I'm planning a trip to Napa, San Fran, and Monterey/Carmel. Can go anytime around summer. I'm wondering if anyone has more info on the summer fog I keep hearing about on this site.
Is end May/early June better than July or August? If we are definitely going around summertime what part of summer should we pick for the best chances of good weather? I appreciate any input - thanks.

It's funny, went to San Francisco in summer 2 years ago, was there 5 days and was kinda hoping to see the fog "roll in" across the bay. Not one day of fog.

May is usually quite pleasant; the summer fog and chill set in toward the end of June, as a rule. If you come in the summer, just don't expect to have weather for shorts, although the fog usually lifts in the afternoon. Even then temperatures will still be on the cool side.

From my experience living in SF, the summer is probably the worst time to be in SF or along the coast in Monterey and Carmel because of the high probability that fog will be around for most, and in some cases all day. Fog season is ypically June, July, and August.

San Francisco fog is a gentle fog that rolls in during the evening and is burnt off in the morning.

"Watch the white fog fill the Golden Gate as the sunset lights up the wonders across the bay, and prepare to leave your heart." Lonely Planet

The fog along the California coast is full of magic, "creeping in on little cat's feet" (Robert Frost?). I love watching it roll in.

The fog keeps temperatures cool, so bring a jacket for evening wear.

Best time? That's hard to say, May to September is the most likely time to meet with fog along the coast. Some days you will have it, some days not. The fog shouldn't affect your plans much, unless you were planning on touring at 7am in the morning when other tourists are still asleep!

Actually, it was Carl Sandburg whose fog crept in "on little cat's feet", but who's counting? The fog is not eerie or creepy, it's beautiful and is part of the mystique of San Francisco. Frankly, the marine layer (the weather phenomenon that produces the morning fog) is something you just get used to on the coast in California for certain months of the year (I'm looking at it burn off right this very minute outside my office window, overlooking the Santa Monica Pier). It usually burns off, and then you get that lovely California sunshine we all love. Today will be gorgeous, although not blazingly hot like this past weekend (88F on the coast in Long Beach!)....

In any case, Memorial Day Weekend would probably be a wonderful time to visit the San Francisco Bay Area (you know they'll have cool stuff going on), so just go for it! So it won't be super-hot-- big deal. There will be so much to see and do! Have a great trip!

Actually..."The fog creeps in on little cat's feet" is Carl Sandburg.
There's a good reason they call it Faugust!
The beauty of San Francisco is the microclimates. In one area it may be chilly and foggy but if you go to another area it may be warm and sunny.

Without sounding like I'm writing a travel guide or something, I find that the fog is part of what makes San Francisco "San Francisco". The first time I went there it was after spending 2 weeks in San Jose, where the weather was the same, hot, dry, sunny, every day. Then I drove up 101 toward the bay and I can remember nearing Candlestick pt. and these low clouds started blowing over the highway, it looked like the second coming. Don't let the fog ruin a trip, it is still pretty dry, somehow. Also, it can be cold. Once, in July, I was standing on Market St at night waiting for the Muni and it seemed very cold. I looked up the weather channel on my cell phone and sure enough, at 47F, San Francisco was the coldest US city on the list, colder than Anchorage and Bismark at that moment. Mark Twain once said something like, "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" Napa, Monterey and Carmel will not be foggy, it's only in the Bay.

There have days so cold and foggy in SF(in the inner Richmond-Pacific Heights)that I've worn down parkas! That being said, they have been the exception. We do get heat waves throughout the summer and are so spoiled that after 3-5 days of it are wondering when the fog will come back in to cool things off. I think June could be a great time. It will also not be as hot in the Napa Valley then.

San Francisco fog is definitely something to see. It's part of the attraction of SF. Fog rolling in through the Golden Gate is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Wow! Thanks so much for all the responses. I think we are going to focus on Memorial weekend time.

Was it Mark Sandburg or Carl Twain that said "The coldest winter I ever spent was on little cat's feet? :-?

rjw and kimmer: Thaks for the correction to Carl Sandburg! Much appreciated!

I once had some friends come in from Australia. Took them to Monterey. As we left the hot and cloudless inland route and got to the coast, the fog was rolling in and out, not quite decided what it wanted to do. Little wisps curled around themselves ahead of us on the road, other wisps were dashing up one slope and down another. My Australian friends yelled, "Stop! Stop!" or maybe it was "Stop! Mate! Stop!" Anyhoos, I stopped and they ALL jumped out of the car and were running up and down the road enjoying the now-you-see-us-now-you-don't fun of playing with the fog. Sometimes those folk from Down Under can be right strange. A couple of them were with the amateur Australian soccer team that played challenge matches all over the world, so it wasn't as if they hadn't ever travelled before.

Enjoy California! Enjoy the fog!

I remember watching a BBC program on California in the TV room of a small two-star hotel in London years ago, the others sitting with me all Brits. There was one man (only) who had ever been to California, and he kept adding his own tidbits to the narration and answering questions from the others.

Although I was a Bay Area resident at the time, I sat silent, enjoying this. His comments about L.A. and San Diego, which were featured in the early part of the program, did show a fair amount of familiarity with facts, although sprinkled with an assumption (not ungracious, given that I didn't open my mouth and Americans were rare in this hotel)that certain cultural excesses of this upstart colony were pretty apalling.

Then a heartbreakingly beautiful shot of fog pouring through the Golden Gate came on. "Now that," he pontificated solemly and triumphantly, pointing at the screen, "is a prime example of a terrible California phenomenon known as .....smog."

I was feeling too homesick to counter the clucking noises of shock at this environmental outrage Californians had apparently perpetrated on themselves, and I felt the same homeickness again reading the beautiful posts on the beloved fog above. Thanks, folks.

I especially loved Easytraveler's first post, whether or not she guessed right on the quote. Easytraveler, the quantity and quality of the gems you bestow regularly in this forum, especially on questioning newcomers, astounds me. You win my vote for the Oscar (or the Fodor?) for best overall performance by a poster, far and away.

Now, since a certain someone is now probably going to come on and claim that of course I like your work because you are really me, I hope I don't get this thread deleted by saying that.

In fact, only in my fondest dreams can I write like you can.

Wow! johncharles, what praise! Thank you so much! I am blushing!

Actually, I don't deserve the credit, kudos should go to:

1) This lovely state, California, with its many wonders, astounding views, vibrant cities, and beautiful people;

2) Fodors, for providing this great forum and for setting its tone; and

3) Fodors readers/contributors like yourself, who give so selflessly and honestly of yourselves...fun to read too!

I raise my morning cuppa to all three!

Thanks again, johncharles, ever the gentleman!

Kal: LOL!

The frogs creep in on little flat feet.

One of the finest photographs I have ever seen is a picture of San Francisco maybe taken from Point Bonito area? with just the towers & cables of Golden Gate, and the tops of downtown skyscrapers showing. Fog below that and beautiful blue sky and brilliant sunrise above fog. Simply amazing.