Help Me Plan a 4-Day Vacation in Northern California Next Week

Take a drive up north into Marin over the Golden Gate Bridge. Then, head over to Muir Woods for a nice hike. You'll get to see some redwoods there...not like the prime time shit, but it is very scenic. Maybe even cruise up to the top of Mt. Tam....

Also, I haven't paid much attention to it, but I heard there are often a lot of forest fires this time of year. What national parks should I avoid due to forest fires or way too many tourists? I'm completely fine with avoiding the famous ones (Yosemite) and exploring a hidden gem national park. Is snow common at this time of year in some national parks, too?

So you have your flights booked, but have no place to stay, no transportation, and no plans for what to do?

Never Been to California wrote:

I'm completely fine with avoiding the famous ones (Yosemite) and exploring a hidden gem national park.

If you have not seen Yosemite you should go. Closer than Redwoods and you can see similar trees in Yosemite or Muir Woods. Yosemite will not be overly crowded this time of year and it is only the valley that is incredibly crowded any time of year. Get 1/4 mile from a parking lot and the crowds are basically gone.

There are way, way too many things to do in 4 days, I don't know where to start. What is your favorite climate, you have a big choice.

One of my favorite things to do was to cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge, then down a big hill to Sausalito, returning to San Francisco on the ferry. Or you could do it in the other direction if you want a real challenge.

Trails - Lot's of great trails in Marin County. Mount Tamales is rises 2,500 above sea level. I've never run it but it must be a hell of a challenge.

Spend a day in the city and do a flat recovery run at the Marina.

I wouldn't bother with the PCH if you only have 4 days. You could visit Napa Valley.

I would spend most of your time in SF. 4 days in California is simply not much time to see anything. You could spend 4 decades in California and not see it all.

Don't go to the redwoods way up north. Way too far. Go to Muir Woods and or Redwood Regional Park (in Oakland) to see some largish redwoods/cool scenery. If you go to Muir Woods, go as early in the AM as possible before the hoards of crowds arrive.

Probably should save it for another trip. You're not here long enough.

Yes, it's worth a look. You take a ferry there. Takes about 3-4 hours roundtrip. Book it NOW. The ferries book out ahead of time.

The aforementioned Redwood Regional Park in Oakland is very good. Tons of good trails and the setting/topography is a million times better than anything in Texas. Run a search on Google and these forums for trail maps, etc.

You have zipcar? You could use one of those to get to Redwood Regional Park for your run, but otherwise just stick to public transit. Driving around SF is a PITA. Slow-going and prepare for parking fees to empty your wallet.

You heard right. SF hotels are probably the most expensive in the USA right now. Look into hostels (some have private rooms with shared bathrooms) and AirBNB.

opinionated guy wrote:

Never Been to California wrote:

I'm completely fine with avoiding the famous ones (Yosemite) and exploring a hidden gem national park.

If you have not seen Yosemite you should go. Closer than Redwoods and you can see similar trees in Yosemite or Muir Woods. Yosemite will not be overly crowded this time of year and it is only the valley that is incredibly crowded any time of year. Get 1/4 mile from a parking lot and the crowds are basically gone.

Yosemite is doable from SF, but pretty far especially if you only have four days. If you are going to drive that far, you might as well do part of the PCH (would be less driving).

I'd recommended doing neither if 4 days is your limit.

Never Been to California wrote:

I'm completely fine with avoiding the famous ones (Yosemite) and exploring a hidden gem national park.

Not national parks, but look into "Forest of Nisene Marks State Park" and "redwood regional park oakland" for awesome runs, minimal crowds, world-class nature that is far closer to SF than Yosemite.

That said, Yosemite IS worth visiting at some point in your life. I say save it for a future trip.

gerrymander brown wrote:

Never Been to California wrote:

I'm completely fine with avoiding the famous ones (Yosemite) and exploring a hidden gem national park.

Not national parks, but look into "Forest of Nisene Marks State Park" and "redwood regional park oakland" for awesome runs, minimal crowds, world-class nature that is far closer to SF than Yosemite.

That said, Yosemite IS worth visiting at some point in your life. I say save it for a future trip.

If ambitious and have a car, could drive down to Nisene Marks for killer run in the early AM. After run, hop into Pacific Ocean in Aptos beach in lieu of shower (be careful about rip currents). Hop back into car and drive south through Big Sur (this is the best part of the PCH). Turn around and drive back to SF...back in time for dinner.

As others have said, drive to Muir Woods to see redwoods (over the GG Bridge on Hwy 101 and 1). Plan to get there just as it opens in the morning because later in the day it is overwhelmed by crowds and buses, much less fun, and there may be no parking.

You'll be on Highway 1/Pacific Coast Highway to get to Muir Woods. If you want to continue on north, you can stop at Muir Beach, go to the Muir Beach Overlook, or drive on Stinson Beach. Going on up to Point Reyes is also nice. All great nature places and doable in a single day. It will give you a good taste of the PCH. Yellowstone and stuff farther afield would waste too much of your time. Marin Headlands and/or Mt. Tam just over the GG Bridge is also very scenic with good running/hiking trails.

Alcatraz is worth it, but you'd better buy tickets online before your trip because it sells out. Another easy way to see the bay is just to take the regular ferry to Sausalito, spend some time and come back.

SF is very pedestrian friendly and almost anywhere in the city is a good place to run if you don't mind concrete sidewalks and stopping at intersections. I try to run 1st thing in the morning when there's a lot less traffic and people. You can see a ton of the city easily just by getting out at dawn and running through it. That's actually my favorite part of going to SF.

Personally, I love running the hills - up and down Pacific Heights or the Telegraph Hill area are great. If you are trying to avoid hills, the Crissy Field area from Fisherman's wharf to the GG Bridge is mostly flat and a big running area. Golden Gate Park is also a good and comparatively flat place to run, as is Ocean Beach on the west. There's a flat sidewalk that runs for miles between the beach and the Great Highway.

For places to run... I recommend you enter this race:

http://dserunners.com/ai1ec_event/san-bruno-mountain-5k12k-2014/?instance_id=289

It is only $7 so you do it as a fun run on a really nice trail course. You will meet some interesting San Francisco runners who can tell you where to run.

Bring water! We are dry...so very dry....

Some options wrote:

drive to Muir Woods to see redwoods (over the GG Bridge on Hwy 101 and 1). Plan to get there just as it opens in the morning because later in the day it is overwhelmed by crowds and buses, much less fun, and there may be no parking.

You'll be on Highway 1/Pacific Coast Highway to get to Muir Woods. If you want to continue on north, you can stop at Muir Beach, go to the Muir Beach Overlook, or drive on Stinson Beach. Going on up to Point Reyes is also nice. All great nature places and doable in a single day.

I agree. Muir Woods can get VERY crowded.

Point Reyes is great as are all the areas north of the city, however, be sure to check the forecast. You might spend the entire day of traveling and see nothing but fog at arms length.

I'll agree with skipping Yosemite this trip, because when you do go there you need to hike Half Dome. I've done it twice, it's amazing. 17 miles round trip past several waterfalls. Toward the peak it gets a little scary, but you'll be fine. It's beautiful, I highly, highly recommend it.

You can't go this trip because you need a permit and you'd need the cables to be up, and they are taken down right around now. When you do go back the secret is to camp near the trailhead and be on it at dusk. As you climb higher so will the sun, illuminating the valley below. You'll be on top by lunch time, beating any crowds. You'll be back down by 3 or 4 pm when the shadows are starting to get long. What a great day.

Since you won't be visiting Yosemite, your best bet is some hike involving Muir Woods/Mt. Tamalpais/Stinson Beach and some combination of those. It's 45 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge to Mt. Tamalpais, not bad at all.

Big Sur is supposed to be beautiful too, and that's 3 hrs south of SF. You should do your research on whether that is worth a day to you (on the plus side I think you can take Pacific Coast Highway to get there).

And then inside the city my favorite place to sleep is the North Beach/Russian Hill/Nob Hill area. From there you can walk to North Beach, BART, the Ferry Building, Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Fort Mason, the Marina, and plenty of bars and restaurants. Bear in mind some of these may be 20 minute walks, and there are robust hills, but hey, you're on vacation. Or you can take a bus, no big deal.

I'd recommend visiting all of the places listed above, as well as taking a trip out to Haight-Ashbury.

As for runs, Presidio has trails, Golden Gate Park, Land's End, the Marina Headlands, and the Marina Promenade. My favorite run (it's long) starts in the Marina Promenade, goes under GG Bridge, down to Baker Beach, out to Land's End, through GG Park, and through the Presidio. But you can do portion of that obviously.

Some people like the Mission. I do not, though they have excellent Mexican food. The Castro is kind of a trip too, but you'd have to be with a gay friend and it sounds like you'll be alone. Fisherman's Wharf is not worth visiting except for In N Out burger.

If you do go to the East Bay, in addition to Redwood Regional Park is Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, and Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley. These are all great trails for running & hiking, but it's probably not worth the trip until you've exhausted all the SF options, which you won't in 4 days.

Sorry, that should be Marin Headlands, not Marina. It is the Marina Promenade though.

Check out AT&T Park, home of the 2010 and 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. If they can beat St. Louis in the NLCS this week it might be an exciting time to be in SF next week.

Take the ferry to Vallejo and rent a car there. Drive up to Napa or Sonoma. Enjoy some wine a great meal and find some beautiful places to run. Spend the rest of your time in SF...it is a great city. Bring lots and lots of money.

Randy Oldman wrote:

There are way, way too many things to do in 4 days, I don't know where to start. What is your favorite climate, you have a big choice.

One of my favorite things to do was to cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge, then down a big hill to Sausalito, returning to San Francisco on the ferry. Or you could do it in the other direction if you want a real challenge.

Trails - Lot's of great trails in Marin County. Mount Tamales is rises 2,500 above sea level. I've never run it but it must be a hell of a challenge.

Spend a day in the city and do a flat recovery run at the Marina.

I wouldn't bother with the PCH if you only have 4 days. You could visit Napa Valley.

Mount Tamales.