San Francisco Bay Area Activities

The Town of Yountville, renowned for its world-class restaurants and award-winning chefs, has earned the unofficial title of ‘Culinary Capital of the Napa Valley’. From French, Italian, Pacific Rim, Bistro, and California Cuisine to down-home comfort food, an array of fine dining and unmatched ambiance is waiting to be discovered in Yountville.

Tiburon is only 35 minutes from Sonoma and 50 minutes from Napa. With countless restaurants and world famous wineries, the famous wine regions are an ideal destination for visitors looking to experience some of the finest epicurean delights Northern California has to offer.

San Francisco is home to the nation’s largest Chinatown, complete with restaurants, grocers, fishmongers, tea sellers, herbalists, noodle parlors, and much more.

The National Monument preserves the last old growth coast redwood forest in the San Francisco Bay Area. The forest supports a surprising abundance of plant and animal life, from the coast redwood (the tallest type of tree on Earth), to delicate trilliums. Marked paths show interpretive displays of the magnificent setting and guests can enjoy bird watching, nature walks, and much more in this breathtaking forest refuge. Make sure to reserve your parking spot in advance. The Lodge at Tiburon provides top-rated Muir Woods lodging in Marin County.

This gem of the California State Park system offers panoramic vistas of the entire San Francisco Bay. Sightseers will enjoy picture-postcard views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco skyline, Marin, and Mt. Tamalpais. A clear day on the island is referred to as a “five bridge day”, when hikers can view the Golden Gate, Bay, Richmond/San Rafael, San Mateo, and Dumbarton bridges from the top of Mt. Livermore . Visitors will also enjoy hiking, biking, camping, picnicking, and tram tours. Take the 10-minute ferry ride to the “Jewel of San Francisco Bay”. The ferry terminal is just two blocks from the hotel. The last family-owned ferry and sightseeing service in San Francisco Bay, in operation since 1959, has a ferry leaving approximately every hour. Call for exact schedule.

Located on the northern tip of the Napa Valley, this historic hot springs destination is full of unique shops, fine restaurants, art galleries, museums, wineries, and hot springs spas. Calistoga Spa Hot Springs is accommodating to visitors of all ages.

Sonoma Valley maintains a much more small-town ambiance than Napa Valley. Sonoma County has over 400 wineries that include names such as Kenwood, Ravenswood, Sebastiani, Domaine Carneros, and Chateau St. Jean. The wineries in Sonoma are often small and family-owned, with a laid-back country atmosphere. From the beautiful Town Square shopping region, with Sebastiani Theatre Building constructed in 1933, to the Sonoma State Historic Park, Sonoma is steeped in California history.

Union Square is one of the city’s three original parks and is now ringed with elegant shops and restaurants. The Powell cable car line begins about a block away and the Theatre District is a short walk away.

From sunbathing to hang gliding, surfing to hiking, and biking to volleyball, there is never a shortage of fun seaside activities at Stinson Beach. Regardless of your interests, everyone can find something to get excited about at this picturesque beach. Enjoy them all while you stay at The Lodge at Tiburon, one of the coziest hotels in Marin County.

With nearly 38,000 acres of Napa County’s 485,000 acres planted with grapes, Napa Valley is the most densely concentrated winery region in the world. Visitors will see plenty of picturesque rolling hills and vast stretches of vineyards. With a focus on daytime activities, downtown Napa features a myriad of gourmet restaurants, designer outlets, and upscale attractions such as The Culinary Institute of America at Copia and the Napa Valley Wine Train. Napa is one of the wine country’s most visited cities and is an extremely popular vacation destination during the warm summer months.

Located in the middle of the Napa Valley wine region, the towns of Rutherford and Oakville offer some of Napa’s most scenic fields and meadows. Many consider Rutherford and Oakville the best places in the world to grow cabernet grapes. Bottomland soils of Rutherford and nearby “Oakville dust” are credited with providing the perfect conditions to grow these popular grapes.

Located in San Rafael, McInnis is one of Marin’s finest places to play. McInnis Park Golf Center features dining, a Golf Learning Center, a 9-Hole Course, and Family Fun Center.

For more than a century, visitors have enjoyed the spectacular mountain towering over the bay north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The view from Mt. Tamalpais State Park spans the entire bay region, from the sloping hills of the East Bay to the jagged peaks of the Farallon Islands about 30 miles off the coast.

Sitting atop Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower offers breathtaking panoramic Bay Area and city views. Visitors will see a bit of San Francisco in the 1930s preserved in its murals.

Centrally located just minutes from downtown San Francisco, the 18-hole course makes for 6,500 yards of challenging golf. It winds through beautiful eucalyptus and Monterey pine trees in the city’s trademark hills.

Mill Valley Golf Course’s beautiful redwood trees make for a scenic and much sought-after golfing experience. Its nine holes provide a challenge for novice and skilled golfers alike. It is a challenging course with ditches in play on the fairways and trees throughout the course. Additional tees can be used when playing an 18 hole round.

The Preserve is a tiny parcel tucked into a canyon along a quiet stretch of Paradise Drive. One short 0.7 mi loop takes a hiker through the dark forests of California bay, exposed stretches of chaparral, and small pockets of grassland. Although it’s small, the preserve is a great choice for a quick walk or a leisurely wildflower hike. You could combine a springtime visit to Tiburon Uplands with treks at nearby Old St. Hilary’s and Ring Mountain Open Space Preserves, for a day of wildflower hunting on the Tiburon peninsula.

There is something for everyone at Pier 39, one of San Francisco’s premier attractions along Fisherman’s Wharf. Pier 39 is a festival marketplace with more than 110 stores, 13 bay view restaurants, and a variety of fun-filled attractions for all ages. Pier 39 is home to the world-renowned sea lions, street performers, and live daily entertainment.

Oracle Park is home to the MLB San Francisco Giants and offers one of the country’s best baseball park experiences.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is one of the world’s most innovative museums of modern and contemporary art. The permanent collection is the West Coast’s most comprehensive collection of 20th century art, which includes sculpture, photography, design, architecture, painting, and more.

The San Francisco Zoo is the largest zoological park in Northern California and one of the Bay Area’s most popular cultural and recreational attractions. The zoo is home to over 250 species of exotic and domestic mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates.

Under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, who assumed his post as Music Director in September 1995, the San Francisco Symphony has won some of the world’s most prestigious recording awards. These awards include Japan’s Record Academy Award, France’s Grand Prix du Disque, Britain’s Gramophone Award, the United States’ Grammy for Carmina Burana, Brahms’s German Requiem, and scenes from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.

Tiburon was once called “Punta de Tiburon” which means Point of Sharks by Spanish explorers in 1776. This historic town is reminiscent of a quaint New England fishing village and features a quarter-mile of waterfront grass and a well-groomed greenbelt with beautiful views of San Francisco, Angel Island, and the boats on San Francisco Bay.

The “crookedest street” is neither the crookedest street in San Francisco nor the steepest, but it is certainly the most well known. The “crooked” section is a block below Hyde Street.

Saint Helena is a quaint town in the middle of the Napa Valley. Saint Helena features gourmet dining and a wide selection of wine tasting opportunities. Set amongst the scenic hills of Napa Valley, Saint Helena has a Friday Farmers Market and dozens of exciting attractions.

The National Monument preserves the last old growth coast redwood forest in the San Francisco Bay Area. The forest supports a surprising abundance of plant and animal life, from the coast redwood (the tallest type of tree on Earth), to delicate trilliums. Marked paths show interpretive displays of the magnificent setting and guests can enjoy bird watching, nature walks, and much more in this breathtaking forest refuge. Make sure to reserve your parking spot in advance. The Lodge at Tiburon provides top rated Muir Woods lodging in Marin County.

The 6,359-yard course has plenty of water and scenic fairways lined with trees to challenge golfers of all skill and experience levels. Semi-private but public play accepted.

The Cable Car Museum provides historical perspective and insight into the daily operations of today’s system.

The popular Alcatraz Island tour includes a visit to the U.S. Army fort, the West Coast’s first lighthouse, and the infamous federal penitentiary that was completely off limits to the public for a long period of time. Guests can enjoy a cultural history tour and take a look at the island’s beautiful natural gardens, tide pools, and spectacular bay views.

Tiburon is only 15 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge and 20 minutes from the exciting attractions of downtown San Francisco. Just steps away from our Tiburon hotel, catch the Blue and Gold fleet ferry for a scenic 20-minute trip across the Bay directly to Pier 41 on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.

The San Geronimo Valley Golf Course is a world-class 18-hole course that is open to the public seven days a week.

With the opening of the Japan Center in 1968, Japantown (Nihonmachi) came into its own as an ethnic showcase in the cosmopolitan tradition of San Francisco. Stretching for three square blocks, bounded by Post, Geary, Laguna, and Fillmore Streets, the complex houses shops, restaurants, art galleries, movie theatres, Japanese baths, travel services, and much more.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area includes over 74,000 acres of land and protects more than 1,250 historic structures, 27 of which are extremely rare. There are also many small “islands” of threatened habitat. NPS staff, volunteers, and partners work hard to care for the park’s treasures for the 20 million people who visit each year and for future generations. Windswept ridges, protected valleys and scenic beaches offer nature’s best.

Natural beauty surrounds you at the Point Reyes National Seashore, with more than 70 miles of trails for hiking and biking woven through open pastures, rugged ridges, and coastal cliffs in this 70,000-acre wilderness area. Between January and March, whale watching is a major draw to Point Reyes.

The wonderful Golden Gate Park includes hundreds of gardens and attractions connected by wooded paths and paved roads. Highlights of Golden Gate Park include the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco Botanical Garden, Strawberry Hill, and Stow Lake.

Visit China Camp Village and walk through the house museum describing early Chinese settlement. The park offers fifteen miles of hiking trails which are heavily used during spring and summer weekends. Visitors of China Camp State Park can enjoy wildlife-watching, hiking, swimming, boating and windsurfing.

Take a deep sea dive without getting wet, explore the stars in the middle of the day, track wild African animals, explore Wild California, ride an earthquake, and travel 3 billion years back in time at the California Academy of Sciences, located within Golden Gate Park. The Park is also home to the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, and the Natural History Museum.

San Francisco’s most popular destination, Fisherman’s Wharf is known for its historic waterfront, delicious seafood, spectacular sites, and unique shopping.

Richardson Bay Audubon Center is a bird sanctuary that encompasses land and tidal bay terrain in the San Francisco Bay Area. Comprised of 11 acres of varied terrain and 900 acres of submerged lands, the Center supports a variety of ecosystems making it a diverse and engaging outdoor classroom. The facility includes a 1/2 mile mountain trail, 4 platforms with viewing scopes and pertinent educational material, a Redwood Grove, a Native Plant Garden, a Hummingbird Garden, a pond, and a stretch of unspoiled shore on the San Francisco Bay.

Natural beauty surrounds you at the Point Reyes National Seashore, with more than 70 miles of trails for hiking and biking woven through open pastures, rugged ridges, and coastal cliffs in this 70,000-acre wilderness area. Between January and March, whale watching is a major draw to Point Reyes.

For more than a century, visitors have enjoyed the spectacular mountain towering over the bay north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The view from Mt. Tamalpais State Park spans the entire bay region, from the sloping hills of the East Bay to the jagged peaks of the Farallon Islands about 30 off the coast.

he Indian Valley Golf Club is a beautiful 18-hole golf course that is open to the public and is perfect for corporate events, tournaments, and golfers of all skill levels.

This national landmark is one of the most photographed bridges in the world and is often half-veiled by the city’s trademark rolling fog. The 1.7 mile bridge is visited by millions of people each year and will welcome your visit to the city by the Bay.

This gem of the California State Park system offers panoramic vistas of the entire San Francisco Bay. Sightseers will enjoy picture-postcard views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco skyline, Marin, and Mt. Tamalpais. A clear day on the island is referred to as a “five bridge day”, when hikers can view the Golden Gate, Bay, Richmond/San Rafael, San Mateo, and Dumbarton bridges from the top of Mt. Livermore. Visitors will also enjoy hiking, biking, camping, picnicking, and tram tours. Take the 10-minute ferry ride to the “Jewel of San Francisco Bay”. The ferry terminal is just two blocks from the hotel. The last family-owned ferry and sightseeing service in San Francisco Bay, in operation since 1959, has a ferry leaving approximately every hour. Call for exact schedule.

The Marine Mammal Center recognizes our interdependence with marine mammals and their importance as sentinels of the ocean environment. It’s goal is to raise awareness of our responsibility to use compassion and intelligence to ensure the survival of marine mammals and their habitat.

They work to this end through rescue and treatment of ill, injured and orphaned marine mammals, through scientific inquiry, and through communication and education programs. The Marine Mammal Center is open for public visitation from 10 am to 4 pm daily.

Located in McLaren Park, this challenging par 36 course was designed by John Fleming and opened in 1962. The 3,195 yard-long course is a hidden jewel with beautiful vistas located in the far southern part of the city. This nine-hole course can be played as 18 holes from different tee and pin locations that challenges even the most astute golfer. The course is moderate to heavily forested and located on rolling and sometimes steep hills.

The exhilarating hike to the summit of Mt. Livermore (781 feet) provides visitors with magnificent views of Marin County, San Francisco and the Golden Gate.