With such a wide variety of options, San Francisco travel options to consider should include excursions from San Francisco. In a few days one can venture out and experience natural beauty unparalleled in the world. For a day on your trip, you can see the magic that has captured the world’s imagination since the Spanish first arrived in California. Of the many possibilities there is the 17 mile scenic tour of Monterey Bay, the opportunity to tour the San Francisco wine country or the opportunity to visit Muir Woods with several options in this one choice only. Each has their own flavor of the Golden State for your fascination and enjoyment.
Monterey’s extremely scenic 17-mile drive is one of the most captivating drives in the state. Winding through the coastal mountains, the trail will take you past several famous landmarks. From City by the Bay, traveling south on Highway 1, you’ll see some of the most spectacular coastline in the world. Passing through Santa Cruz and continuing on to Carmel (where Clint Eastwood was once mayor), scheduled stops include the row of canneries that John Steinbeck immortalized in a novel. Seaside exploration, shopping and activities for every taste you’ll find during your visit to Carmel. The drive back to the city will take you through Silicon Valley, home of the tech revolution, as you complete a grand tour of the San Francisco Peninsula.
When you talk about the San Francisco wine country, you talk about the Napa and Sonoma valleys. In stark contrast to the rugged central coastline mentioned above, you’ll see gently rolling green hills with high grassy land showing the waves of the wind on their tops during spring, a sight I’ll never forget. In other areas, vineyards as far as the eye can see indicate a winery is nearby. A trip from my childhood often with the family, this truly is a beautiful part of California. The contrast of the two places, less than 100 miles from each other, is tremendous. During the trip, you will visit some of the best wineries in the world and taste wines that reflect that excellence. The culmination of this tour from San Francisco is a lazy cruise across the bay, missing traffic to end a special day.
Muir Woods, a national monument, is home to some of the oldest and tallest trees in the world. The old-growth coast redwoods are full of stories, as humans have plagued the park, for better and worse, for centuries. Home to many miles of hiking trails; Camping, bicycling, horseback riding, and smoking are not allowed in the national monument. Even food is allowed only in a specific place. Trees need and deserve our protection, some are a thousand years old or more. As a kid in Northern California, I remember seeing a tree stump with a timeline of history pointing to specific rings (trees are dated by the number of rings to the center). The highlight was the marker for the birth of Jesus, 2000 years of growth is as old as it gets. The tour is combined with a full city tour after your 90 minutes in the woods. Alternatively, you can visit Sausalito, the charming village across the bay at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Finally, you have the option to enjoy a bay cruise after the Muir Woods experience.
Like I said, the surrounding areas are San Francisco travel options worth considering. A well-planned City by the Bay trip can allow you to experience more of California during an efficient and well-rounded vacation. Tour the San Francisco wine country, learn a new appreciation for the art of wine making. The 17-mile scenic drive will leave you in awe of the magnificent seaside mountains of the Central Coast. Then, Muir Woods will let you go back hundreds of years as you visit giants of the coastal lands. This is California. This is California accessible for a day trip from San Francisco during your special San Francisco vacation experience, a memory-building travel collection.
