SFO next week

[chronical]

I am heading out for a quick trip to San Francisco next week.
I have never been and don't want to miss any "must do's"

How is the drive up the PCH to Redwood National and State Parks?

Visiting some redwoods is something I want to do but not sure where the best place is to do so. If I can avoid a 6.5 hr drive that would be great.

Thanks

[slow99]

How long are you there? San Francisco to Redwood Park is a hell of a drive.

[chronical]

How long are you there? San Francisco to Redwood Park is a hell of a drive.

Yeah I know.
Was originally 6 days. Was cut to 4 yesterday.

[chronical]

With the limited time, am I missing much if I drive up to Drive thru Tree Park and Avenue of the Giants and simply skip The Redwood National Forest altogether? This would cut serious time off.

[slow99]

I had a tour I took all our visitors on when we lived there. About an hour and a half but I think I hit all the high points and everyone seemed to think it was really cool. Many times our visitors only had a couple days or I was working so much that drilling it down was really helpful.

We never went all the way to Redwood. I always just took everyone north a few miles and drove through Muir Woods/ Mt Tamalpais, down to Stinson Beach. From Stinson Beach you can take the PCH back close to the Golden Gate Bridge.

[BP]

Just a heads up in case you planned on doing this:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/01/10/fans-mourn-death-california-famous-drive-thru-sequoia.html

[chronical]

Just a heads up in case you planned on doing this:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/01/10...u-sequoia.html

Thanks. From what I've read, there are three others you can drive through.

Shrine Tree, Chandelier Tree, and Klamath Tree. All north while that one was near Yosemite.

[chronical]

I had a tour I took all our visitors on when we lived there. About an hour and a half but I think I hit all the high points and everyone seemed to think it was really cool. Many times our visitors only had a couple days or I was working so much that drilling it down was really helpful.

We never went all the way to Redwood. I always just took everyone north a few miles and drove through Muir Woods/ Mt Tamalpais, down to Stinson Beach. From Stinson Beach you can take the PCH back close to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Are these the high points that you recommend?

[slow99]

Are these the high points that you recommend?

To see very nice forest/mountain areas without going all that far, yes that's what we did.

My drive when people visited was this:

Start by going up to Twin Peaks (the top of the mount in the city by the big red Sutro Tower), drive to Ocean Beach, from there drive up by Baker Beach and take Lincoln over to the Golden Gate. From there drive north up into Muir Woods/Tamalpais/Stinson Beach. From Stinson take the PCH back towards the Golden Gate. Once back in the city take the 101 back by the Palace of Fine arts then take Divisadero back to California in and through Pacific Heights. Head east on California to Grace Cathedral and make a left right after Grace Cathedral. Back track to get back on Jones Street then take it north through Nob Hill. Take some time driving around Nob Hill, that's the cool hilly part people always think of when they think of San Francisco. You can hit Lombard street at this point too, it's right there. You can take Jones all the way down to Bay by Fisherman's Wharf.

If you want to make it another 30 minutes or so, throw the Point Bonita light house in there as well. It's right after you cross the Golden Gate north on the way up to Muir Woods. You'll take the first exit right after the bridge and head towards Sauasalito then follow the signs for Point Bonita. Park and walk down, it's pretty damned amazing. I always saw deer, bobcats, coyotes etc there, pretty crazy it's only a couple miles out of the city.

That was my "tour", everyone seemed to enjoy it, hits almost all the high points and landmarks. Takes 1.5 - 2 hours depending on how slow you want or how much stopping and looking around you want to do.

Restaurants - hit Sotto Mare in North Beach/Little Italy and try the Cioppino - best in the city. Burma Superstar is the other local hidden gem I'd recommend. It was right around the corner from my house and always packed and everyone always said it's one of the best meals they ever had. It's unique as well. If it's too packed, the little sister "B Star" is a block away and usually less crowded.

[bird_dog0347]

For breakfast hit up The Buena Vista down by Ghirardelli square at the end of the trolley stop. If you like Irish coffee it's awesome there, and the crabcakes benedict is excellent too! Look up their hours and get there about 5 minutes before they open as there will be a line to get in but you'll be seated right away and not really have to wait.

[chronical]

To see very nice forest/mountain areas without going all that far, yes that's what we did.

My drive when people visited was this:

Start by going up to Twin Peaks (the top of the mount in the city by the big red Sutro Tower), drive to Ocean Beach, from there drive up by Baker Beach and take Lincoln over to the Golden Gate. From there drive north up into Muir Woods/Tamalpais/Stinson Beach. From Stinson take the PCH back towards the Golden Gate. Once back in the city take the 101 back by the Palace of Fine arts then take Divisadero back to California in and through Pacific Heights. Head east on California to Grace Cathedral and make a left right after Grace Cathedral. Back track to get back on Jones Street then take it north through Nob Hill. Take some time driving around Nob Hill, that's the cool hilly part people always think of when they think of San Francisco. You can hit Lombard street at this point too, it's right there. You can take Jones all the way down to Bay by Fisherman's Wharf.

If you want to make it another 30 minutes or so, throw the Point Bonita light house in there as well. It's right after you cross the Golden Gate north on the way up to Muir Woods. You'll take the first exit right after the bridge and head towards Sauasalito then follow the signs for Point Bonita. Park and walk down, it's pretty damned amazing. I always saw deer, bobcats, coyotes etc there, pretty crazy it's only a couple miles out of the city.

That was my "tour", everyone seemed to enjoy it, hits almost all the high points and landmarks. Takes 1.5 - 2 hours depending on how slow you want or how much stopping and looking around you want to do.

Restaurants - hit Sotto Mare in North Beach/Little Italy and try the Cioppino - best in the city. Burma Superstar is the other local hidden gem I'd recommend. It was right around the corner from my house and always packed and everyone always said it's one of the best meals they ever had. It's unique as well. If it's too packed, the little sister "B Star" is a block away and usually less crowded.

Solid. I will work this in for sure. Thanks for the typing that out as i will make great use out of it.

As far as heading North, I am going to scrap the Redwood National Forest and just head to Humboldt Redwoods State Park, It is 4 hours instead and it looks like the Avenue of Giants, Shrine Tree and Chandelier Tree are all on the way. Anything flawed in this logic?

[chronical]

For breakfast hit up The Buena Vista down by Ghirardelli square at the end of the trolley stop. If you like Irish coffee it's awesome there, and the crabcakes benedict is excellent too! Look up their hours and get there about 5 minutes before they open as there will be a line to get in but you'll be seated right away and not really have to wait.

Damn that looks good. Definitely adding.

[red89notch]

If you want to see redwoods go to Muir woods. It's amazing. There are more restaurants than you can imagine and most of them are tiny. Home Plate off of Lombard St. Was my favorite for breakfast and Bonito Taco just north of it was spectacular.

[jluv]

Muir Woods is awesome. The drive to it is even pretty neat, and it's really close.

Haight Ashbury is pretty cool, especially if you smoke bud. There is a place there called Street Taco that has damn good grub. It's not like street tacos in Texas, but still delicious.

I was pleasantly surprised with the beach (not sure which one, but it's a pretty large beach in a busy area). The water was clear and refreshing, and it wasn't very crowded. We saw some interesting folks out there.

A lot of people do the Alcatraz tour. For me, that was just "meh".

Napa is kick ass. if you're gonna leave San Fran to go anywhere, that would be my pick. In addition to the wineries, there are lots of really badass restaurants. You could go there and back in a day, easily, but if you stay a night you can see a lot more.

It's a really cool city. Have fun!

[bird_dog0347]

Oh yeah, if you like wine at all you really owe it to yourself to check out Napa. For some really good food there I recommend www.bistrodongiovanni.com off highway 29 or www.pizzeriatravigne.com is also really cool for pizza/pasta.

For a crappy little dive bar that sorta reminds me of Adairs but not quite as cool (they threw us out the first time so we ALWAYS go back to get thrown out again) you can check out Ana's Cantina in St. Helena and try to get thrown out too.

If you're into wine let me know and I'll tell you some of the very best places I've been there.