weekender.
Weekend trips from San Francisco State
Hidden spots near San Francisco, day trips and weekend road trips from San Francisco State 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 San Francisco State →Local finds near campus
Lands End & Sutro Baths
Ruins of a giant Victorian bathhouse, a cliff trail and a hidden stone labyrinth.
Marin Headlands
The postcard Golden Gate view from Battery Spencer and a lighthouse on a suspension bridge.
Portola Discovery Site of San Francisco Bay
A viewpoint near campus, found in OpenStreetMap.
Half Moon Bay & Pescadero
Tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and warm artichoke bread in tiny Pescadero.
Tilden Park & Inspiration Point
Berkeley's backyard: a ridge trail over the bay, a swimming lake and a tiny steam train.
Mavericks
A viewpoint near campus, found in OpenStreetMap.
Day trips
Monterey & Carmel
Sea otters on kelp, 17-Mile Drive and Carmel's fairytale cottages.
Point Reyes
Tule elk on the bluffs, a lighthouse 300 steps down a cliff, and oysters on Tomales Bay.
Sonoma Valley
Bike between family wineries, then picnic on Sonoma's mission plaza.
Mission Peak
The Bay Area's most-climbed summit and its famous pole; go at sunrise.
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.
Weekend trips
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.
Big Basin Redwoods
California's oldest state park, regrowing after the 2020 fire: blackened giants sprouting green.
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.
Pinnacles National Park
Crawl through talus caves with a flashlight while California condors circle above.
Long weekends
Columbia State Historic Park
Pan for gold and ride a stagecoach in a preserved 1850s mining town.
Bishop & the Buttermilks
World-class bouldering, Keough's hot springs and Erick Schat's famous bakery.
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.
Ojai
An artsy valley known for its 'pink moment' sunset and an outdoor bookstore.
Ashland (Oregon)
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Feb–Oct, cheap student rush tickets) in a small town with no sales tax.
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 San Francisco State →