Day Trips

San Francisco is surrounded (on three sides, anyway) by some of the country’s most fabulous farmland. And some of these lands of plenty even let you pick your own fruit. For a fun and fruitful day trip, here are the best farms for fruit-picking in the Bay Area. Webb Ranch  | 2720 Alpine Road | Portola Valley Situated just outside of Stanford University, this family farm has been dishing out berries and homegrown

The land that is now Vasona Park in Los Gatos has a long history. In the 19th century, Jose Hernandez and Sebastian Peralta built one of the South Bay’s first homes here. Later, the Southern Pacific Coast Railroad ran along what is now the park’s western edge. The park derives its name from a stop called Vasona Junction (which, incidentally, is said to have been named for the favorite childhood pony of

A surfboard hangs outside one of the barns at Pie Ranch, and rightfully so—this 14-acre, pie-slice-shaped farm resides just five minutes from the coast. Whether or not the hardworking farmers and staff here find time (in between farming, youth outreach programs, potlucks, and barn dances) to use said surfboard is another question altogether. Either way, the juxtaposition of rugged California coastline to one side of the Camarillo Highway and verdant ranch

Guest Post by Alt. ride. Alt. is an initiative of the Bay Area Open Space Council and Transit and Trails. Sponsors include CLIF Bar, Coastal Conservancy, and Peninsula Open Space Trust, with media sponsorship from offMetro SF and others. Transit and Trails helps you find, plan and share your outdoor adventures and loves the idea of going outside without a car. The Bay Area is home to many peaks. There are, of course, San Francisco’s Twin Peaks, which rise to

Sometimes the Discovery Channel just isn’t enough. Sometimes you want to get down on the farm. And sometimes you just want to go wild. Whether you’re hankering to hang with massive elephant seals, pet a rhino or ride a horse, you’ll find it all and more in our picks for the best “wild” bay area adventures. 1. Safari West Adventures | 3115 Porter Creek Road | Santa Rosa Here’s a little bit

When it comes to nature’s beasts, you don’t get much more fascinating than the elephant seal. These incredible creatures are massive (males stretch from 14 to 16 feet long and weigh up to 2 .5 tons), mean (during mating season, bulls establish dominance through violent battles), and were hunted for their oil and nearly wiped out until protected in 1922. Each year they enact their intense mating rituals at a rocky

One of our favorite quick escapes from San Francisco is to the quaint seaside town of Sausalito, with its fountain-filled parks, charming souvenir stores, open cafes and magnificent Bay views. Sausalito is delightfully small and at the same time engaging enough to keep one occupied the whole day. Here, eight tips for things to do in Sausalito. 1. Geek out over the new and used tomes at Habitat Books (803 Bridgeway Boulevard, habitatbooks.com). 2. Grab a

On a recent sunny afternoon, I picked my way through the hustle and bustle of Pier 39 to Dock J, where a small Adventure Cat catamaran waited to transport me (literally and figuratively) far away from the tourist crowds and into calm Bay waters. Before sailing out, our young, big-bearded, and jovial Captain Hans emphasized that there would be no “cheesy” spiels on this sail. Then he urged his passengers to sit back