weekender.
Weekend trips from Cal State East Bay
Hidden spots near Hayward, day trips and weekend road trips from Cal State East Bay in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from Cal State East Bay →Local finds near campus
Tilden Park & Inspiration Point
Berkeley's backyard: a ridge trail over the bay, a swimming lake and a tiny steam train.
San Francisco
Mission burritos and murals, cable cars, the Castro and fog rolling over Twin Peaks.
Half Moon Bay & Pescadero
Tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and warm artichoke bread in tiny Pescadero.
Alum Rock Park
California's oldest city park: a canyon of old mineral-spring grottoes right above San José.
Stony Hill
A summit hike near campus, found in OpenStreetMap.
Mount Diablo
The summit view on a clear day reaches the Sierra; Rock City's sandstone caves are a scramble.
Day trips
Monterey & Carmel
Sea otters on kelp, 17-Mile Drive and Carmel's fairytale cottages.
Stinson Beach
A long sandy beach under Mount Tam, reached by one of the curviest roads in the Bay.
Point Reyes
Tule elk on the bluffs, a lighthouse 300 steps down a cliff, and oysters on Tomales Bay.
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Calistoga & Napa
Volcanic mud baths, an erupting geyser and the valley's grand wineries.
Sacramento
Gold Rush boardwalks in Old Sacramento and the farm-to-fork capital's food halls.
Weekend trips
Pismo Beach & Oceano Dunes
Drive or sandboard on the only beach dunes you can camp on, then clam chowder in Pismo.
Monterey & Carmel
Sea otters on kelp, 17-Mile Drive and Carmel's fairytale cottages.
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Muir Woods & Mount Tam
Old-growth redwoods in a canyon, then the sunset over the fog from Mount Tamalpais.
Columbia State Historic Park
Pan for gold and ride a stagecoach in a preserved 1850s mining town.
Big Sur
McWay Falls dropping onto a beach, Bixby Bridge and the purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach.
Long weekends
Pismo Beach & Oceano Dunes
Drive or sandboard on the only beach dunes you can camp on, then clam chowder in Pismo.
Morro Bay & Montaña de Oro
Sea otters under Morro Rock and wild bluff trails in Montaña de Oro.
Bishop & the Buttermilks
World-class bouldering, Keough's hot springs and Erick Schat's famous bakery.
Palm Springs
Midcentury pool motels, palm oases in Indian Canyons and a rotating tram up the mountain.
Hearst Castle & San Simeon
A newspaper tycoon's hilltop castle with a marble pool, and elephant seals below it.
Reno (Nevada)
Cheap rooms, Midtown's murals and bars, tubing the Truckee River and Tahoe's east shore 40 minutes away.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
Find my trips from Cal State East Bay →