I absolutely Love the Bay Area—it is stunningly gorgeous, there are tons of great breweries, and the hiking is incredible!
The Bay Area Tips:
This area is massive. San Francisco itself is a huge city that takes several days to explore, and you can spend several days exploring the areas to the south side of the bay and several more exploring the north.
While you are in San Francisco be sure to soak in all the architecture! Everywhere you look there is unique and beautiful buildings
While you are in San Francisco always carry a rain jacket! Even if there is no rain in the forecast it still happens all the time, and the fog makes things generally damp.
Avoid driving if you are just staying in San Francisco itself. The city is known for car break-ins and parking is really a nightmare.
Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations for San Francisco:
Mission Dolores Park: A perfectly placed park that provides fantastic views of the skyline in the heart of the Mission District. This is the perfect spot for a picnic and the park is also very dog friendly.
Hike! I started at Fort Point and followed the coastal trail. There are amazing views of the bridge, hang out at Baker Beach (heads up this is a nude beach), and then you can do the Land's End section as well that takes you around the peninsula down to Golden Gate Park. This trail on AllTrails is similar to what I did but I did it in the opposite direction & went further down the coast to Golden Gate Park.
Cellarmaker Brewing: Arguably the best brewery in SF! They have two locations—the original taproom and their House of Pizza which has phenomenal Detroit-style pizzas with their beers. HOP is quite small so try to visit during an off time or you will need to wait for a table.
The Rare Barrel: A fantastic brewery in Berkeley specializing in Sour Barrel Aged beers. They also have their own IPA and Lager subsidiary, Hello Friend.
Toronado: One of the top beer bars in the country! They have an insane tap list and 40 taps. This spot is cash only and has dive bar vibes.
Holy Water: A religious-themed craft beer and cocktail bar. They have a great tap list and chill vibes. Located in the Bernal Heights neighborhood.
Barebottle Brewing Co.: A great brewery with a wide variety of beers, but specializing in IPAs. They have a large taproom with games and a nice little beer garden. As a forewarning if you go the flight route they are quite expensive, but the beers are great.
Breakfast Little: A cute spot for delicious breakfast in The Mission. They have breakfast burritos, tots, coffees, and more.
The Monk’s Kettle: A tavern in the heart of The Mission with a top-notch tap list and tasty food. Overall a cool spot with fun vibes.
Tartine Bakery in Mission Dolores Park
The Classic Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting in San Francisco:
Tartine Bakery: Located in The Mission & worth the wait. Amazing breakfast and baked goods. Pro tip—grab some baked goods and walk over to Mission Dolores Park.
The Golden Gate Bridge: Duh. It's stunning. But also don’t be surprised if it is hidden in the fog.
Muir Woods: A national monument in the Redwoods! This is an extremely popular spot since it is close to San Francisco and easily accessible. It is $15 to enter unless you have a National Park Pass and you are required to book your parking ahead of time, or you can also book a seat on the shuttle. Learn more about both here. This area is very lush and there are a variety of hikes/walks you can choose from to explore.
I did the Fern Creek, Lost and Canopy Trail which was 5.1 miles and 69 flights up to the top of the Redwoods. The AllTrails map is not quite accurate so just follow the signage on the trail. If you’d rather just have a nice flat and easy walk you can do that at the base of the Redwoods as well.
Ferry Building Market: A cute indoor market where the ferry stop is. Fort Point Brewing has a little mini tap room here as well
Clairon Alley: Social justice murals line the alley
Ghirardelli Square: So touristy. But also chocolate, so it's worth it. San Francisco Brewing is here as well.
Fisherman's Wharf: So touristy. See the sea lions, but then escape!
Crane Cove Park: A nice green space on the water right near the Chase Center.
Holy Water
Other things to do in San Francisco:
Original Pattern Brewing: A hazy IPA focused brewery in Oakland. The also partner with Good To Eat for dumplings onsite.
Magnolia Brewing: A solid brewery on Haight Street with a full food menu and restaurant style set-up.
Almanac Beer Co.: A popular brewery in Alameda known for Barrel Aged Stouts and Wild Ales. They have a large outdoor space and are super dog friendly.
Faction Brewing: Another brewery just down the road from Almanac that has views of the San Francisco skyline and Golden Gate Bridge. They are part of Spirits Alley with distilleries and wineries surrounding them, so you could make a day of bopping between businesses.
Southern Pacific Brewing: A popular brewery with a large space, full food menu, and solid beers.
The Page: A fun dive bar in the Lower Haight neighborhood.
Standard Deviant Brewing: A solid brewery in The Mission with an outdoor patio and several TVs for sports.
Harmonic Brewing: Another brewery option. Located in an industrial area with frequent food pop-ups and average beers.
Laughing Monk Brewing: A solid brewery in an industrial area with food pop-ups and games. Their tap list mainly focused on IPAs and easy drinking beers.
Barrel Head Brewery: Solid beers and yummy pretzels, what more could you ask for?
Noe Bagel: A nice spot for a bagel in the heart of the Noe neighborhood. Pop up the street to Bernie’s Coffee for a drink to pair with your bagel.
ThirstyBear Brewery: Organic beers and a large space!
21st Amendment Brewing: Solid beers that are largely distributed around the country
Humble Sea Brewing
Santa Cruz County Recommendations:
Santa Cruz is an adorable little beach town full of great breweries, wineries, and restaurants.
Sante Adairius Rustic Ales: SARA is one of the top breweries in the world and has two locations—their original taproom in Capitola and The Portal in Santa Cruz. They specialize in Rustic Ales, so be sure to try their Saisons. In Capitola they are located at the end of an industrial road with a quaint little taproom and outdoor patio. The Portal has a small patio out front and larger taproom inside. Here they partner with Bookies Pizza for Detroit-style pies and be sure to ask what Private Press Brewing bottles they have for onsite consumption as well.
Humble Sea Brewing Company: This fantastic brewery has three locations: Santa Cruz—Located right in the heart of downtown, this is their main taproom and brewery. It is a cute spot with killer beers and they have Fonda Felix empanadas. Pacifica—This taproom is right next to the beach and has a full food menu and a great outdoor space. The Tavern—Located in Felton and has a full food menu and cocktails as well.
Natural Bridges State Park: This is a nice beach with a very cool rock formation. If you are staying longer than 20 minutes you have to pay for parking, or you can park on the nearby street and walk over.
Woodhouse Brewing & Blending: A nice brewery in Santa Cruz with an IPA-heavy tap list. This is a popular spot with frequent live music and food trucks. They have a nice outdoor space as well.
Discretion Brewing: A solid brewery in Soquel with a wide variety of beers and a full food menu from Sugo Italian Kitchen onsite.
Firefly Coffee House: A nice little spot in Santa Cruz for coffee and bagels.
Beer Thirty: A bottle shop and beer bar in Soquel. It is a cute spot with mostly local draft beers but they are quite pricey.
Santa Cruz also has a large boardwalk and amusement park along the beach which are quite touristy.
Big Sur Recommendations:
Explore this gorgeous coast and do some hiking along the way! Be sure to start your day early because the parking at each viewpoint fills up quickly.
Don’t miss: Rocky Creek Bridge, Castle Rock Viewpoint and Bixby Creek Bridge. There are a ton of different viewpoints along the road, so just pull over whenever you want to check it out!
For the hiking in Big Sur there is a $10 admission fee that is good at all of the state parks in the area for the day.
Partington Cove: This hike has nice views of 2 different coves, make sure you check out both. There is not a fee here, you just park along the road. This is a short and quick trail at just 1.3 miles long, 24 flights up, and about 25 minutes.
McWay Falls: It is about .7 of a mile from the parking lot to the Falls viewpoint and back. There is also a longer trail but it was closed for maintenance while I was there. The $10 entrance fee also applies here. McWay Falls is a small waterfall that you are viewing from high up, but the bay view is very pretty.
Pfieffer Big Sur State Park: There are several trails here after you pay the $10 entrance fee. The Valley View Overlook trail and the connection to Pfeiffer Falls is a nice hike. From the parking lot take the River Trail past the visitor center to the trailhead. Prepare for lots of stairs and quite a bit of incline as you are gaining 500ft of elevation in less than a mile. From the summit there is a nice view of the surrounding valley out to the ocean. Pfeiffer Falls is a small waterfall but it is still nice and it is an easy add-on to make the trail a loop. Overall it was 2.6 miles, 48 flights up, and took just about an hour.
The Lone Cyprus on the 17-Mile Drive
The Monterey Peninsula Recommendations:
Carmel Beach: A beautiful beach with incredibly white sand in Carmel-By-The-Sea
17-mile Drive: You guessed it, a 17-mile drive around the edge of the Pebble Beach peninsula. It is $11.25 to drive it or if you spend $35 at a Pebble Beach restaurant it is reimbursed. There are a ton of different viewpoints along the drive and they give you a map at the entrance. Some of my favorites were the Ghost Trees at Pescadero Point, the Lone Cyprus, and Seal Beach.
Wander Monterey—this cute little beach town is quite fancy.
Alvarado Street Brewing: Alvarado Street has two locations—one in downtown Monterey and one in Carmel-By-The-Sea. Their Monterey taproom has a front and back patio space, full food menu, and restaurant-style vibes. Yeast of Eden is their Wild Ale subsidiary so occasionally they have one of those beers on draft and bottles available.
Fieldwork Brewing Company: Fieldwork has a ton of different taprooms around the Bay Area, so be sure to check out at least one while you are in the area. Their Monterey spot is an outdoor beer garden with a huge tap list and a wide variety of beers. The service was exceptional and West Coast IPAs were great.
Point Lobos is just south of the Monterey Peninsula and has several different hiking trails. Parking can be absolutely insane—go early because the parking lot and surrounding road fill up quickly.
Watsonville Recommendations:
Fruition Brewing: A great brewery in Watsonville! They have a front patio space, restaurant onsite specializing in oysters, and impressive beers.
Beer Mule: A bottle shop and beer bar in Watsonville. A cool spot with great beers and frequent food pop-ups.
Iron Horse Vineyards
Sonoma County Recommendations:
When you drive into Sonoma County there are wineries and sheep everywhere—the views are great!
Russian River Brewing: One of the best breweries in the world! They are located in downtown Santa Rosa and make insanely good, award winning beer. It is a popular spot for both locals and tourists so expect it to be busy. I recommend doing a flight to try a variety of their beers—you can do their California style beers, Belgian inspired beers, the full tap list, or build your own. They also have a full food menu. The beer for both onsite and to-go is quite cheap which is delightful coming from such a world class brewery.
Stay at Cambria Hotel Sonoma Wine Country: I loved my stay at this new and budget friendly hotel in the heart of wine country. It was 1 mile off the highway, 10 minutes from Russian River, and had great amenities. They have an outdoor pool, workout room, fire pits outside, and a great bar and restaurant inside.
Check out the wineries! Obviously Sonoma County and Napa Valley are best known for their wine so be sure to check it out. There are wineries everywhere in the region and most require reservations in advance and have limited hours, most spots are generally 10am-3pm.
Iron Horse Vineyards is where I chose to visit because they have a great view and are known for their sparkling wines. The tasting was $30 for 5 pours and takes about 1 hour. It is a nice set-up with super nice staff members and lovely views.
