My wife and I are attending a meeting in SF April 25-29, then have a week to vacation. The dilemma: go north, or go south? We like to do photography and like art. We want to be outdoors a lot and do plenty of nature hiking. We are open to driving to a destination and staying there, or using a central base (not SF) for a variety of day trips. Budget is moderate and not really the issue. We need to get back to SF for the return flight. Are mountain areas accessible that time of year or is it too early? We're from Vermont and it's been a long, cold winter so we'd prefer warm weather! We east-coasters really would love some suggestions.

Even tho I love the wine country, north of SF, I would suggest you head south. I would go to Carmel/Monterrey..then head down route #1 and visit Big Sur, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. Then head back up to SF via #101. In Salinas there is the Steinbeck museum...a small gem of this authors' life and works, then all along the coast are the California Missions, built when Calif. was still being settled by the Spanish..each mission is different and about a days horse ride from the other. Only some of them are still preserved... San Juan Batista, Carmel, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.

I would base in the wine country (Sonoma, Healdsburg) and do day trips to the various valleys and out to the coast. Lots of exploring to be had here.

Only some of them are still preserved... San Juan Batista, Carmel, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara

Add San Antonio de Padua to that list. I would call it "preserved/restored".

What you do really depends on what you want to see - if it were me, I'd go south because of the gorgeous coastline and quaint small towns. There are some nice small towns to the north, too, and the wine country, of course, but I'm not particularly interested in looking at grapevines (no flaming please -- it's my personal opinion ! ). You could go north to Mendocino, though -- beautiful coast, art galleries, etc. I guess the real answer is, you can't go wrong LOL!

For someone from Vermont, our inland flat/rolling hills might disappoint you. What we think are "cute" villages may also not compare favoribly with what you have at home. Unless you are really interested in wine, these two elements might suggest that you do not visit the wine country.

Our strengths are the coastline & Sierras. For seven days, I would try to work in a trip to Yosemite, and then a visit down our lovely Hwy 1 from Carmel to Cambria. I think 3 1/2 days in each area would be perfect - something you don't see at home.

On the coast I would leave SF around 10 (to miss rush hour traffic) & stay 2 nights in Carmel (this IS a cute village), and visit Pt Lobos, & enjoy the atmosphere. Take a walk along the sidewalk next to the beach. Then drive down Hwy 1 & stay 1 night in Big Sur. Continue south, stopping for lots of photos (if you have any "room" left on our chip after Pt Lobos), and stay in San Simeon. Visit Hearst Castle. Then head over to Yosemite valley & stay there your remaining days before heading back to SF. You shuld miss the commute traffic in SF.

A Travel writer friend of my sister lives in Camden Maine & writes a lot about the Maine coast. My sister took her down the Big Sur coast (Hwy 1), and she wrote in her column that she saw more actual coastline in 1 day on our coast, than she did in 10 years in Maine. The coast in Maine is harder to access.

Here is something I posted about things to do in San Francisco & surrounds. DON'T MISS the view of the City from the GGNRA hills just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. You'll take lots of photos there too. Do this in the latter part of the afternoon for best sun exposure.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35129049

Stu Dudley

How about Yosemite?

With a week you could fit in both Monterey/Carmel and Yosemite. There is also great winetasting and vineyards south to Monterey, SLO and Paso Robles.

MY

The Gold Rush country is grand at that time of year - start in Grass Valley and head south on Hwy 49. There are lots of spur trips possible - Tahoe, Yosemite... and rushing rivers, very interesting ghost towns (or close to it) - plenty to see or do.

The only other thing that comes to mind is the north coast Redwoods, if you haven't seen them. Nobody visiting northern California should miss seeing these amazing trees, and the gorgeous/spooky/misty forest surrounding them. Might be drippy, but that only adds to the appeal. If interested, I'd allocate a couple of days to go north along the coast (Hwy 1) through Mendocino before re-connecting with US 101 south of the main Redwood groves.

You can see Redwoods just outside of SF in Muir Woods....or if you go up North to the wine country of Healdsburg..you can make a side trip to see Armstrong Woods State park..FAB redwoods (In Guerneville). I'd skip driving to Mendocino...its where Murder She Wrote was filmed since it looked a lot like New England.. and you can get real car sick driving there. I still say drive South. But I'd not overnight in Big Sur..just head south..stop at Hearst Castle and maybe sleep in Cambria...you could swing over to Yosemite on your way back. Its do-able but a bit rushed.

It's been a cold winter here too in northern California, but nothing like what east coasters have had! If you want warm, your best bet is to head south--perhaps base yourselves in Santa Barbara for several days, then work your way back up the coast to visit Carmel and Monterey.

This is all really helpful, thanks very much. I'll spend the weekend with maps and websites. One quick question for now: A few people mentioned Yosemite which I think we'd love to visit, but what is the weather likely to be there around May 1?

May and June are the best months to visit Yosemite Valley. July thru September is the best time to visit the Yosemite High Country.

We have visited Yosemite Valley the first weekend in May on a number of occasions. Usually the weather is delightful but, since this is the tail end of our rainy season, there is always a chance of inclement weather.

But even if there's a storm, the Valley is still magnificent. You don't have to worry about getting snowed in then and late spring storms only last a day or two.

In May, the falls are approaching their fullest and the valley wildflowers are in bloom. Bring your cameras and plenty of memory cards.

As others have said, the coast is also beautiful in May. As is the Motherlode and Wine Countries. If you want to visit Yosemite, you could easily spend a week in that general area visiting Yosemite National Park, old mining towns, interesting caverns, and some of the nearby wineries. There's plenty to see in Northern California.

If you are from Vermont, then mountains are not as much a novelty. I think I'd recommend Santa Cruz, Big Sur coastline, Hearst Castle, Moro Bay and San Louis Obispo area for wineries

I never saw a Yosemite Valley look-alike in Vermont !!

Stu Dudley

grnmntn said they want to be outdoors a lot and do lots of hiking, and he specifically asked about mountain areas. So Yosemite is a perfect suggestion. (And as Stu mentioned, there is nothing like it in Vermont!)

We've had great hiking there as early as the second week of April, including to the top of Nevada Falls. (My kids have hikes as far as Merced lake in May, and ascended Half Dome as well). I think it is one of the best months---waterfalls full, not too hot, everything green with spring.

The trick will be getting reservations---try to get something in the Valley if you can.

Maybe 3 days for south coast/Big Sur, (or north coast/redwoods), and 4 for Yosemite?

And I don't see where they mentioned wineries at all. . .