North of San Francisco trip

[flowergirl45]

Hello, my husband and I are hoping to spend a week or so in California this April. I would appreciate any thoughts on the itinerary I’ve developed. The redwoods are our main focus. Coastline is next, San Francisco itself is third. But we do want to see the Walt Disney museum and a few other things.

We prefer a fairly relaxed vacation, rather than go from morning to nighttime. I also would like to know if drive times are fairly accurate.

Thank you! Laura

Day 1
Fly into San Francisco or Oakland
Overnight at The Presideo

Day 2
Walt Disney Museum (closed Tuesday)
Other possibilities: Golden Gate Park, Cable Car Ride, Chinatown,
The Wharf, City Tour, Ghiradelli
Overnight at The Presideo

Day 3
Drive 1 hour to John Muir Woods
Need parking reservation. NO CELL SERVICE.
Walk through trails
Drive 1 hour back to San Francisco
Overnight at The Presideo

Day 4
Check out of The Presideo
Drive 2 hours up Hwy 101 to Armstrong Redwoods
Walk through trails
Drive 3 hours to Ft Bragg
Overnight at Surf and Sand Lodge

Day 5
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Glass Beach
Overnight at Surf and Sand Lodge

Day 6
Drive 1 1/2 hours to Montgomery Woods
Walk through trails
Drive 1 1/2 hours back to Ft Bragg
Overnight at Surf and Sand Lodge

Day 7
Drive 2 1/2 hours to Avenue of the Giants
Do 32 mile self-guided tour drive through the redwoods
Drive 2 1/2 miles back to Ft Bragg
Overnight at Surf and Sand Lodge

Day 8
Check out of Surf and Sand Lodge
Drive down coast on Hwy 1
4 hours drive time to San Francisco (more to airport or Oakland)
Overnight at hotel airport

Day 9
Fly home

 

[bcla]

If you're going to go for it, why not Redwood National Park? It has the finest examples of redwoods anywhere. It's also a combined effort with California State Parks.

https://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm
Also - it's Muir Woods National Monument. If you're really curious about the history of John Muir, there's John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez.

https://www.nps.gov/jomu/index.htm
Where do you plan on staying at the Presidio? I know there's a couple of hotels there now. One of them is in the same series of barracks buildings that the Walt Disney Family Museum occupies. The other was the bachelor officer quarters.

https://www.nps.gov/prsf/index.htm

 

[flowergirl45]

Bcla, thank you for the comments. I will definitely check out Redwood National Park. Perhaps I will switch that one instead of Muir Woods National Monument? It seems like the latter is getting loved to death since it’s so close to San Francisco.

Haven’t decided yet which Presideo hotel yet, but am open to suggestions from others. Again, thank you!

 

[bcla]

There are hotels outside of the Presidio. Are you really set on staying in the Presidio?

Another possibility would be Cavallo Point at Fort Baker in the Marin Headlands. Just like the Presidio it was US Army installation. There were a lot of US Army installations on both sides of the Golden Gate that were meant to defend from possible naval invasion of the San Francisco Bay.

https://www.cavallopoint.com

 

[RedVines2001]

Since you're doing minimal touring in San Francisco I would suggest staying somewhere north of San Francisco, maybe Marin county, for the first three days. You'll save a lot of money and headache. Most of the things you want to see in SF, GG Park, Presidio, Wharf, Chinatown etc, are on the northern side of the city and it will be close to drive to from the Marin side. Just a thought.

 

[flowergirl45]

RedVines, that is a good thought, that hadn’t occurred to me. Bcla, I will definitely look into Cavallo Point! Thanks to both of you.

 

[bcla]

RedVines, that is a good thought, that hadn’t occurred to me. Bcla, I will definitely look into Cavallo Point! Thanks to both of you.

I don't know that much about it. However, we had a membership at the Bay Area Discovery Museum that's also using some of the former Fort Baker buildings. We drove by it many times, and the location is spectacular.

The area basically has Cavallo Point, the Bay Area Discovery Museum (a children's museum), and Coast Guard Station Golden Gate. Hope you don't mind the sound of the occasional search and rescue siren or perhaps one of their helicopters.

 

[flowergirl45]

Bcla, the location is certainly gorgeous. It seems to be out of our price range though. But I think we’ll at least visit the grounds!

 

[bcla]

Bcla, the location is certainly gorgeous. It seems to be out of our price range though. But I think we’ll at least visit the grounds!

The prices are comparable to what you'll find in The Presidio. But depending on the time of year you might have a hard time finding decent hotel rates. The one thing that spikes hotel rates is a major convention or event in town. It really got crazy for Oracle OpenWorld, although now they've moved it to Vegas.

Does it have to be near the Presidio? You can find good rates at many hotels in town such as the Hyatt Regency or Hilton Financial District (former Holiday Inn Chinatown) if it's off peak. When my cousin's family stayed a few years ago, they were at the Grand Hyatt in Union Square. The neighborhood can get a little bit **ahem** interesting if you wander too much, but it's a heavily trafficked area near all the prime shopping. Still - the area around Union Square is where all the prime hotels are located in San Francisco.

 

[RedVines2001]

If you do stay in SF go take a read of the San Francisco cleanliness thread. Lots of information about the "interesting" things in SF.