mlbcruiser

We've been to San Francisco and areas around it a few times before. So we've seen this city's major sites already a couple of times. This time we'll be arriving at SFO on a wkday morning, then staying just one night at a hotel near SFO since we'll have to check in at noon the next day for a very long int'l. flight. So I'm not sure that visiting the "usual" SF sites is what we want to do.

After SF our travels will be very fast-paced for the next 2 wks. Therefore I've been thinking perhaps we should just do something a bit more low key once we get to SFO. Although we'll probably want to go into the city in the evening for a nice dinner, during the day it might be nice just to drive along some scenic coastline or mountainous areas outside of the city. Maybe seeing some great natural scenery, stopping for lunch, &/or just putzing around a bit someplace w/a little charm would give us a more enjoyable and less frantic day.

There is always Sausalito, but can anyone give us some ideas more to the south of SF? Maybe heading down towards Palo Alto or along some scenic coastline, beach or mt. areas that would offer some pleasant drives and stops? I estimate we'll have about 5 hrs. of time to waste before going back to our hotel to "refresh" a bit and then go to dinner.

Thanks for any ideas.

emalloy

Not south, but north is Mt. Tamopolis (sp?) which if it is clear has a great view in every direction from the top where there is an easy path around.

Shanti

South Bay traffic is horrible during rush hour. Driving there definitely isn't "low key." I wouldn't bother going south for just five hours and then drive back to San Francisco for dinner.

Now if you were staying overnight, then it would be worth it. Santa Cruz is about 90 minutes south of San Francisco - if it isn't rush hour.

How about taking a cruise in San Francisco Bay? That would fit into your five hour time slot and you wouldn't have to hassle with traffic.

Ryan

Drive along the Highway 1 (Cabrillo Highway)south towards Half Moon Bay. Santa Cruz is further to the South.

Lovely scenic coastline.

cd

If you have the time, we loved Hwy 1 south to Santa Cruz or if you've not been to Muir Woods, it is a lovely walk!

janisj

Not sure what time you land - but if it is early, I'd hang at the hotel (even if I couldn't check in yet) until the traffic clears out a bit. Then around 9:30 or 10AM head west to Pacifica/Half Moon Bay and then if you have time hit Big Basin state Park. This will be a full day w/ tons of beautiful scenery.

Put Big Basin sort of on the back burner since you may spend a lot of time on the coast. But it is nicer/larger and less crowded than Muir Woods.

If you land after about 9AM -- then by the time you get the car sorted out the traffic will have improved and you can head right out.

tomfuller

To the list above I can add Montara Point Lighthouse, Pigeon Point Lighthouse and Butano State Park.
The two lighthouses have HI Hostels if you wanted a cheaper place to stay for a night out of the city.
The State park has a forest of Coast Redwoods.
Ano Nuevo Park has paths over the sand dunes from the highway to the ocean.

november_moon

I was thinking pretty much the same thing as janis. The coastline between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz is great - Hwy 1 cuts through a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the ocean, with a mix of neat beaches, farmland, small towns, and rocky coastline. Pescadero is a small town along the way with a neat restaurant called Duarte's Tavern - famous for their artichoke soup and their ollalieberry pie. There is also a deli across the street that sells good sandwiches and things for picnics.

Big Basin is in the Santa Cruz mountains, and definitely worth a visit if you have the time. Alternatively, Henry Cowell state park is also in that area, but closer to Santa Cruz (near the town of Felton) so a little more easily accesible if you don't have time to go all the way up to Big Basin, but still want to see some redwood trees.

You might even want to spend all day on the coast and/or Santa Cruz mountains rather than cutting that part short and going into SF for dinner. There are plenty of options for a nice dinner outside of SF.

sf7307

I agree with those who suggest heading south (Half Moon Bay, not Pacifica), but I also wouldn't head into the city for dinner. There are some excellent restaurants in Half Moon Bay, Palo Alto, San Mateo, Burlingame, or further south if that's where you are at dinnertime. Going into the city at dinnertime will just add time and stress.

On the other hand, we were hiking on Mt. Tam this past weekend, and OMG, the views are spectacular around every corner!

starrs

I strongly second cd's suggestion of Muir Woods if you've not been. We drove around the area in between one time and really enjoy just wandering (but I do that a lot on trips).

You mentioned Sausalito - I had reservations for this tour but had to cancel the trip. I really hope to do this someday -
http://www.sausalitowoodenboattour.com/

mlbcruiser

Some good replies!

We land at SFO around 10 or 10:30 a.m., so I'd think traffic would have died down a bit by then. One of the reasons I started rethinking going into the city was partly because we would want to go to our hotel during what would probably cut into at least the early rush hr. traffic (which probably starts around 3-3:30, dies down a tiny bit, then picks back up around 5 to 6:30 if it is anything like the city where we live).

The area around Half Moon Bay has been recommended by several of you and others, so it must be a nice area to visit. I did some reading on the area (november_moon, Duarte's was mentioned and so was Pescadero). It might just fit the bill. If we decide to head down that way, we need to decide whether we'll spend the night at a hotel or inn there or stick w/the one we have reserved in Burlingame.

starrs, you mentioned you really enjoy just wandering. Often driving around and wandering sounds like our travel style, too!

Thanks a bunch for the helpful ideas!

iamq

We were just at Duarte's today. The artichoke soup is good and so is the green chile soup. Ask for a half and half and you get a bowl with both soups. Very delicious.

There are several State Beaches along the stretch of Highway 1 south of Highway 84 that are worth stopping at to wander the beaches and the cliffs above (I'm a wanderer too). San Gregorio, Pomponio and the beaches near Pescadero are my favorites.

sheri_lp

So many good spots already, but I'll toss in one of my favorite towns, Petaluma. It made a nice first impression with a lovely historic downtown and many beautiful old homes. I just liked it!

Parrothead

I am not a big fan of Half Moon Bay. However, the peninsula south of the airport could make for a very pleasant and scenic day.

Head out of the airport, take 380 east to 280 south, exit at Highway 92 west. Drive a few miles to Skyline Blvd/Hwy 35 go left/south. Drive 12 miles through some of the most beautiful redwoods you'll see until you reach "Skylonda", which is at the intersection of Skyline & La Honda Road, 35/84 junction. Go Left/east on 84 heading for the town of Woodside. Stop either in Skylonda or Woodside for lunch. Do roadside stops, explore the most beautiful geography of the Bay Area for a few hours. Continue along 84 east to I-280 and head south to Sand Hill Road, continue along Sand Hill past Stanford University into downtown Palo Alto along University Avenue just across El Camino Real. Spend the night in Palo Alto, enjoy a great dinner, there are plenty of great restaurants here. My favorite hotel in the downtown area is the Garden Court on Cowper Street, the lobby restaurant/bar Il Fornaio is very welcoming.

Your morning drive to SFO along 101 north is about 20 miles and 45 minutes. This 60 mile loop has a little bit of everything; great scenery, ancient redwoods, seclusion, some action, off the beaten path back roads, Woodside and Skylonda are charming, PA is happening, good food, good vibe. In short, this would be my idea of the best of the Bay Area outside SF.

iamq

Look at a map. You could do a combination of Parrothead's Redwoods/Suburbia trip and the coast trip by making a loop and using 84 from Highway 1 to do it. Exactly what we did yesterday as we live in Palo Alto. If you did this, I would continue further south on 35 for a few miles until the vistas open up and and you get wonderful high up views of the Bay Area on one side and the rolling hills down to the ocean on the other. Fogarty Winery is in this area and might be a fun stop. Double back on 84.

mlbcruiser

iamq, I like your idea, but would feel better about it if we had ALL day our first day. I doubt we'll be on the road to wherever before 11:00-11:30 a.m. or so. Years ago we were driving north towards San Francisco on an interstate hwy. west of the Silicon Valley area. I recall seeing some super views of the Bay area to our right, but not many. On another trip we spent an hour or so having picnic lunch in a park in Los Gatos. It was just a stop to let the kids let off steam & eat. There were some young girls practicing softball on a field and assorted other kids just playing around. The landscape, temp., etc. were so idyllic that day! We fell in love w/that community. The drive through the curving, mt. hwy from the coast over to the area near Los Gatos was super! I think we also sort of breezed through part of Palo Alto on our explorations that trip, but didn't stay there. I only wish we had time to go that far south just to putz around a bit, but, alas, not this trip.

sf7307

>>

Well, it would be a lot better than going to, for example, Petaluma or Mt. Tam (at least it's on the same side of the bridge as the airport)

iamq

That was also my thinking sf7307.