weekender.
Weekend trips from University of the Pacific
Hidden spots near Stockton, day trips and weekend road trips from University of the Pacific 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 University of the Pacific →Local finds near campus
Lodi wine country
Old-vine zinfandel and $10 tastings, without Napa's prices (21+ for the wine).
Locke & the Delta
The last rural Chinatown in the US, on a levee road through the river delta.
Day trips
Monterey & Carmel
Sea otters on kelp, 17-Mile Drive and Carmel's fairytale cottages.
Sacramento
Gold Rush boardwalks in Old Sacramento and the farm-to-fork capital's food halls.
Folsom & American River
Rafting and paddleboarding near Sacramento, and Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison museum.
Columbia State Historic Park
Pan for gold and ride a stagecoach in a preserved 1850s mining town.
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.
Weekend trips
Monterey & Carmel
Sea otters on kelp, 17-Mile Drive and Carmel's fairytale cottages.
Half Moon Bay & Pescadero
Tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and warm artichoke bread in tiny Pescadero.
Nevada City & South Yuba
A gaslit Gold Rush town and emerald swimming holes on the South Yuba River.
Muir Woods & Mount Tam
Old-growth redwoods in a canyon, then the sunset over the fog from Mount Tamalpais.
Big Sur
McWay Falls dropping onto a beach, Bixby Bridge and the purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach.
Angel Island
A ferry to a car-free island with 360° bay views and the immigration station's poems.
Long weekends
Big Sur
McWay Falls dropping onto a beach, Bixby Bridge and the purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach.
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.
Solvang & Los Olivos
A Danish-style village with windmills and aebleskiver, next to Santa Ynez wine country.
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