Anytime there’s a long weekend or holiday we’re quite well-located to check out some Bay Area escapes. Be sure to put these essential day trips from San Francisco on your to-do list for the next time you want to get out of the city. And don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom, where you’ll find a helpful map showing exactly where each of these awesome spots is located.
Note: All time estimates in the article are for car travel.
1. Pinnacles National Park
2 hours by car from SF
Volcanic eruptions created this unique national park south of San Francisco. With over 30 miles of trails, it’s a great spot to keep going back to. You can do a strenuous hike that takes you through rocky terrain, or an easy walk through the grasslands. There are also opportunities for rock climbing, bird watching, and camping.
2. Alamere Falls
1 hour 15 minutes by car from SF
This long hiking route in Point Reyes is extremely popular for its breathtaking view of the falls at the end, but be prepared for a long day of trekking to reach the dramatic 40-foot cascade. Bear in mind that you’ll need to time your hike with low tide in order to view the falls safely, and the NPS recommends printing a map from their website or picking one up at the visitor center.
3. Filoli Estate & Gardens
30 minutes by car from SF
If you haven’t heard of Filoli, you have got to add this spectacular historical estate to your list, as it’s one of the best day trips to take from San Francisco. The Filoli property covers 654 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The house and garden themselves cover 16 immaculate acres, having been beautifully maintained for over a century.
Filoli’s gardens are unique in that they bloom all year round, thanks to seasonal planting and carefully planned maintenance by the estate’s 14 full-time horticulturalists. Over 75,000 spring bulbs are planted each year.
4. Muir Woods
40 minutes by car from SF
We’re extremely lucky to live so close to the largest and tallest trees in the world. If you don’t make it out to see them once in a while, then what are you doing in California? These old growth coastal redwoods are breathtaking, and most have been there between 600 and 800 years.
5. Mount Tamalpais
1 hour by car from SF
Mount Tamalpais State Park is a gorgeous hiking destination just an hour outside of the city. Cruise across the Golden Gate Bridge and you’ll find panoramic views, grassy meadows, and magical forests in this captivating park with plenty of rolling hills and trails for hiking.
6. Inverness Shipwreck
1 hour 10 minutes by car from SF
Whether you’re a history enthusiast, a photographer, or just a fan of cool, old things, you should check out this old boat up the coast from the City. The S.S. Point Reyes is an old abandoned fishing boat that’s been stranded on a sand bar in Inverness for several decades. There’s a dirt trail that takes you near it, and even a small picnic area, but depending on the water level that day, it may be more or less difficult to see it up close. Bring your best waterproof shoes and be sure to take pictures of this awesome Inverness shipwreck!
7. Big Sur
2 hours 45 minutes by car from SF
If you’re planning a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway, then you’ll undoubtedly be heading to one of the most recognizable coastal waterfalls in the world. McWay Falls in Big Sur may be incredibly popular, but it’s for good reason. Onlookers will be able to view the 80-foot fall plunging from the granite cliff into the Pacific below. The beach, Saddle Rock and Mcway Falls within Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park are strictly off-limits, but the panoramic views from the Overlook Trail and higher elevations along the trails east of Highway 1 will take your breath away.
8. Gerbode Valley
25 minutes by car from SF
Gerbode Valley is an absolutely spectacular place to go hiking, and it takes less than half an hour to get there. If you’re looking for a challenging hike, be sure to try the Gerbode Valley Loop Trail. With 900 feet of climbing, you’ll work up a sweat while enjoying expansive views of the surrounding greenery.
9. Cataract Falls
1 hour by car from SF
Marin County is home to some of the best hikes in the Bay Area, and Cataract Falls doesn’t disappoint. The entire hiking route is dotted with cascading waterfalls, so you’ll make a new discovery around every corner, which is why it’s one of the most popular hikes to do in Marin.
10. Wilder Ranch
1 hour 20 minutes by car from SF
Wilder Ranch State Park, just a few minutes south of Davenport, is a 7,000 acre ranch from the late 1800s converted into a museum and nature preserve. This historic site sits along the Santa Cruz County coastline and is home to spectacular views, hikes, sea caves, and wildlife.
11. Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
20 minutes by car from SF
Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve is a popular hiking destination in Oakland, but it might have flown under the radar for those living in other parts of the Bay. The stunning landscape was born from volcanic activity in the region, and you can hike right to the center of where the volcano use to be. Over the years, visitors have also made large labyrinths using rocks from the surrounding landscape, similar to the famous one at Lands End.
12. Winchester Mystery House
45 minutes by car from SF
This famous home was owned by Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, who continuously renovated and added onto the mansion for decades. The sprawling building measures 24,000 square feet and is full of bizarre twists and turns, hidden doors, and staircases that lead to nowhere. Visit for a good scare or a fun lesson in local history.
13. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
1 hour 15 minutes by car from SF
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has been entertaining generations of Californians for decades since it was founded in 1907, making it the oldest amusement park in California. Easily its most famous ride is the Giant Dipper, a legendary wooden roller coaster with amazing views of the beach and a fascinating history. The property itself is a California Historic Landmark, and both the Giant Dipper roller coaster and the Looff Carousel have national landmark status.
14. Pulgas Water Temple
30 minutes by car from SF
The Bay Area is home to some of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, but even locals may not know about the Pulgas Water Temple, a tranquil monument and reflecting pool in the countryside of Redwood City. San Francisco built this monument back in 1938 to celebrate the engineering marvel that carried water from the Sierra Nevada mountains on a 160-mile journey to the Bay. Only 2 other such water temples exist in the United States.
15. Calla Lily Valley
2 hours by car from SF
One of Big Sur’s lesser-known elements is Calla Lily Valley at Garrapata Beach, which becomes overtaken with hundreds of blooming white calla lilies every year. If you can manage to catch them in bloom between January and April, you’re in for a real treat. While you’re at it, make a stop at nearby McWay Falls or Carmel-By-The-Sea.
16. Castello di Amorosa
1 hour 20 minutes by car from SF
Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga is one of Napa’s most unique wineries, in that it’s styled to emulate a Tuscan castle from the 13th century. The structure took 15 years to build, employing various medieval designs and construction techniques. It includes 5 defensive towers with battlements, 107 rooms, handmade antique bricks from Europe, hand-painted frescoes, and more. You’ll feel entirely transported to the Italian countryside, with a little help from their spectacular hand-crafted Italian-style wines.
17. Carmel-By-The-Sea
2 hours by car from SF
One of California’s most whimsical hidden gems is the small beach city of Carmel-by-the-Sea (or Carmel for short), known for its collection of quaint fairy tale cottages. Peek into these neighborhoods for a world that’s not quite our own, where storybook illustrations are rendered into reality among breezy seaside surroundings.
18. Apple Park Visitor Center
45 minutes by car from SF
If you’re an avid Apple fan, consider paying a visit to the Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino for the ultimate Apple Store experience. The beautiful two-story building is the only part of Apple’s massive campus that’s open to the public, and it makes for an interesting peek into life for the highest echelon of Silicon Valley.
19. The Birds filming locations
1 hour 20 minutes by car from SF
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), starring Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor, is the famous director’s first horror film and perhaps one of the most industry-defining films in history. It was filmed just up the coast in the towns of Bodega and Bodega Bay in Sonoma County, making it just an hour-and-a-half drive from San Francisco. Whether you’re a film buff in the mood for a road trip, or you’re just a fan of quaint coastal towns and beautiful views, these iconic places are worth putting on your radar.
20. UC Berkeley campus
20 minutes by car from SF
Travel + Leisure recently released their list of the best college towns and cities in the US, and Berkeley is the only California city to make the cut! The magazine references Berkeley’s “energized activist scene” and “plentiful green spaces” as places where students can learn both inside the classroom and out. The campus is open to the public, meaning that anyone can take a peek into the many of the historic university’s libraries and campus buildings or have a picnic on the lawn. Not to mention local gems like the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) and some world-famous restaurants.
21. Devil’s Slide
20 minutes by car from SF
Devil’s Slide is the name given to a small area of coastline between Pacifica and Montara, which once held a landslide-prone section of Highway 1. After its construction in 1935, the road was frequently damaged during winter storms and had to be closed and repaired multiple times. Eventually in 2013, CalTrans diverted the highway into the Tom Lantos Tunnels and converted the decommissioned roadway into a pedestrian- and bike-only zone.
22. Bolinas
1 hour by car from SF
Bolinas is an eclectic little town on the western edge of Marin County with a thriving art scene, historic buildings, and unbeatable panoramic ocean views. If it’s the outdoors you seek, Bolinas Beach is a popular spot for beginner and intermediate surfers, or you can hike out to nearby Alamere Falls to see the rare phenomenon of a waterfall flowing directly onto the beach. Grab a meal at Coast Cafe, which has exellent fresh seafood, or Smiley’s Schooner Saloon, which claims to be the oldest continually operating saloon on the West Coast.
23. Capitola
1 hour 15 minutes by car from SF
One of California’s most iconic hidden gems is the tiny beach town of Capitola in Santa Cruz County. It’s best known for Capitola Village, a quaint neighborhood of multicolored homes, hole-in-the-wall shops and fun restaurants right on the water — but you can’t go wrong with a stroll slightly out-of-bounds at Pleasure Point to watch the surfers or some window shopping on 41st Avenue.
24. Marin Headlands
20 minutes by car from SF
The Marin Headlands is one of the most accessible places for a day trip from San Francisco, offering a wealth of sights and areas to explore. It’s home to beaches, bunkers, the Marine Mammal Center, the historic Point Bonita Lighthouse, and a former nuclear missile launcher, to name a few.
25. Sausalito
The breathtaking city of Sausalito recalls Italy’s Amalfi Coast with its hillside of colorful houses seemingly stacked on top of each other. The city is famous for its lovely community of floating houseboats on the waterfront. Some great places to eat near the ferry terminal include Bar Bocce, which has a private beach and waterfront bocce courts, and The Trident, where plenty of rockstars have partied including Janis Joplin and Fleetwood Mac. If you’re an animal lover, consider taking a guided tour at the Marine Mammal Center, which is the world’s largest marine mammal hospital.
26. Davenport
You might recognize Davenport’s Shark Fin Cove, whose iconic fin-shaped rock makes for a one-of-a-kind landmark on Highway 1. Neighboring Davenport Beach is popular place to hunt for sea glass because of its proximity to Lundberg Studios, whose discarded blown-glass trimmings were knocked into the sea during a storm many decades ago. As a result, thousands of pieces of colorful glass have tumbled in the waves for centuries, and you can catch professional beachcombers seeking the highly-coveted sea glass in full wetsuits. You’ll also want to look for the Davenport Jail, a one-room jailhouse from 1914; the abandoned Davenport Pier, which is a photographer’s dream; and the Whale City Bakery, a lauded NorCal institution with mouthwatering pastries.
27. Napa Valley
Wine country is a major draw for anyone traveling in California, and it’s hard to beat the allure of Napa Valley. Of course most visitors go for wine tasting across the region’s 400+ wineries, which is a treat in and of itself. But you can enjoy plenty of variations on the wine tasting experience whether you want to squeeze in a bike tour, hot air balloon ride, spa day, concert, gallery visit, or shopping spree. One of the most unique destinations in Napa Valley is Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga, an authentically-styled 13th century Tuscan castle where you can enjoy spectacular hand-crafted Italian-style wines. It’s also worth spending an afternoon at Oxbow Public Market, a 40,000-square-foot marketplace in downtown Napa with excellent local vendors and seating along the Napa River.
28. Sonoma
There’s so much to explore in wine country and Sonoma is a great option if you want to be a bit closer to SF. Tour one of the county’s 425 wineries dotted throughout the rolling CA landscape, go for a scenic hike along the coast or in the redwoods, or amp up the luxury with a 5-star spa day. Sonoma’s Sebastiani Theater is about to welcome some exquisite classical concerts by Candlelight, which you can browse below: