Flying into SFO on 9/8/06 around 2:30 - plan on seeing some of northern coast/redwoods/Yosemite and SF during our 2 week stay - Big question, hadn't thought of till yesterday - with weekend traffic which area should we head for first? Will be in Ca for 2 weeks, undecided about Fridayafternoon/weekend traffic?

bit puzzled- you say you'll be there for two weeks, so why are you so worried about weekend traffic? Plenty of time to see both areas. That said- northcoast/redwoods/yosemite is most likely a more pleasant place to drive on the weekend than SF...but then again hwy 101 ALWAYS seems crowded, esp. on the weekend....

you may want to relabel your thread. not a very precise title

I've heard so much about afternoon/evening traffic & weekend traffic - just wondering which way to head for weekend to avoid some of it. My original plan was to rent car, head north, but then yesterday I was reading some post and it made me wonder if we were foolish to try to start our trip with rush hour/weekend traffic. So then I got to thinking maybe we'd be better off in the city for the weekend, then rent a car and head north or Yosemite. Thanks for any help

Most non holiday weekends, if you leave early and get your driving done before 11 am, you should be okay. But if you have a choice, I'd stay in the city on the weekend. Friday afternoon is usually nasty!

Basically, if you can avoid it, you don't want to be driving out of SF on a Friday after about noon or in to SF on Sunday afternoon. But other than that you will be OK.

And as trippinkpi says - visiting the city on the weekend and touring the country/major scenic areas on weekdays is the best set up for both traffic and room rates.

Thanks, think you've talked me into staying in the city for the weekend, which will make my husband VERY HAPPY. Last time we stayed at Union Square, where is another good location to stay for weekend, not to much into shopping.