Fun Things To Do
in San Francisco Bay area
by land, sea, or air

Fun, healthy, active things to do in and around San Francisco are abundant. Most are near by, in beautiful settings, and entertaining to watch should you not want to participate. Even Granny will enjoy that!

Below is a quick overview plus  links to some interesting activities you should check out. Also, look over the neighborhoods and towns sections of the web site. So, check it out, get a little exercise, and have a lot of active fun!

by land ... HIKING

The SF Bay area is a hiker's paradise. Just walking around the neighborhoods is a nice active thing to do in San Francisco if you know where to go. Check out our list of detailed San Francisco walking tours.

Below are some of the best areas to investigate by foot:

• North Beach (hike north) & China Town (hike south) - starting at Columbus Ave & Broadway.
• Filbert steps - going down to the east from the top of Telegraph Hill.
• Golden Gate bridge - start your hike at the viewing areas, located at either side of the bridge which have adjacent parking, .
• Lands End trail - start at the parking lot a half block north of the Cliff House There are many fantastic nature hikes both north and south of San Francisco. E.g.,
• Princeton Harbor - south of the harbor along the beach, and north on the Pillar Point bluffs above Mavericks.
• Tiburon - the trails within St. Hilary's Church Open Space Preserve above Tiburon feature wildflowers and views that are rare, even for the Bay area.

by land ... BIKING

Because of its astonishing natural beauty, mild weather, interesting terrain, and excellent access serious bikers truly love the San Francisco Bay area. This is especially true once you get out of the traffic in San Francisco and other large cities.

Check out best biking in the San Francisco Bay for more details.

by sea ... WATER SPORTS galore

Wind surfing - is a lot of fun at almost any age and the best place I've ever seen to learn is at California Windsurfing in the Foster City Lagoon. It's warm, rentals are reasonable, the people are nice, weekend classes are excellent and the wind is often just right for beginners.

Once you get better the next step up  for me was windsurfing Coyote Point. If you ever get great and have a lot of guts then check out Crissey Field, SF, or world class Waddell Creek, north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1.

Kite surfing - is readily available for the stout of heart too. The end of 3d Ave by the San Mateo Bridge is one of the easier spots though it is not that beautiful. If you are very good try Crissey Field, SF.  Or, try the Delta (on the way to Sacramento) for high speed windsurfing on smooth water.

Paddle boats - for fun with the kids check out Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park or California Windsurfing at the Foster City lagoon.

Kayaking - Rentals with access to great sea areas are available in Sausalito, Princeton Harbor, and Moss Landing. It's a bit of a trip but Moss Landing, on the way to Monterey, features some of the best bird and sea animal preserves in the world. Be ready to see otters and sea lions up close and personal.

Surfing - Ocean Beach, San Francisco, is where local intermediate surfers often go. Santa Cruz beach is popular and the Surfers Beach in El Granada just south of Princeton-by-the-Sea is the busiest beginners/intermediate beachin between.

Of course, if you are world class you've already heard of Mavericks, north of Princeton Harbor which has some of the biggest roughest waves in the world when (rare) conditions are right. Waddell Beach north of Santa Cruz is another world class surfer hangout.

even by AIR

Hang glide - above the ocean at Ft. Funston, SF. Here, at the most beautiful dog park in the world, you can get up close and personal to hang gliders. On weekends there are sometimes dozens enjoying this excellent hang gliding spot in San Francisco.

Small planes - Two nice & convenient local airports for small plane pilots are the San Carlos Airport, San Carlos, and the Half Moon Bay Airport, north of Princeton Harbor. Both airports have good down-home type coffee shops where pilots and "would be" pilots love to gather.

From the Half Moon Bay airport you can easily walk over to Princeton Harbor for a relaxing good afternoon there as well. By the way, the Pacific Coast Dream Machines air show & exhibition, held at the airport in the spring, is something old plane and old car buffs do not want to miss. World War II pilots will especially enjoy seeing their old war planes in action. It's low key and a lot of fun to look at the old machines and chat with their owners.

San Jose Airport & San Francisco Airport are scary places to fly in by small plane because of heavy commercial air traffic. We've done it but can't recommend it to amateurs.

Blimp tours - Dirigibles are now flying over the San Francisco Bay area again (back in WW II they flew out of Moffet Field as submarine trackers). Flights cost $495/hr. This is not really an active sport but looks like fun if you've got the big bucks.

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Well, that's just the tip of the iceberg of active things to do in the San Francisco Bay area. We've picked a few of the best which you may have missed. Enjoy!


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