San Francisco advice

[elmo65]

I am taking my teenage girls (15) on a family trip to San Francisco this summer. Can anyone tell me what there is to do there that they would especially like? They love to ride horses, if anyone knows of any opportunities in that area... Thanks for any help! Also, great hotels? I know there must be many, price not a problem....

 

[Gypsy]

That sounds like a fun time!

How long are you going to be up here for?

Are you planning on renting a car?

And what type of hotel do you want? Modern? Historical?

 

[chiefneil]

I nice place to stay is the Westin St. Francis, which is right in Union Square. There''s tons of great shops and restaurants right outside the door, and a fantastic restaurant right in the hotel (Michael Mina). Ask for the new tower. I think MOMA is right in that area as well, and you can hop the cable cars to get around the city. Some of the touristy stuff to do is take a boat ride around the Bay (can be cold and rough), a drive down Lombard St., walk up to Coit Tower, etc. If you have a car, then a trip to Sausolito is fun, and of course a ride across the Golden Gate and a picnic at the Palace of Fine Arts. You can also do a day trip down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Santa Cruz, or stop overnight in Carmel while you''re down that way.

 

[katebar]

Oh goodie elmo65. I am going to be saving this thread. My family is off to San Francisico in December fof 5 days on the way to visit my son and ski at Whisltler. I am so excited as I have always wanted to go to San Franciso.
I just know that by the time December rolls on I will have a fantastic plan of what to do in SF thanks to my friends at Pricescope

 

[elmo65]

I''ll be there a week,with a car. I also want to go to the Redwood forest and Yosemite. Is that far away? The kind of hotel doesn''t matter, as long as it is nice....

 

[Mara]

there are a few other previous threads on what to do in SF if anyone wants to dig them up. lots of info as i recall.

 

[peridot83]

To see redwoods and the coast line isn't far, will only take you an hour at most (only 40 miles awy), but it's not the easiest drive in the world (Just drive up the 101, and take the stinson beach/highway 1 exit once it splits off to "Muir Woods".) I believe they have a redwood/sequoia grove there.

If you want to go to THE redwood forest it is pretty far, about 6-7 hour drive up the 101, and frankly I think going to Muir Woods, Napa Valley, Carmel/Monterey would serve just as well (all have redwood groves and other things to do near by).

Another really pretty drive, and a nice place to go is Monterey/Carmel California. You can take the 101 south for about 100 miles to the 156? that leads to the 1. The drive between Monterey/Carmel on Highway 1 is gorgeous. Also, if you want to take the long and difficult route (i.e. 4/5 hrs and extremely beautiful along the coast) take the 1 all the way from SF through the Santa Cruz mountains and down through Monterey. I know the mountains around Monterey/Carmel have some redwood groves.

Yosemite is about a 4-6 hr drive away. It is completely insane during the summer, so if you want to do it I'd book campgrounds/cabins way ahead of time.

Napa & Sonoma have horse-back riding, and I belive Napa has some redwoods.

Also, keep in mind that the costal areas in Northern California get fogged in a lot during the summer (hot sun interacting w/ cold ocean I believe). Bring some warm jackets/jumpers and don't try driving the 1 at night!

I also second Golden Gate park has some beautiful areas. Also, there are a lot of cute not so downtowny/skyscraper parts to San Francisco. I'm not that familiar with the neighborhoods but maybe someone else could jump in?

 

[orangevixen]

if you want to go horseback riding on the beach, go here:
http://www.horserentals.com/seahorse.html

half moon bay isn''t too far south of SF (less than an hour away)

 

[elmo65]

thanks for the information, I didn''t realize how far away some of those things are!! I had better make a plan soon!!! Are yosemite and sequoia national forest near eachother? Should I stay somewhere else other than San Francisco? I wouldn''t stay at the parks.. .what other towns or cities would you suggest? I really want to see those two things, if possible....

 

[Gypsy]

peridot-- what city, town are THE redwoods located? DF and I want to go away for a few days in July and I''ve been looking for good ideas that are reasonably close.

Can you give me some idea of where to look for accomodations?
Thanks,
Gypsy

 

[peridot83]

The Redwood National Forest is near/in Crescent City, CA. Here's a ton of information, I don't think its visited often since its sooo remote (I think i've only been there once when very young) If you're coming from LA its like 6 hours NORTH of SF:

http://www.nps.gov/redw/

Gypsy: Sequoia National Forest, which has one type of Redwood, the Sequoia (largest trees in the world!), is in the middle of nowhere (eek people from Visalia are going to kill me) by the Sierra/Nevadas. I'd say its about 5 hours from SF or 4 hours from LA. Pros: Much much less crowded than Yosemite (still crowded though). Also, has the yummyest ice cream, and has river rafting. Has these huge jaw droppin trees. Cons: It gets HOT, I mean like 90 degrees hot during the summer, and is less tourist friendly (roads are more windy, less cabins & campgrounds etc.).

More info here:

http://www.nps.gov/seki/

As to another city....unless you can get a flight into Sacramento, to access Yosemite. I would just say stick with your original plan. There's tons of outdoorsy things to do in the Bay Area, honest, and the forest by Carmel or Muir woods is really really pretty and has the same huge tree effect.

Oh another place to think about, before I get is Lake Tahoe which is supremely beautiful. I think you may be able to fly in there?

Hope that helps!!! I've lived in CA all my life and love travelling/exploring. I also was in Sequoia last summer, whereas Yosemite has been..gosh...6, 7 years.