the lake (emerald bay has the best views) and onto the I80 for the drive back to SF, Allow time for delays getting over the Oakland bridge, and don't underestimate the time taken to drive the lake, its a 45mph speed limit on a twisty road so not much overtaking opportunities.
Edited by ViperDave on Monday 10th June 13:32
When you drove to Santa Cruz did you take the freeway(17) or route 9?
There are some unbelievably greats roads to drive in that area. I recommend the big basin highway (route 236) utterly deserted stretch of technical mountain road that loops off of route 9 as well as Skyline Boulevard (route 35) which is much more flowing with some fantastic views. Link those with an overnight stop in Monterey and a quick blast along route 1 to Big Sur and you'll be on to a winner
There are some unbelievably greats roads to drive in that area. I recommend the big basin highway (route 236) utterly deserted stretch of technical mountain road that loops off of route 9 as well as Skyline Boulevard (route 35) which is much more flowing with some fantastic views. Link those with an overnight stop in Monterey and a quick blast along route 1 to Big Sur and you'll be on to a winner
Napa Valley if you like wine, or hot spring/mud spas.
There's also a Safari Park where you can stay overnight in giant tree houses which overlook the animal enclosures. I stayed there for a couple of nights back in 2006. The food is terrible though, better off driving 15 mins into Calistoga and eating in Checkers.
http://www.safariwest.com/
There's also a Safari Park where you can stay overnight in giant tree houses which overlook the animal enclosures. I stayed there for a couple of nights back in 2006. The food is terrible though, better off driving 15 mins into Calistoga and eating in Checkers.
http://www.safariwest.com/
Second thoughts if you have the whole of sat and half sun then I would come into SLT via I80 and Truckee, do the lake sat afternoon, Do the gondola in the morning of sunday and then take US50 back, you will be better placed to control your time back to SFO that way.
Top of heavenly gondola
Emerald bay
Top of heavenly gondola
Emerald bay
You could go a bit further south than Santa Cruz and visit Monterey and Carmel - Lovely places both and plenty to see and do (and loads of great places to eat).
Laguna Seca is 15-20 minutes drive out of Monterey too.
If you're thinking of going to Napa (great if you like Wine, but not that great otherwise, IMVHO), spend a couple of hours at Muir Woods (just north of the Golden Gate Bridge) - Loads of Sequioas, truly beautiful spot.
M
PS Can't be too sympathetic about you being "pretty much stuck in SF for most of the week"
Laguna Seca is 15-20 minutes drive out of Monterey too.
If you're thinking of going to Napa (great if you like Wine, but not that great otherwise, IMVHO), spend a couple of hours at Muir Woods (just north of the Golden Gate Bridge) - Loads of Sequioas, truly beautiful spot.
M
PS Can't be too sympathetic about you being "pretty much stuck in SF for most of the week"
Head North over Golden Gate Bridge and do:
- Muir Woods (as already mentioned).
- Sonoma Raceway (check first to see if there is racing on).
- Napa Valley wineries.
- Sonoma wineries.
If you have time drive the coastal road (Highway 1) north of the bridge.
Sausalito is nice enough place to stop for a short time on the way back - good views of SF and the bay whilst having a break.
If you have some time during the week (and have a car) explore Half Moon Bay (just off Highway 1 south of SF), and drive Skyline Boulevard (Route 35 along the peak of the coastal hills).
- Muir Woods (as already mentioned).
- Sonoma Raceway (check first to see if there is racing on).
- Napa Valley wineries.
- Sonoma wineries.
If you have time drive the coastal road (Highway 1) north of the bridge.
Sausalito is nice enough place to stop for a short time on the way back - good views of SF and the bay whilst having a break.
If you have some time during the week (and have a car) explore Half Moon Bay (just off Highway 1 south of SF), and drive Skyline Boulevard (Route 35 along the peak of the coastal hills).
jeremyc said:
Head North over Golden Gate Bridge and do:
- Muir Woods (as already mentioned).
- Sonoma Raceway (check first to see if there is racing on).
- Napa Valley wineries.
- Sonoma wineries.
If you have time drive the coastal road (Highway 1) north of the bridge.
Sausalito is nice enough place to stop for a short time on the way back - good views of SF and the bay whilst having a break.
If you have some time during the week (and have a car) explore Half Moon Bay (just off Highway 1 south of SF), and drive Skyline Boulevard (Route 35 along the peak of the coastal hills).
If you're going North, check out the Marin Headlands just over the bridge. Lots of old missile emplacements from the days when they believed (or wanted the public to believe) that they could shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. Beautiful views too.- Muir Woods (as already mentioned).
- Sonoma Raceway (check first to see if there is racing on).
- Napa Valley wineries.
- Sonoma wineries.
If you have time drive the coastal road (Highway 1) north of the bridge.
Sausalito is nice enough place to stop for a short time on the way back - good views of SF and the bay whilst having a break.
If you have some time during the week (and have a car) explore Half Moon Bay (just off Highway 1 south of SF), and drive Skyline Boulevard (Route 35 along the peak of the coastal hills).
The wineries are VERY hit and miss. In my experience lots of them are just tourists traps that charge for tasting and then heavily load the price of their wine (usually much cheaper in supermarkets in SF!).
When we went some years ago, the smallest, least impressive one charged nothing and had the best tasting wine (and the cheapest!). Obviously, if you're driving, you can't partake much anyway...
Sonoma Raceway (Says Sears Point on the sticker I bought there
) is closer than Laguna Seca, but not a patch on it as a circuit.M
marcosgt said:
The wineries are VERY hit and miss. In my experience lots of them are just tourists traps that charge for tasting and then heavily load the price of their wine (usually much cheaper in supermarkets in SF!).
When we went some years ago, the smallest, least impressive one charged nothing and had the best tasting wine (and the cheapest!). Obviously, if you're driving, you can't partake much anyway...
Agreed. We have done a private jeep tour every visit, and after being taken initially to some behemoth extremely overpriced places, we then specifically requested smaller places - preferably with some interesting varieties instead of the boring, predictable and overpriced cabernet sauvignon that dominates the place.When we went some years ago, the smallest, least impressive one charged nothing and had the best tasting wine (and the cheapest!). Obviously, if you're driving, you can't partake much anyway...
Have left with a lot of exceptional bottles of not so common to the area varieties and blends from very small family run estates.
Am certainly no stranger to paying a lot for great wine, but some of the prices there for what is pretty average stuff are a bit hard to justify. Dig deeper however, and there is some exceptional stuff to be found.
Edited by GCH on Tuesday 11th June 14:46
jeremyc said:
Sausalito is nice enough place to stop for a short time on the way back - good views of SF and the bay whilst having a break.
A local advised us to skip Saulsalito (too touristy, and he was right) and carry on round to Tiburon (or you could get the very there) which we did and had a fantastic lunch looking back acros the bay to SF. You may as well carry on and go in a full circle back to the beginning Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff