Here in the Bay Area we have a lot to be grateful for. We don’t need air conditioners, we’re surrounded by stream of cultural events and stunning landscapes on all sides, we have Sergio Romo and Buster Posey. With so much to be thankful for, why not give back to the community by volunteering this holiday season? For those who want to get out there but aren’t sure where to start, here are nine great places you can volunteer. And don’t forget to sign up with friends!
Project Open Hand was launched in 1985 by Ruth Brinker, who realized that many people suffering from HIV/AIDS were dying from malnutrition. Her home-delivered meals program grew and grew and now serves people in San Francisco and Alameda Counties with many different serious illnesses that cause them to be homebound. It has also expanded to serve seniors. Volunteering with Project Open Hand is not just about giving food to people who can’t feed themselves, but it is about getting out in the community and talking to people who may not have any other visitors all day.
Glide Memorial Church is a San Francisco institution that welcomes people of all races, faiths, and opinions. Through their many programs, they try to break cycles of poverty and addiction and create a community that’s open and supportive of everyone. A great thing about Glide is that a large part of their work is done by volunteers and by getting involved, you can have a great impact and meet a lot of awesome people. Also, they have a bunch of holiday volunteer opportunities, serving meals, sorting toys and giving away grocery bags, so no excuses! Grab your friends and start helping out!
Since 1977 MCCLA has been working to promote Latino cultural expression in the Mission District of San Francisco through programs and activities representative of Latin American traditions. Since its inception, it has been driven by volunteers and community support. This year, you could be part of that community by leafleting, setting up or working as an usher for one their many events, maybe even their Holiday Youth Mariachi Concert on December 14 or Navidad Negra on January 5!
Want to do your volunteering outside? The California State Parks need you! With so many cuts to funding, our parks need volunteers now more than ever. Get out in the woods and help as a volunteer docent, helping visitors understand the cultural, natural and recreational resources of the parks, or get dirty maintaining trails, removing exotic plants, enhancing native plants or cleaning up beaches. Anything you do in one of California’s beautiful parks is guaranteed to not only be rewarding but also, a lot of fun.
Volunteer at the Second Harvest food bank. From sorting food in the warehouse, to education and outreach, to working in the office, to food distribution, help the food bank out in the way that makes most sense for you. For many things, volunteers only need to be 14 or older! So bring your family and help your community eat well this holiday season.
Another way to get outdoors is by volunteering at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. If you love being creative, kids or just have a lot of extra energy, this might be the perfect opportunity for you. Over the holidays the museum has volunteer opportunities of all kinds, from greeting to guiding people through exhibits to working the store. Not to mention you get to be in beautiful Sausalito.
Most would agree that we owe a pretty big debt of gratitude to the men and women who fight for us overseas. During the holidays this year, why not help the Veterans Administration make the lives of wounded, ill and elderly veterans a little easier by taking one of their many volunteer assignments? Whatever your skills or area of interest, there is always something you can do. From playing music to escorting patients to appointments to driving vans, there are a million ways you can serve those who served you.
Okay, what you really want to do is play with cute animals, right? Then join the SF SPCA in its mission to find homes for homeless animals by being part of Macy’s Holiday Windows! Pets, helping out and the holidays: the perfect combination.
Supporting cultural institutions is important and the San Francisco Ballet needs your help! Their BRAVO program has many different ways you can help, from translations, to administrative support to helping out with the Nutcracker during the Ballet’s busiest time of year while getting to meet staff and dancers and learn what goes on behind the scenes that makes a ballet run. It’s not just a great way to serve the community — it’s also really fun!
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance allowing the building of apartments as small as 220 square feet. Whether those apartments get built or not, many Bay Area residents likely live in a small space — either a small studio, an in-law in the basement or one bedroom in a house divided among roommates.
Below are 10 tips for making the most of a small space, culled from Forum’s interview with Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, founder of ApartmentTherapy and author of Apartment Therapy’s Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces and Miranda Jones, style editor for Sunset Magazine.
BE SELECTIVE ABOUT YOUR SPACE. “Not all spaces are created equally,” said Jones. “If you’ve got natural light, high ceilings, and natural materials in the apartment, you’re going to feel as though you’re living well even though you’re living small.”
EDIT, EDIT, EDIT. “Keeping your items very well edited” is one of the top things to keep in mind when living in a small or unusual space. That means when you bring something into your apartment, you bring something out. It’s about quality versus quantity.
TIDY UP! “In a way, large spaces just allow you to be lazy,” said Gillingham-Ryan, “and to not have to deal with stuff until much later when your space fills up. With most everybody, after about seven years they have a clutter problem. With a smaller space it just comes a lot quicker.” Jones also recommended keeping surfaces clean, because tabletops and countertops are usually not abundant in small apartments.
TAKE SOME TASKS OUT OF THE HOUSE. If you live in a small space, chances are you are going to have to call on your surrounding neighborhood to fill some of your needs. Nature and laundromats are a given, but even some tasks may just be better suited elsewhere. Gillingham-Ryan recalls that after married and became a father, he started doing bills and other paperwork at his office. “Your home doesn’t have to be everything, all the time,” he said.
MAXIMIZE EVERY INCH. “All unused space is fair game,” said Jones. “You’ve got to take your storage vertical, you’ve got to prop up your bed so you have extra storage under there. When space is at such a premium, Jones said you have to look at it differently. “Every door is a possible storage location.”
MULTI-TASK (OR BUY ITEMS THAT DO). “Because there is no room for anything extra, everything has to do two jobs,” said Jones. “Your dining room table is also your office space.” Indeed, this video tour through a small Airstream trailer and micro-apartment shows that multi-tasking is a key element to making small spaces work.
BUY BUILT-INS. Gillingham-Ryan is a fan of built-in features like shelves and drawers. “Spend your money on built-ins whenever possible because built-ins are wall-to-wall, they suck up all the space and you can use every inch,” said Gillingham-Ryan. “And visually, it creates a lot less busy space.”
LET THE LIGHT IN. “Light is what makes a space feel expansive,” said Gillingham-Ryan. “I always tell people, ‘Three points of light to every room.’ It doesn’t seem like a lot but every client I’ve ever worked with has had trouble getting to two.”
USE MIRRORS. “I’ve seen people over the years use mirrors in such incredibly inventive ways,” said Gillingham-Ryan. “They not only reflect light, they expand the space that they’re in. They can make the space brighter and just remove that sense of wall that is there otherwise.”
PLAY WITH PAINT. Light colors are key. “It doesn’t have to be white, it can be off-white,” said Gillingham-Ryan. “There’s still color in off-white.There’s a lot you can do between warm and cool colors. They can really change the feeling of a space.” In fact, Gillingham suggests that something as simple as a difference between off-white and regular white can make your room feel larger. “If you do a bright white on the ceiling and an off-white on the walls, there’s a separation between wall and ceiling,” said Gillingham-Ryan. “It will make your walls feel taller.”
Chances are that if you’ve lived in the Bay Area for a while, you’ve seen a sight or attended an event that you felt you just had to share the next time you had out-of-town visitors. Memorable adventures with out-of-towners can showcase our spectacular natural wonders, with holiday treks up to West Marin, from Limantour Beach to the Tomales Point Trail, from Lagunitas Creek to the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands. But there are plenty of urban sights to take in, too. The truth is we have an embarrassment of riches to share with out-of-town guests at all times of year, though the selection during the holidays seems especially rich. Here are a few suggestions for impressing visitors. But be warned, after showing them the sights, they may want to keep coming back.
1. THE HEIGHTS AND THE SIGHTS. The best things about the hills and mountains in the Bay Area: the view from the top. Dazzle your guests with the area’s famous vistas, most of which you can drive to: UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, Oakland’s Mormon Temple, and San Francisco’s Twin Peaks. The best of them all is Mount Diablo, elevation 3,849 feet above sea level, with what’s reputed to be one of the most expansive views anywhere: from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Sierra Nevada in the east.
Mount Diablo
And here are a couple of world-class vistas that are knock-outs even if you’ve seen them a thousand times before: the view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco from the Marin Headlands (there’s lots more to see there if you have time to drive out to the beach at Fort Cronkhite) and the view of the city from Treasure Island (accessed by the Bay Bridge).
For those in a mood to stretch their legs, here are a couple of favorite vistas you need to walk to: the southern end of San Francisco Bay from Mission Peak in Fremont—a trail that’s steep (a climb of over 2,000 feet), long (five miles round trip), and popular; the Richardson Bay view from the West Point Inn on Mount Tamalpais (refreshments available for weekend hikers), and the 50-mile bay view from the top of the Stonewall-Panoramic Trail (steep, and muddy in wet weather) in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve on the Oakland-Berkeley border.
2. EAT SOUP. The little town on the San Mateo County coast south of San Francisco called Pescadero (just east of Highway 1, just south of Highway 84 is so small that once you’re there you’ll have no problem spotting a little restaurant and tavern called Duarte’s. Among other delicious fare, the establishment serves a specialty — cream of artichoke soup—artichokes being a specialty crop down along the San Mateo and Santa Cruz coasts. But you don’t have to drive all the way to Pescadero just to have a bowl of Duarte’s cream of artichoke soup (although it’s not a terrible idea). But you might want to take your guests on a leisurely tour of the parks or state beaches in the area—maybe even Año Nuevo State Park, where you can sign up for a guided walk to view mating elephant seals (reservations required; book early if you plan to go). Or Pescadero Creek Park. Or Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Then, once you’ve partaken of nature and gotten lots of outside air in your lungs, go to Duarte’s and eat soup.
Flickr: LisaW123
3.HANG WITH TULE ELK. If you want to get out of urban landscape and see some spectacular nature, and you have all day—really, all day–here’s what you do: Drive up to Marin County, head out to Point Reyes National Seashore. The land- and seascape here is reason enough for your visit, but here’s something extra: the area is a tule elk reserve, and it’s common to see some of the large ungulates grazing along the road before you get to the ranch or out along the trail. One tip for the trail: It’s long, with lots of up and down after the first mile or so. The northern section is sandy and windy and can be heavy going. So wear layers for changeable weather and sturdy walking shoes. Bring water and a snack and prepare for a minimum of four hours out on the trail if you walk all the way to the end and back.
How to get there: When you get to Pierce Point Road, past Inverness, bear right, and stay on the twisting, rising, falling ranch road for 9 miles, past the signs for Abbotts Lagoon and Kehoe Beach. Eventually, you’ll arrive at the historic Pierce Point Ranch—also the start of the Tomales Point Trail, a 4.75-mile fire road and path to the northern tip of Point Reyes (that’s 9.5 miles round trip). Here’s the map.
Nearby attractions: All of the Point Reyes beaches have their own beauty, and there are many excellent trails in both the seashore and adjacent federal and state lands. Visit the Point Reyes Visitor Center, off Bear Valley Road just outside the village of Olema, for information. You can find food and refreshments in Inverness, Inverness Park, Point Reyes Station, and Olema.
Flickr:Jamie in bytown
4. HAUNT A HOTEL ATRIUM. Here’s a favorite vicarious-luxury experience that can provide a break from traipsing around the city: Hanging out in one of San Francisco’s grand hotel lobbies and atriums. The drill is simple: Go in, look around, be impressed, then maybe grab a (yes, expensive) drink at the lounge. The Hyatt Regency, at Market and California streets, plans artificial snowfalls in its soaring atrium. Another favorite: The Palace Hotel and its Garden Court (New Montgomery and Market). The Palace is self-conscious enough about its history—a sitting U.S. president died there—that it offers tours. At the top of Nob Hill is the grand Fairmont Hotel, which features a Gingerbread House and a holiday-themed afternoon high tea.
Cal Academy of Sciences
5.EXPLORE INDOORS. It’s conceivable that your visitors don’t want to jump in the car to take in the sights or tramp through our magnificent scenery — especially when the weather isn’t cooperating. Maybe they’d like to spend the day at one of our world-class museums instead. Throughout the holidays, the California Academy of Arts and Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is hosting ” ‘Tis the Season for Science,” a program featuring winter-themed exhibits and activities, complete with indoor snow flurries every half-hour. If we were making the call, we’d tell our visitors we were going down to The Tech Museum in San Jose for its “Mythbusters: The Explosive Exhibition,” which promises to unravel mysteries like, “Do you get wetter if you walk or run through the rain?”
6. WALK A NEIGHBORHOOD. San Francisco is full of great walking neighborhoods— a combination of engaging human and physical topography. Most of our neighborhoods have a colorful main street and plenty of bustling activity: Chinatown; North Beach; Potrero Hill; Bernal Heights; Mission Bay; Clement Street in the inner Richmond; Union Street; Chestnut Street; the Upper and Lower Haight; Hayes Valley; SOMA and NOPA; Noe Valley; the Castro. You get the idea—they’re everywhere.
And perhaps tops for pure constant surprise: the Mission. The food, the murals, the parks, the people, fun shops like Paxton Gate and 826 Valencia Pirate Supply, and the ease of getting there for a walking trip on Muni or BART, makes this a favorite in-town/out-of-town excursion that can be as quick as a lunch stop or an all-day expedition.
Flickr:Ingrid Taylar
7. TAKE THE FERRY. This is one of the cheapest, quickest, most accessible, and spectacular ways to show visitors some of what makes the place we live unique. You can choose from dozens of routes, but one of the most scenic is the San Francisco-Alameda-Oakland ferry, which sails from San Francisco’s Pier 41 or the Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street and makes stops in Alameda and at Oakland’s Jack London Square. On the way, it passes under the Bay Bridge and cruises up the Oakland Estuary between the Port of Oakland and the old Alameda Naval Air Station. The basic one-way fare for the 25-minute trip is $6.50, with discounts for kids and seniors. On the San Francisco end of the voyage, both Pier 41 and the Ferry Building feature a wide array of dining and shopping choices and ready access to transit for further travel (including connecting ferries to Sausalito, Tiburon, and Vallejo). There’s plenty of dining and entertainment at Jack London Square, too, along with a schedule of holiday events kicking off with a tree lighting and pop-up holiday market on November 30. Both the Ferry Building (on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays) and Jack London Square (Sunday) host farmers’ markets.
To explore the North Bay, take the ferries to Sausalito and Tiburon, both of which offer views of Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge. And there are plenty of opportunities for sightseeing, shopping, and dining within walking distance of the docks in both towns.
8. RIDE THE CABLE CAR. Ding ding! What a cliché! Ding ding! And priced to gouge out-of-towners ($6 for a one-way ride, except early in the morning and late at night; if you’re a Bay Area resident, you may use your Clipper card on the cable car if you have a month Muni pass or cash value loaded onto the card). But you know, San Francisco’s hand-crafted, steel-wood-and-glass transit antiques really are unique. There’s nothing quite like hanging on to the side (or hanging out on the rear platform) as that little car crawls up or clatters down San Francisco’s steep, steep streets. From the Powell Street turntable, you can ride from one pole of the city’s retail wonderland–the greater Union Square/San Francisco Centre/Bloomingdale’s sector—to the other—Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 (via the Powell-Mason line) and Ghirardelli Square (via the Powell-Hyde line). If you and your guests want to delve into cable car lore, then you need to alight at Muni’s Cable Car Museum, at Washington and Mason streets (both Powell Street routes pass the museum.)
It’s true the cable cars may be crowded with holiday tourists. If you want to avoid them the same way they want to avoid you, here are a couple of tips: Take the short California Street line (starts at Market Street outside the Hyatt Regency, goes west up over Nob Hill, turns around at Van Ness Avenue). Or ride after 9 p.m., when the fare falls to $3 and the crowds thin out. The cars run until nearly 1 a.m. every night of the week.
9. VISIT THE ROCK:Alcatraz! Yes, here’s another San Francisco cliché. But hear me out: the story of the former fort/military prison/federal penitentiary/Native American rebellion headquarters is captivating, and the setting is both beautiful and grim. A ticket to Alcatraz these days gets you a boat ride out to the island and back and an excellent 45-minute audio tour of the cellhouse. Concessionaire Alcatraz Cruises also runs a night tour, which includes special programs on the island. Note: reservations are required for all Alcatraz tours.
There’s no shortage of ways and places to celebrate Halloween and to show off your Honey Boo Boo costume this year. Below, we’ve collected the best of all the offerings to bring you these seven awesome options for Halloween.
HALLOWEEN CRITICAL MASS Fri October 26, 5:30pm at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco
What’s better than San Francisco’s biggest bike party in costume? Answer: nothing. Bring a helmet and your bike lights and join the masses riding through the streets to celebrate safe biking and of course, Halloween!
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL OPEN MIC/KARAOKE PARTY Sat October 27, 7pm at Nick’s Lounge in Berkeley
Feeling less like a jock and more like an art kid this Halloween? Dress as Emily Dickinson and bring your poetry to this crazy fun open mic. Come for the literature and stay for the karaoke afterwards.
GAULT HALLOWEEN/DIA DE LOS MUERTOS PARADE AND CARNIVAL
Sat October 27, 9am in Santa Cruz
There’s nothing like a good Halloween parade filled with adorable children. This Santa Cruz tradition has been going on 63 years, which says something! Participate in the parade yourself and end up at the most Halloween-y of Halloween events: a school carnival! Good luck at the cake walk!
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS Wed October 31, 9pm at The Independent in San Francisco
Bluegrass and Halloween go together like caramel apples and trips to the orthodontist, which is to say THEY GO TOGETHER. Make sure your costume allows for dancing because you will really want to dance at this party.
GHOST WALK
Wed October 31, 6pm at San Francisco City Hall
Do you like ghosts but maybe don’t want them literally trying to kill you? Want to mix your Halloween chills with a little civic pride? Then why not take the Ghost Walk through City Hall and learn about all the creepy stuff that happens when the lights go off.
JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT
Sat November 10, 6pm at Dolores Park
This is a perennial Halloween favorite and though it falls about a week after actual Halloween this year, I still highly, highly recommend this zombie-filled, citywide scavenger hunt for adults. Bonus: it starts in the Mission this year, which means a least a few less hills!
WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE FRIGHT NIGHTS Throughout October and November at the Winchester Mystery House, San Jose
If you like being scared or even better, watching your kids get scared, stop wasting time and head to the Winchester Mystery House. What better way to get into the Halloween spirit than screams of terror coming from your loved ones as they’re chased by a masked man with a chainsaw?
If you’re a San Francisco resident, chances are you think city walking tours should be relegated to shivering tourists waving from open-topped tour buses. But sometimes it’s fun to play the tourist even in your own city, especially one like ours that’s so full of storied streets, alleys, and buildings. Walking tours are a great way to get out and about and learn about the city’s colorful, flamboyant history.
We asked local tour operators which tours are most favored by locals, and here’s what they had to say.
Leo Grin
DASHIELL HAMMETT TOUR. Fans of noir fiction and Dashiell Hammett, author of the famous mystery novels starring detective Sam Spade, will love this tour, which is the longest running literary tour in the nation. It’s led by Don Herron, author of The Literary World of San Francisco and editor of selected letters of Philip K. Dick – a guy who clearly knows his stuff and has been praised not just for dressing in a snap-brim hat and trench coat, but for leading a tour that, according to The Wall Street Journal, “moved like a drunken cat through the streets and back alleys of the Tenderloin. It passed Southeast Asian diners, tawdry hotels, bars without windows, and places where a twenty will buy you more than the weekend’s groceries.” $20 per person.
COME OUT TO THE CASTRO. It’s hard to imagine now, but the neighborhood we call the Castro was once a subdued, working class community known as “Eureka Valley.” Take this tour with Foot! Comedy Walking Tours and laugh your socks off while you learn about the neighborhood’s history from the 19th century to the present. Stops include the Castro’s very first gay bar, the surprising controversies that flutter with the iconic massive rainbow flag, and of course the Castro Theatre, which first opened in 1922. As the company’s web site promises, “you’ll have a gay old time.” $30 per person.
CITY SCAPES AND PUBLIC PLACES. Some of the city’s most iconic gems are on display, like the Transamerica Building, the Hallidie Building, known for its “glass curtain walls,” and the Hunter-Dulin Building with its late Gothic revival style of architecture; as are some lesser known and even hidden from the street. Take this tour, offered by SF City Guides, on a Friday (10 am or 1:30 pm) and check out the best of the Financial District’s architecture as well as secret spots high and low, from the Transamerica Redwood Park to the rooftop decks such as the Four Seasons at 343 Sansome or the Crocker Galleria Rooftop Terrace, both POPOS (“privately owned public spaces”) that are popular lunchtime spots on sunny days. Free, but donations are welcome.
SF City Guides
GOLD RUSH CITY. Back in 1848, the the small village of San Francisco transformed almost overnight into a pop-up city – chaotic and lawless. This tour, from SF City Guides, will fill you in on when and how local militias took the law into their own hands in the 1850; the local eccentric by the name of Joshua Norton who declared himself “Emperor of the United States” and whom residents adored; and how entire crews abandoned hundreds of ships in Yerba Buena Cove in order to join the Gold Rush. Free, but donations are welcome.
THE STINKIN’ RICH AND DIRTY MONEY THAT BUILT NOB HILL.You may know about the dirty ways of San Francisco’s Railroad Barons, the 19th century’s masters of corruption, but have you ever heard about the financial shenanigans of the Bonanza Kings, the four men whose two silver mines produced $3,000,000 per month? Find out all about glittering Nob Hill’s unethical underbelly with this tour from Foot! Stops include the requisite Nob Hill mansions as well as the Fairmont Hotel and Grace Cathedral. $30 per person
Flickr: DieselDemon
TELEGRAPH HILL STAIRWAY HIKE. Telegraph Hill is perhaps best known for Coit Tower, but its residents know that the landmark is just one of the neighborhood’s many attractions. With this tour from SF City Guides, you’ll pound the pavement (and the wooden Filbert Street steps) to enjoy some of the best views of the Bay the city has to offer. Along the way, your guide will point out some of the neighborhood’s most attractive gardens as well as cottages that date from the Gold Rush era. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the flock of wild parrots made famous in the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. Free, but donations are welcome.
Mythbusters’ Adam Savage has two kids and two dogs, and as a longtime San Franciscan, he has no shortage of ideas of where to take them for fun and frolic. Below, Savage’s favorite places to romp freely while enjoying the Bay Area’s most beautiful spots.
Flickr: MaryCSalome
FORT FUNSTON. As one of the family’s go-to places in the city, Savage relies on Fort Funston for guaranteed fun and makes the trek there at least once a week. “Watching the handgliders take off is awesome,” Savage says. “And if you feel like going to the beach, there’s a nice little access walk, which is great for both humans and dogs.” The best place to park is in the lot, just off of Skyline Boulevard.
Flickr: 50-Phi
STERN GROVE. Best known for its summer music festivals, Stern Grove is one of Savage’s favorite city parks, a lush, green escape that was one of the first places he visited when he came to San Francisco in 1988. “It’s beautiful, with the lake and the ducks,” he says. Dog owners love Pine Lake as a spot to let their dogs run free, off-leash. And on any given weekend, Savage says there are hundreds of dog owners for their breeds’ specific meetups.
GLEN CANYON PARK. “I can’t believe a park so amazing exists just five minutes away from the busiest part of the city,” Savage says of Glen Canyon Park. “It’s this amazing little wilderness oasis.” In the summers, especially, Savage says the canyon turns into one of the most verdant places in San Francisco, so much so that it’s hard to get through the vegetation. “Savage takes his kids and his dogs down to the end of the main paved section to a dirt path that they all scramble up along. “It’s a super rugged little path, and there’s a secret rope swing that only kids know about,” he says. The Savage crew love to walk all along the different paths and climb along the rocks. “Everyone gets worn out,” he says.
Here in the Bay Area, we’re blessed with enviable natural beauty, and we love to take advantage of it by hiking all around trails that wind through gorgeous landscapes and seascapes. Unfortunately for dog owners, access to some of these great hikes is restricted because of leash laws, and off-leash options are few.
In fact, you can start a great hike in Marin that allows dogs (on leash), but because the trail crosses from county to state park to national park to water district lands and back again, you might find yourself suddenly on a stretch that isn’t canine-friendly at all. But one mile later, you and Fido are on safe ground again. On top of that, you have environmental threats – ticks in Marin, rattlesnakes on the peninsula, heat exhaustion in the East Bay, poison oak everywhere. Very literally, pick your poison.
What dog-owners look for and have a hard time finding are dog-legal hikes interesting for both human and canine and that don’t require a lot of doggy management (e.g. ticks, poorly maintained trails with hard to avoid poison oak, blistering sun without cover, etc.). Sometimes we want to spend all day on the hiking adventure, but sometimes we just want to give it a morning. This creates a complex Venn diagram with a very narrow ultimate overlap section. And frankly, it can take a lot of research – between word of mouth, online searches and studying various trail books – to find good long, interesting, dog-friendly hikes.
But all is not lost! This is Northern California after all, with endless trails – some a hop, skip, and a bridge away; some tucked in the middle of suburbia. If you’re new to hiking with a pooch around here, start with one of these doggy-friendliest hikes from around the Bay – including all-day adventures that take you far afield, to more easily accessible jaunts almost in your backyard, and all with great views. Dogs are allowed on all these trails, but check for specific leash laws.
NORTH BAY
The Bolinas Ridge Trail near Point Reyes offers a two- to 20-mile hike (out and back) with spectacular views of Point Reyes and Tomales Bay. Pick up the trail on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, just before you hit Olema, and head south until you’re tired, or hit the Bolinas-Fairfax Road, then turn around. When you’re back to the car, mosey up to the teeny tiny towns of Olema or Point Reyes Station for great food (Marin Sun Farm Café, Bovine Bakery, Tomales Bay Foods with Cowgirl Creamery, … yum!), and rest your paws with a picnic and people watching (weekends attract all kinds of bicyclists in fancy spandex).
EAST BAY
Flickr:JDNX
Wildcat Canyon, tucked behind scenic East Richmond Heights and San Pablo, looks like it goes on forever. Take the intersecting series of trails for a six- to eight-mile loop. Wildcat Creek Trail to Belgium Trail to San Pablo Ridge (and then onward where ever you fancy) guarantees views that get better and better with each rolling hill until you see from the Bay Bridge to north of Mt. Tamalpais. After a chug up a pretty major incline, you’re rewarded with views north almost to Benicia. A tip on finding the right entrance: Don’t go to the Tilden side, which does not allow dogs at all. You want to go to the northwest entrance on Park Street. When you turn onto Park Street, go past what looks like the obvious entrance (this path will take you to a ton of picnic tables and play areas for kids) and continue up the street to the Alvarado Staging Area. This entrance takes you to a parking lot and the Wildcat Creek trailhead.
PENINSULA
Flickr:Jenstr181
Sweeney Ridgeis part of the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy, and you can access the trail from a two different trailheads, depending on your mood. Want an easy, mostly paved hill to the Nike Missile site? Enter from the west on Sneath Lane off of Highway 280. Head south at the restroom to Portola Gate (nothing special but a nice walk) before you turn north to the missile site. After you check out the remnants of missile control, which is mostly covered in graffiti, continue north to Mori Trail, which cuts west and drops down to the ocean (it’s a long way down and a steep, loose descent, but tempting if you have the time), or savor the view and then head back whence you came. Alternatively, if you’re looking to punish your glutes, start Sweeney Ridge Trail from the north at Skyline College and climb a veritable stairway to heaven – if the fog is thick, you’ll think you’ve accidentally ascended straight into the clouds; if it’s a clear day, the views of the Pacific Ocean to Mt. Tamalpais are ethereal. After you catch your breath at the top, continue south to the Nike Missile site (and onward to Portola Gate) turn around for a lovely downhill return. (Oh, you can still catch Mori Trail from this side – just hang a right when you crest the top of Sweeney Ridge – and you can easily spend the rest of the day on your couch without any guilt).
SOUTH BAY
The Tahoe Guy
High above Los Gatos in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, the Kennedy-Limekiln-Priest Rock trails connect for a thoroughly enjoyable loop that offers sweet views to the Bay. You can enter the Sierra Azul area a few different ways. I prefer to skip the Lexington Reservoir trailhead and start off of Kennedy Road on the Kennedy Trail. It may just be my imagination, but this feels less congested and the mountain bikers seem more accommodating. If you complete the full loop, it’s several miles (13.8 according to the map) , which makes it worth the trek for a daylong getaway from the north and east sides of the bay. Then you can pop into picturesque Los Gatos for a lazy coffee or lunch.
GENERAL TIPS
It’s always a good idea to bring water for your pooch. In fact, leave an extra bottle in the car, just in case.
Be prepared to pick up and potentially pack out poop (pay attention for poop rules as they differ from place to place).
If you see another hiker with a dog coming your way and they’re looking suspiciously at your canine BFF, don’t be shy about letting them know well ahead of time if your dog is friendly or not. This way you can both either relax or take control of your animals for harmlessly passing by on the trail.
Keep Princess from charging ahead and pushing other hikers out of her way (i.e. don’t give hikers without dogs a reason to hate you and the rest of us).
It might be because I am about to be 30 and I feel like that should mean something, but last week I made the dramatic decision to go to Burning Man, even though I could only go for three days. It was quick and mind blowing and now I am back at work, with chapped lips and electronic music still pumping in my brain, trying to reintegrate myself into default reality. It hasn’t been easy.
Knowing that there is a temporary magical land full of flame throwing sculptures and dance parties and land yachts building to a crescendo on the Black Rock Desert and I am not in the middle of it is depressing. Lucky for me, and for you, person with internet access who is therefore clearly NOT having an amazing burn, last year I took it upon myself to really explore the Burning Man Rapture in San Francisco, and so, in an effort to help cheer us up, I present you with seven things you can do to have an amazing time while your friends are at Burning Man.
1. WEAR YOUR COMFIEST CLOTHES TO THE OFFICE.
Your boss is dancing in a tutu on the Playa so it’s totally cool if you wear a sports bra and flip flops while creating expense reports or whatever it is you do.
2. WORK OUT IN PEACE
Yoga classes, skate parks, climbing gyms and roof top pools are all guaranteed to be at least half empty. So why not use all your Groupons at once and start getting your body into shape for next year’s burn?
3. DRINK THE FANCIEST COFFEE WITHOUT FEELING JUDGED.
All the attractive and aloof types who usually glare at you while you order tea are off being transformed in the desert. So order what you want! Take a seat in the parklet! Hang out all afternoon!
4. GET BRUNCH WITHOUT WAITING FOR 2 HOURS
Get a table anywhere! In fact, go big and invite all your non-dusty friends to brunch somewhere super popular and then ask for a table for 10. See what happens. You’ll feel like your back in the Midwest.
5. PARK IN THE MISSION
Even if you have a pretty good spot and you aren’t planning on going anywhere for a couple days, just for fun park your car on Valencia. I mean, #YOLO, right?
6. BUY ORGANIC GROCERIES
This will make you instantly happier in two ways: first, you won’t have to wait for hours in line at Rainbow. Second, you can buy something perishable and then put it in your fridge when you get home. You know where they don’t have fridges? The desert.
7. DRINK AT ZEITGEIST WITHOUT EVER WAITING IN LINE.
Okay, yes, you will have to pay for your drinks, but think of how MANY of those drinks you can pay for if you are never standing in line? Sit at your choice of picnic tables and try to be grateful you aren’t in the middle of a sandstorm and that the bandana around your neck is purely ornamental.
Remember, you always have next year. Try not to cry. I hear the weather is going to be is going to be perfect and Temple is going to be amazing.
For the outdoorsy type, there’s no shortage of on-the-water adventures in the Bay Area. Our temperate climate means it’s almost always a great time to get out and learn how to sea kayak, sail, deep sea fish, windsurf, or even take up dragon boat racing. Take your pick!
SEA KAYAKING
One of the best ways to interact with or at least observe the local sea life, like seals and pelicans, is to paddle around in a sea kayak. There are a few great places to learn the peaceful art of sea kayaking, both on San Francisco Bay and a bit further north. In Sausalito, try Sea Trek, which offers beginning and advanced classes and rents out kayaks, paddleboats, and stand-up paddleboards. Another good bet is California Canoe and Kayak, out of Jack London Square in Oakland, and if you’re willing to go farther afield for truly peaceful waters, get to Tomales Bay’s Blue Waters in Marshall in West Marin. (Bonus to Tomales Bay: Oysters! End your day up there with a visit to Hog Island Oyster Co.)
SAILING
Flickr: Jessica FM
Seasoned sailors often name the San Francisco Bay as one of the best places in the world to sail because the conditions are so good and the challenges are sophisticated and varied, and one can rest assured that every voyage will be a little different. For those learning to sail, the Bay is a great place to start because it offers terrific day-long sails to places like Tiburon, Sausalito, or Angel Island, and because there are plenty of options for both bold learners (like jumping right in to sailing in tricky currents and wind conditions, not to mention busy vessel traffic) and those who want to learn in a less challenging situation (like calm estuaries). Many people say that if you learn to sail on San Francisco Bay, you can sail safely anywhere in the world.
There are also plenty of sailing schools to choose from depending on where you live in the Bay Area and what type of experience you want.
In the Berkeley Marina, there are two sailing schools: OCSC Sailing and the Cal Sailing Club. OCSC is a hangout for sailors beginners to expert sailors, with courses running the gamut from basic keelboat to offshore and navigation instruction, and the Cal Sailing Club (which is open to anyone, not just those associated with Cal), offers great beginners and advanced beginner lessons and some free lessons on Saturdays. (Bonus: Both schools are known for not just great sailing lessons but for their lively social scenes. Witness this review on Yelp for the Cal Sailing Club: “Where else can a postal worker, oracle executive, and berkley [sic] undergrads mingle in the sun and drink beers while telling tall sea yarns? Filled with a great group of people, a grill, and the best playground it’s a great place to spend a sunny day.”)
Those interested in learning to sail in slightly more protected waters might want to consider Club Nautique in Alameda (note it has a location in Sausalito as well). If you’re a San Francisco resident and don’t want to cross a bridge to learn to sail, there’s the San Francisco Sailing School, located at Pier 39.
DEEP SEA OR SPORT FISHING
Interested in catching your first salmon? Consider booking a fishing trip with Lovely Martha, a company based on Fisherman’s Wharf that’s been around for decades and is known for being “beginner friendly.” (Check out their lively Facebook page). Another option is Flash Sport Fishing, also down at Fisherman’s Wharf, led by Captain Steve Talmadge, who looks every bit the part of seasoned sport fisherman.
If you’re strong and a good swimmer, taking up windsurfing might be just the ticket this summer. The Cal Sailing Club listed above also offers windsurfing lessons with an extra side of fun (its motto is, after all, “Sail. Windsurf. Party.”), but another good option is Boardsports,which has locations in Alameda, San Mateo and San Francisco and offers private and group lessons for beginners. For those of us in the South Bay, head out to California Windsurfing in Foster City.
DRAGON BOAT RACING
Last but not least, let’s not forget dragon boat racing, a competitive and very vigorous sport that many think began in southern central China 2,500 years ago and requires a crew of 20 paddlers, a drummer, and a “sweep” who steers. The San Francisco Bay Area Dragons offers free classes every Saturday morning at its Foster City location.
NOT-SO-EXTREME SPORTS
Of course, if you’re beyond your adventure-sports prime (or maybe you’ve got a family in tow), there are more sedate ways to spend some time on the Bay, taking in the beauty of the city skyline and the Golden Gate. Ferries are not just for commuters and Alcatraz-bound tourists. Take a gander at the schedule and enjoy a quick trip to (and from) a scenic locale: Tiburon, Angel Island, the SF Ferry Building, Jack London Square. And for an even more leisurely pace, you can find a host of private charters and group cruises. Sure, a dinner cruise under the Golden Gate isn’t going to get you your X-Games merit badge, but it’s a beautiful way to spend a few hours away from the bustle of city streets.
One of the hardest realities we have to face as grown-ups is that we will never have another real summer vacation again. You will never again get two to three months of riding your bike in gangs with your friends, soaking up sun, reading books, playing softball every afternoon and getting on a first-name basis with the lifeguards at the outdoor pool.
But all is not lost! If you’re a hard worker — and we know you are — you deserve to call in sick every now and then. Now, it isn’t a great idea to use up all your sick time on things that aren’t being sick — that’s just asking for a month long flu in December. But we all need a little vitamin D, nature and/or non-computer time to keep up our mental health. Here are a few reasons to fake a case of food poisoning and experience summer.
1. SURFING IN SANTA CRUZ
You don’t have to be the girl from Blue Crush to catch a few waves. Just get yourself down to Santa Cruz! Any place worth its salt will have boards and wetsuits for you to use and if you sign up for surf lessons, you’ll be standing up before the end of the day. If you already have a little surfing knowledge, check the surf report to pick the optimal day for your illness and head down to Cowells for a nice manageable day in ocean. Bonus: you’ll be very hungry when you’re done. Best to hit up Cole’s BBQ on the way out of town, since you have just used up so many calories it is totally okay that you are eating a slab of cheese-covered garlic bread with your fries and ribs.
2. MOVIE DAY
Get up when you would usually go to work, grab some breakfast, and then get to the earliest movie — it might even be at 10:30 am. Matinees only cost $7! Here’s the trick though: don’t leave when that movie is done. Go to more movies! Go to all the movies! The Metreon in San Francisco recently underwent a huge remodel. Now there are tons of food choices so you don’t even have to leave the building for lunch. Bonus: no sunburn means no one will doubt your food poisoning story.
3. BIKE RIDE TO MARIN HEADLANDS
Just because the days of pre-teen bike gangs are over doesn’t mean you can’t have adventures on two wheels. Pack a picnic and take a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge up a (very serious) hill to the Marin Headlands. Don’t worry, it’s totally acceptable to walk your bike. Visit the Visitors Center or old military ruins and take pictures of yourself looking out over the Bridge and the city. Just don’t post them on Facebook.
4. WINE TASTING IN SONOMA
So, you aren’t the type to spend a day off getting sweaty or sitting alone in the dark. Avoid the crowds (and maybe your boss) and head for Sonoma, Napa’s prettier but less self-promoting cousin. Start with the Jacuzzi Family Winery, mainly because the building and grounds are so gorgeous you’ll feel like you took your sick day in Italy. Then, go wherever the spirit moves you! There a couple good lists of wineries in the area (here and here) but why not just drive down the road and check out the ones that look interesting? Extra points if you can get one of your children who is over 16 but under 21 to act as a designated driver.
5. CANOE ON THE RUSSIAN RIVER
If you already have a base tan and are not at risk of developing a suspicious sunburn, head out to Healdsburg and rent a canoe at River’s Edge Canoe and Kayak. All you have to do is make a reservation and they will bus you up the Russian River to a beach full of boats. Get in a boat and paddle downstream. Bring water and snacks and stop wherever you want. You’ll spend a couple hours on the water and then you can pull your boat up on shore and a strapping young man will put it away for you! Don’t forget to drive to Healdsburg for a meal and your weekly quota of cuteness.
6. LOOK FOR ELEPHANT SEALS AT ANO NUEVO STATE PARK
If a brush with wildlife is what you need, drive out to Año Nuevo State Park. If you get a permit at the Visitors Center, you can take a walk out to the elephant seals. If you haven’t seen elephant seals, you are missing out. In the right light, regular seals are little and cute. Even sea lions are a manageable size. But elephant seals are named after elephants first for a reason. Don’t be surprised if at first you mistake an elephant seal for a sand dune. Note: bring a windbreaker! It gets cold out there!
7. BOULDERING AT CASTLE ROCK
Want to practice climbing rocks without all those pesky ropes and anchors? Check out Castle Rock State Park, southwest of San Jose. It helps if you know a little about climbing so you can make sure you are doing it safely but once you get that taken care of (you’ve got to know SOMEONE who can help you), take a nice day trip. Just try not to hurt yourself, as that will be difficult to explain to your boss tomorrow.
Flickr:ChadFennell
8. SHUCK OYSTERS
Exercise, movies, sunshine and drinking are all fine but let’s get down to business: if you take a weekday off of work you might actually be able to get a reservation at Hog Island to shuck oysters! Oh, what’s Hog Island? Only an oyster farm in between Bodega Bay and Point Reyes where you can have a picnic and shuck oysters for three hours with all your closest friends. The problem: it’s really popular so you have to book months in advance. So book now! Call your friends and plan a sick day together! Just remember the important axiom of the “sick” day: Instagram no pictures, leave no oyster shells laying around if you are part of the carpool.
