SFers would you recomend the Muir Woods for a day trip

[katebar]

We are off to the US in July for our 50th birthdays. Most of it is in New York (Go Yankees) but we will have 3 days in SF 1 night in Santa Monica and 2 night in Waikiki. We were in SF in October and loved it so much that ''s why we are going back. We did the Napa Valley last time but thought we might do something different. We love Sausalito and I thought that we might be able to combine lunch there with the morning in the redwood forests. Any suggestions would be great.

 

[flopkins]

kate - I think muir woods would be a great day trip... I recommend going early to muir woods though, sometimes the parking gets a little nutty on the weekends. if you like the outdoorsy/great views stuff I also recommend point reyes, but it''s more of a drive, but still totally doable as a day trip. and be sure to pick up some fresh oysters if you can... I forget if they''re still in season... hm.. maybe not.

and don''t forget a jacket. SF tends to be colder than you''d think, even in July!

congrats on reaching your 50ths!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hmm...I''m actually not a big Muir Woods fan - it always seems super overcrowded, and the parking is a nightmare (I had some friends who tried to go out there this past weekend and they spent over an hour just getting a parking spot). I think Mt Tam might be better, and definitely not a further drive, or, if you''re willing to drive a little farther, Pt Reyes is gorgeous, and MUCH quieter. I can highly recommend Limantour Beach if you go to Pt Reyes - its totally beautiful but has never been crowded when I''ve been there. It will not be a "warm" beach though, so bring warm sweaters. There are also a TON of gorgeous hikes, with varying degrees of difficulty, throughout Pt Reyes.

And for food up there, I can''t comment on the Oyster season, but Tomales Bay Foods is the original home of the famous Cowgirl Creamery which makes (right there - you can see them being made) and imports some of the most amazing cheeses you will ever taste. Within that same building they also sell fantastic local organic produce and have a lovely little deli and bakery, so you can make a fantastic lunch to eat there or take as a picnic.

Sausalito is lovely, but if you did that last time, maybe go the other direction and give Tiburon a shot this time? There''s a lovely drive around the Point in Tiburon that you could take. I believe that drive lands you in Corte Madera, which is right next door to Larkspur, home to one of my favorite Marin County restaurants for dinner, Bradley Ogden''s Lark Creek Inn, which is adorable and charming and has FANTASTIC food

If you preferred to eat on the water someplace, there''s an excellent waterside Mexican restaurant called Guaymas.

Anyway, that''s probably how I''d do that day. But those are just suggestions - I grew up in the area and tend to get carried away (in case you couldn''t tell) when making suggestions to out-of-towners...

 

[katebar]

Thanks Flopkins and Ambergretchen for your thoughts and recommendations. DH wants to do it still despite your thoughts on parking but we will definitely have a feed of oysters and the Tomales Bay Foods sounds just the ticket for supplies.
I have written down your restaurant rec''s to AG but they will probably have to wait to another time as we are only in SF really for 2 days as the main destination is New York. We absolutely love SF and I know we will return again.

 

[ringster]

Date: 5/27/2008 11:57:56 PM
Author:katebar
We are off to the US in July for our 50th birthdays. Most of it is in New York (Go Yankees) but we will have 3 days in SF 1 night in Santa Monica and 2 night in Waikiki. We were in SF in October and loved it so much that ''s why we are going back. We did the Napa Valley last time but thought we might do something different. We love Sausalito and I thought that we might be able to combine lunch there with the morning in the redwood forests. Any suggestions would be great.

katebar, did you want recs in sausalito area or in sf? i think you''ll like muir woods -- we take all of our overseas/out of town guests there and everyone always likes it.

i would suggest going to alcatraz if you haven''t already. they have a great audio tour. you should get tixs now as they do sell out. if they have sold out, you can sometimes get tixs on the day if you go to the ticket office at the pier

http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/

a great restaurant in sausalito is spinnaker - great seafood and amazing views

http://www.thespinnaker.com/

SF ferry building - if you can''t make it to Point reyes, the SF ferry building has tons of gourmet food there. cowgirl creamery and hog island oyster company are there just to name a few. taylor''s refresher is a fast food gourmet burger place that has the best garlic fries and burgers. hits the spot.

enjoy and let me know if you are looking for anymore recs for things to do or eat!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Ditto ringster on the Ferry Building - if you don''t want to spend all the time driving up to Pt Reyes, you can get pretty much most of the same fabulous food right in SF at the Ferry Building, to take with you to Muir Woods. And I''m guessing if you have super tasty cheese and really good bread and fresh oysters, etc...you probably won''t mind waiting a bit for parking when you get there

 

[pixley]

Date: 6/2/2008 1:32:48 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Ditto ringster on the Ferry Building - if you don''t want to spend all the time driving up to Pt Reyes, you can get pretty much most of the same fabulous food right in SF at the Ferry Building, to take with you to Muir Woods. And I''m guessing if you have super tasty cheese and really good bread and fresh oysters, etc...you probably won''t mind waiting a bit for parking when you get there

Thritto that Ferry Building suggestion - it''s one of my favourite places to go in the city (that doesn''t involve clothes shopping). The food there is heavenly and on a sunny weekday you can sit by the bay and watch the world go by. I don''t know how crowded Muir Woods would be on a weekday - haven''t been there in a while, but Alcatraz was much more fun that I thought it would be... Sounds like a wonderful trip for you!

 

[sumbride]

I went to Muir Woods on a Thursday morning a few years ago and it was quite crowded, but I imagine it''s a lot better than during the weekend. We did actually manage to find parking, but it took a while. I really enjoyed it, but I think I liked the Redwoods a little further north better... Avenue of the Giants and such. Not as quick to get to from SF, but much more entrancing, at least in my experience.

 

[neatfreak]

I like Muir woods if you want a quickie day trip and really want to see the redwoods. If you aren''t super jazzed about redwoods though or have seen them before, there are better ways to spend your time in SF IMO.

 

[ringster]

another unique place to check out in SF is Musee Mecanique. i don't usually recommend going to pier 39 area cause it is way too touristy but it is worth going there to see these wonderful old mechanical machines. they closed for awhile and it was feared that they would not open again. we are lucky that they were able to do so and hope that they stay around for a long time to come!

one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of mechanically operated musical instruments and antique arcade machines

http://www.museemechanique.org/contact.html

they are relatively close to the alcatraz ticket location so you could visit both

http://wikitravel.org/upload/en/0/02/Sanfrancisco_fishermanswharf_map.PNG

 

[katebar]

Thanks Ringster. We had lunch last year in quaint little restaurant on the street that specialised in organic produce but a view over the bay sounds spectacular too!
We went to Alcatraz last year and it was an incredibly moving experience. Even our 15 year old was really touched by the brutality and harshness of it and said it was one of the highlights of her trip he Musee Mecanique certainly sounds interesting too so we will check it out definitely!
Thanks sunbride for that rec for the redwoods it might be better to do that rather queuing in a car park when our time is precious enough.
neatfreak any other suggestions. We did the Napa valley last time albeit briefly.
AmberGretchen and Pixley I think i stooped by there last time at the Ferry building i recognise the ice cream shop but will definitely swing by again!

 

[spike13]

Seriously, Muir Woods is crazy crowded and the parking is INSANE. I tried to take some family there last year on the weekend and it was a madhouse. The mall on Christmas Eve is less crowded LOL. And the day we went it wasn''t even that nice (cold, foggy).

If you''re really set on it, go early.