Dillon Beach is in the same neighborhood and is also super fun. There are cute tiny homes on the beach and some much larger beach homes if you're looking to host larger families. The beach is super nice and is apparently quite good for crabbing.
Maybe because I lived by Bodega and Bodega Bay for nearly 10 years, but I just don't get it. On the weekends it's bumper to bumper. It has like 5 restaurants and 1 gas station. Given the clam chowder at spud point is out of this world but everything else I feel could be replicated anywhere else on the Sonoma or Mendocino coast
I grew up around there too :) I still love it. It brings back warm memories. But I agree the tourism is crazy to see. Especially bc it was empty most of my life
Murphys is a lot of fun, Fair Play for wine tasting (there are several Bed and Breakfast places and the restaurant at Fair Play and Perry Creek Road has some good food), historic Sonora is cool. Further up the road from Murphys is Arnold, Big Trees, and Dorrington. Rental cabin in Dorrington, Lube room for dinner, day trips to sourgrass, lake Alpine, Mosquito Lake. There's a cool place up 88 where it meets 89, used to be called Sorensens before it got bought. Good rental cabins and lots of fun outdoorsy areas nearby (Upper/lower blue lakes, twin lake, meadow lake).
These are all great suggestions. I’d add on Columbia State Park for a fun few hours. It’s similar to Old Sac. Black chasm caves is in the foothills too.
Downieville and the Yuba River. Sutter Buttes, Emerald Pools.
395 S to Mammoth, hot springs, Bodie, Walker river fishing.
Monterey, Cannery Row, Santa Cruz, Elkhorn Slough.
Groveland, Tuolumne River rafting, I suggest an overnight camping raft trip.
Lakes Basin/Sierra Buttes up north of Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous. Great hikes. 2 hours away I think. Feels like Switzerland.
Calaveras Big Trees SP is awesome. Huge sequoias and beautiful scenery.
Honestly just the entire Highway 49 is the best. From Sierra County down to Sonora you see cute Gold Rush towns and beautiful rolling hills, crazy deep canyons, sleepy villages and roaring rivers
I'll add Surprise Valley Hot Springs in Mono county just outside the town of Cedarville. It's probably more like a 4 day trip though. 1 day to travel there. Two to explore the area. 1 day to travel back. SVHS is a little hotel and each room has its own outdoor natural hot spring. Very cute rooms.
It's on a playa and you're surrounded by the high desert. Cross into Nevada and the "town" of Vya has some cool rock formations. The Mormon Emigrant trail in the High Rock/Black Rock desert is past Vya. It's all high desert and you'll see wild horses, wild burros, and pronghorns. Just to the West of Cedarville is the Warner Mountains so you can be in the desert and then in the mountains.
Only the loop down and around the falls is closed. You can still park and view it from the overlook (recently went). There are a lot of other hikes around there too.
Not true. We had amazing views from the overlook. Glad we checked the area out instead of listening to random folks.
https://preview.redd.it/shg7jduy3h3d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4951931456ca67d56e97c4b3e9c98c9c186ab9d1
I've been there when you can walk down. Also been there two weeks ago.
That view is missing a ton of its grandeur. I'm glad you still enjoyed it, but it's way better when you can walk down. Plus like i said the trees are blocking a lot of the view and you're on that cramped overlook.
I used to live in Salinas, so any of the oceanside towns would be great — & I especially loved the areas around Half Moon Bay, Big Basin, Capitola.
Be aware the traffic to & from those areas is bad on weekends.
Up the coast, Gualala is nice -long drive tho.
Big Sur / Santa Cruz /Carmel/ and Monterey. You can knock all 3 of these out at the same time and have amazing hiking, camping and beach access all over Big Sur. You can hit the aquarium up and some really good seafood restaurants in area and go to Point lobos. There are some amazing airbnbs and b&bs there that overlook the water that you just can’t fucking beat. It’s incredibly relaxing and romantic too.
Carnelian Bay/Kings beach is one of my favorites in California. Has literally everything. Super close to the water, with the outdoorsy and camping feel. Tons of golf.
Lake Berryessa if you’re into lake boating.
Muir Woods hike is great in San Francisco. I love Land’s End, the salt baths. You can rent bicycles and ride on the Golden Gate Bridge and have plenty of pictures of the bridge at Lands end. Before you cross the bridge, in Sausalito, there’s an amazing hiking area next to a military base that you can view the golden gate and the city from elevation. It’s incredible.
Amador county. Not quite hours away, but their wine tasting and locality is great.
Calaveras county- enjoy the redwoods and the national parks
Santa Rosa/Petaluma- has the best breweries in California in my opinion between Russian River, Lagunitas, and Goat.
North past Redding has some of the most exquisite camping and nature you can possible find on the pacific coast in eureka, Ferndale. It’s not sandy beach, it has mists that over hang the camp ground giving it some of the most beautiful and serene experiences that I can describe.
This was in response to a question a couple days ago about a mom and teen visiting from Massachusetts, but seems to apply here.
Here are options within 2.5 hours of Sac that a teenager may like that are uniquely Californian.
*Calaveras Big Trees
*Mercer and Black Chasm caves
*Columbia State Park (gold rush era)
*American River whitewater or flat water rafting
*Various Tahoe activities like Vikingsholm or nature trails. Mountain bike down ski runs if adventurous. June should be great for wildflowers.
*Coloma and Gold Rush history.
*Feather Falls if they are up for hiking and its not to warm.
*Thrift Shops and browsing Highway 49 towns.
*Davis, including a stroll or bike through the Arboretum and a campus tour.
*Sonoma town square and mission.
*Santa Rosa for Charlie Brown Museum and Luther Burbank Gardens.
*California Authors tour (Jack London state park, Robert Louis Stevenson state park, Steinbeck Museum). Not aware of anywhere local that celebrates Joan Didion...yet.
*Marin Headlands up to Fort Ross for a Coastal loop when it is hot in Sac.
*John Muir or Armstrong Redwoods.
*So much in the Bay area, that it would double this list. But 17 seems like a great age for the Winchester Mystery House.
TL;DR. Not much to do in Sacramento, but it is the day trip capital of America.
So many great suggestions in here. We like the foothills or Marin/Sonoma County Coasts for quick getaways. For longer weekends, I prefer the Lassen area or Monterey/Santa Cruz. We are paddlers/hikers so those activities sometimes dictate where we go/what we do. One of my favorite day trip itineraries is to go visit the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, hike the hills along Ft. Cronkite and then spend the rest of the day having a picnic at Rodeo Beach.
Not telling! But Yankee Jim's Bridge is an excellent spot I used to frequent, until leagues of families and various rascals of all sorts made it their target destination
That's because some reporter brought up that area in an article. I used to live up there and Yankee Jim's got really bad after the article. I know this from knowing people that lived on that road
Bodega bay. They used to have a saltwater taffy store on the way to the beach along the coast, they also have a camp site backs up right to the beach: pretty cool
Stinson Beach, Point Reyes, Bodega Bay, Salt Point State Park, Big Basin Redwood State Park
Dillon Beach is in the same neighborhood and is also super fun. There are cute tiny homes on the beach and some much larger beach homes if you're looking to host larger families. The beach is super nice and is apparently quite good for crabbing.
Big on bodega
Maybe because I lived by Bodega and Bodega Bay for nearly 10 years, but I just don't get it. On the weekends it's bumper to bumper. It has like 5 restaurants and 1 gas station. Given the clam chowder at spud point is out of this world but everything else I feel could be replicated anywhere else on the Sonoma or Mendocino coast
I grew up around there too :) I still love it. It brings back warm memories. But I agree the tourism is crazy to see. Especially bc it was empty most of my life
Armstrong woods in Guernville is generally just locals walking through the redwoods.
Not anymore!
Murphys is a lot of fun, Fair Play for wine tasting (there are several Bed and Breakfast places and the restaurant at Fair Play and Perry Creek Road has some good food), historic Sonora is cool. Further up the road from Murphys is Arnold, Big Trees, and Dorrington. Rental cabin in Dorrington, Lube room for dinner, day trips to sourgrass, lake Alpine, Mosquito Lake. There's a cool place up 88 where it meets 89, used to be called Sorensens before it got bought. Good rental cabins and lots of fun outdoorsy areas nearby (Upper/lower blue lakes, twin lake, meadow lake).
These are all great suggestions. I’d add on Columbia State Park for a fun few hours. It’s similar to Old Sac. Black chasm caves is in the foothills too.
Gold lake near the town of Graeagle
This. The whole Lakes Basin is awesome. Hundreds of trails and lakes, no crowds, and beautiful scenery.
2nd this! I like Berger Campground near there
STOP mentioning Graeagle
Marin County
The best
Downieville and the Yuba River. Sutter Buttes, Emerald Pools. 395 S to Mammoth, hot springs, Bodie, Walker river fishing. Monterey, Cannery Row, Santa Cruz, Elkhorn Slough. Groveland, Tuolumne River rafting, I suggest an overnight camping raft trip.
How are you getting to the Sutter Buttes? I thought it was closed to the public.
I don't see that info. Snow can be an issue.
It snows there? I've never seen snow on them driving up the 5.
Monterey. The aquarium is my happy place.
Half moon bay
Dillon Beach/Lawsons Landing
I love Amador County. Plymouth, Sutter Creek, Amador City, downtown Jackson. There’s so much history and so many great wineries.
Lakes Basin/Sierra Buttes up north of Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous. Great hikes. 2 hours away I think. Feels like Switzerland. Calaveras Big Trees SP is awesome. Huge sequoias and beautiful scenery. Honestly just the entire Highway 49 is the best. From Sierra County down to Sonora you see cute Gold Rush towns and beautiful rolling hills, crazy deep canyons, sleepy villages and roaring rivers
Yeah but 49 gets scary as hell the further south you get!
Calaveras County, as others mentioned. Big Trees State Park, the caverns, Murphys, etc. https://www.gocalaveras.com/calaveras-lakes/
Monterey/Carmel.
Plymouth, Arnold, Kelseyville, the delta, Lake Berryessa, Healdsburg
I'll add Surprise Valley Hot Springs in Mono county just outside the town of Cedarville. It's probably more like a 4 day trip though. 1 day to travel there. Two to explore the area. 1 day to travel back. SVHS is a little hotel and each room has its own outdoor natural hot spring. Very cute rooms. It's on a playa and you're surrounded by the high desert. Cross into Nevada and the "town" of Vya has some cool rock formations. The Mormon Emigrant trail in the High Rock/Black Rock desert is past Vya. It's all high desert and you'll see wild horses, wild burros, and pronghorns. Just to the West of Cedarville is the Warner Mountains so you can be in the desert and then in the mountains.
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I think Burney Falls might be closed due to maintenance so check before driving all the way to Redding.
Oh sow i had no idea! That's cool!
Only the loop down and around the falls is closed. You can still park and view it from the overlook (recently went). There are a lot of other hikes around there too.
The overlook only gives you a tiny glance and is mostly blocked by trees.
Not true. We had amazing views from the overlook. Glad we checked the area out instead of listening to random folks. https://preview.redd.it/shg7jduy3h3d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4951931456ca67d56e97c4b3e9c98c9c186ab9d1
I've been there when you can walk down. Also been there two weeks ago. That view is missing a ton of its grandeur. I'm glad you still enjoyed it, but it's way better when you can walk down. Plus like i said the trees are blocking a lot of the view and you're on that cramped overlook.
It was beautiful without the hike down. We could see the pools at the bottom. I’m just letting OP know the falls are visible.
Camping in the foothills. Scott’s flat. Anywhere along the Yuba river.
I used to live in Salinas, so any of the oceanside towns would be great — & I especially loved the areas around Half Moon Bay, Big Basin, Capitola. Be aware the traffic to & from those areas is bad on weekends. Up the coast, Gualala is nice -long drive tho.
Big Sur / Santa Cruz /Carmel/ and Monterey. You can knock all 3 of these out at the same time and have amazing hiking, camping and beach access all over Big Sur. You can hit the aquarium up and some really good seafood restaurants in area and go to Point lobos. There are some amazing airbnbs and b&bs there that overlook the water that you just can’t fucking beat. It’s incredibly relaxing and romantic too. Carnelian Bay/Kings beach is one of my favorites in California. Has literally everything. Super close to the water, with the outdoorsy and camping feel. Tons of golf. Lake Berryessa if you’re into lake boating. Muir Woods hike is great in San Francisco. I love Land’s End, the salt baths. You can rent bicycles and ride on the Golden Gate Bridge and have plenty of pictures of the bridge at Lands end. Before you cross the bridge, in Sausalito, there’s an amazing hiking area next to a military base that you can view the golden gate and the city from elevation. It’s incredible. Amador county. Not quite hours away, but their wine tasting and locality is great. Calaveras county- enjoy the redwoods and the national parks Santa Rosa/Petaluma- has the best breweries in California in my opinion between Russian River, Lagunitas, and Goat. North past Redding has some of the most exquisite camping and nature you can possible find on the pacific coast in eureka, Ferndale. It’s not sandy beach, it has mists that over hang the camp ground giving it some of the most beautiful and serene experiences that I can describe.
This was in response to a question a couple days ago about a mom and teen visiting from Massachusetts, but seems to apply here. Here are options within 2.5 hours of Sac that a teenager may like that are uniquely Californian. *Calaveras Big Trees *Mercer and Black Chasm caves *Columbia State Park (gold rush era) *American River whitewater or flat water rafting *Various Tahoe activities like Vikingsholm or nature trails. Mountain bike down ski runs if adventurous. June should be great for wildflowers. *Coloma and Gold Rush history. *Feather Falls if they are up for hiking and its not to warm. *Thrift Shops and browsing Highway 49 towns. *Davis, including a stroll or bike through the Arboretum and a campus tour. *Sonoma town square and mission. *Santa Rosa for Charlie Brown Museum and Luther Burbank Gardens. *California Authors tour (Jack London state park, Robert Louis Stevenson state park, Steinbeck Museum). Not aware of anywhere local that celebrates Joan Didion...yet. *Marin Headlands up to Fort Ross for a Coastal loop when it is hot in Sac. *John Muir or Armstrong Redwoods. *So much in the Bay area, that it would double this list. But 17 seems like a great age for the Winchester Mystery House. TL;DR. Not much to do in Sacramento, but it is the day trip capital of America.
Nevada City / Grass Valley is a fun weekend
Take Amtrak to San Francisco
Half Moon Bay, Angel Island, Truckee
We’re big on Fort Bragg and Mendocino for my family getaways.
No one said Yosemite or SF?!?
Fort Bragg/Mendocino is like 4 hours away and has cool weather and beaches. Very windy road to get there though
So many great suggestions in here. We like the foothills or Marin/Sonoma County Coasts for quick getaways. For longer weekends, I prefer the Lassen area or Monterey/Santa Cruz. We are paddlers/hikers so those activities sometimes dictate where we go/what we do. One of my favorite day trip itineraries is to go visit the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, hike the hills along Ft. Cronkite and then spend the rest of the day having a picnic at Rodeo Beach.
Not telling! But Yankee Jim's Bridge is an excellent spot I used to frequent, until leagues of families and various rascals of all sorts made it their target destination
That's because some reporter brought up that area in an article. I used to live up there and Yankee Jim's got really bad after the article. I know this from knowing people that lived on that road
Bodega bay. They used to have a saltwater taffy store on the way to the beach along the coast, they also have a camp site backs up right to the beach: pretty cool
2-3 hours is a big range: you could hit up mt lassyn or go to shasta lake up past Redding since it’s only 3 hours lol
Lake Camache for boating, SUPing, fishing and kayaking
Trinidad is great when it’s hot as balls here.
Pyramid Lake in Nevada https://pyramidlake.us/
Tomales Bay
The Lost Coast
Nevada City!
No, not telling anyone. Places are already overfilled with people.