Vacations Blog

When I first moved to California, I missed the mountains of my home state, Washington. Then I went to the beach and realized the wildness of a beach gave me with the same sense of beauty and nature’s grandeur I had been longing to see.  Here are the beaches I love in Northern California:

1. Ocean Beach, San Francisco–very much the urban beach, but to me having the Pacific within walking distance was amazing.  (Wow, I really am in California, I can’t believe a beach is this close).

2. Stinson Beach–long white sand beach with a snack shop serving soft ice cream cones and with a good boogie board rental shop.

3.  Bolinas Beach– no crowds, no snack shops, just one long beautiful beach with tide pools, buy a map to get there, the locals always remove the highway signs.  If they aren’t exactly welcoming, just know it isn’t you!  It is them-really it is them, they do not welcome because they want to keep it to themselves. No Banana Republics in sight and never will be.

4.  Santa Cruz Boardwalk–c’mon what is better than a college town with a surf attitude and a boardwalk?

5.  Pt. Lobos–just a beautiful set of trails bordering the smashing, crashing Pacific shore.

6.  The four beaches on Half Moon Bay because of the three mile hike that you can take to reach each one:

7.  Venice Beach (yes, I know there is also a Venice Beach in SoCal, let’s just say they are very different, no body builders at this one.)

8. Frances Beach

9.  Miramar Beach

10. Dune Beach

11.  Paradise Beach–sometimes a quiet little spot on San Francisco Bay is all I need, especially since it can be easily reached from the city within 30 minutes.

12. Muir Beach–I take my visiting tourists to Muir Woods and tell them I will pick them up later while I sunbathe at the beach and grab lunch at the Pelican Inn.  Just cuz I hate paying to see tall trees, when I can see them for free at a number of other places with a lot less people. Not a fan of Muir Woods except when the rangers put on their Winter Solstice show…

13. Capitola Beach–a cute little town for a weekend visit, plus the margaritas they serve at many of the watering holes along the beach are just the thing to quench a beach induced thirst.  Just watch for strong surf in the fall, the locals warn me…

If you do visit  Northern California, a visit to the beach must be on your list.  Just plan ahead, bring a jacket in case the fog rolls in, rent a wet suit if you plan on surfing or boogie boarding and of course bring a frisbee or two to feel like a Californian.  And yes, the Great White Sharks, do patrol our waters, but that is another post…

Photo courtesy of angela7dreams on Flickr. 

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is huge and spans three counties.  These are the thirteen things I love about this area in just Marin County (north of Golden Gate Bridge) and only about 30 minutes from the city.  Most of the time, I don’t think of these as part of a national park, but a destination in and of themselves.

1. Bolinas Ridge-a beautiful ridge for hiking or riding that offers views of the shoreline 200 feet below.
2. Fort Baker–beautiful little park for picnics and has the Bay Area Discovery Musuem
3. Fort Cronkhite-a dog friendly ocean beach, good sand castle opportunities, and the crashing waves are not too overwhelming for kids
4. Kirby Cove-just over the Golden Gate, this beach is usually only frequented by locals, not too many tourists are willing to make the mile long hike to get to the beach
5. Marin Headlands–good bird watching and great for road and mountain biking
6. Muir Woods National Monument–I love the trees, but really think this is overrated, if I was a tourist, I would just take a hike on Mt. Tam starting at Pan Toll and walk to Stinson Beach, lots of redwoods and not too many tourists
7. Muir Beach-close to Muir Woods and the Pelican Inn, an English pub, offers all sorts of beers to cool off after a hike on Mt. Tam
8. Muir Beach Overlook–spectacular vistas of the Pacific and of the valley, it feels as if you could fall into the fog sometimes
9. Nike Missile Site-described as an educational cold war museum by the parks dept. it offers tours Wednesday through Friday and on the first Saturday of every month.  Take the elevator to down to the missile area.  A nice break from hiking and a bit of history, to.
10. Olema Valley–bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and access to Pt. Reyes National Seashore
11. Point Bonita Lighthouse–built in 1855, this lighthouse is reached by crossing two bridges, tours are currently closed, but it is worth checking back with the park service to find out if it is going to re-open, still a beautiful drive, hike and picnic area
12. Stinson Beach–my favorite beach for swimming, surfing and sea kayaking, the southern end of the beach offers fun little pools and crab catching
13. Tennessee Valley–a flat ride of only 2 miles will place you in the protected cove, you can hike up to an old missile site on either side of the beach

Golden National Recreation Area is the best part of the bay area.  It offers a respite from the concrete, a glimpse into the past and serves up the crashing waves of the Pacific next to the peacefulness of  a redwood forest.  Highly recommend you visit any of these places if you live or visit the bay area.