San Francisco, CA
We were excited to spend 7 nights in San Francisco! I have a cousin who lives there and we had visited him several years ago without the kids, and loved the city. This time we were glad the kids could experience how awesome San Fran is!
Where We Stayed
We stayed at San Francisco RV Resort, which is a Thousand Trails park located in Pacifica. Pacifica is right nest to San Francisco. The “resort” is a parking lot situated on the cliffs in Pacifica. It’s right on the ocean, but there isn’t access to the beach below. It’s a very small beach area with rocks, and the tide comes in so quickly that many people have been washed out to sea from being taken by surprise as the tide comes in, and they can’t get away in time.
Also, the cliffs have started eroding, forcing them to block off the RV spaces that backed up to the water. There are now several layers of fences where those prime spots were. So you do have nice views of the water… through the fences! The spaces are very tight, but the pull throughs we were in were long, so you could stagger with your neighbors, making it not seem quite as tight.
There is a pool and a playground, which were bonuses. Also, a grocery store and very small brewery were walking/biking distance from the park, so that was super convenient! We loved seeing beautiful sunsets on the evenings that were clear- San Fran is known for their fog and clouds, so not every sunset could be seen! There is a gate at the edge of the park that opens to a walking trail above the cliffs, and there are benches along the path that you can sit and just watch the waves roll in and see the sunsets! We enjoyed that a lot.
As for things we did while we were there….
Golden Gate Park
We walked around Golden Gate Park, which is similar but larger than Central Park in NYC! Large grassy areas playgrounds, trails, windmills, and even a bison paddock! Seeing the large creatures was cool! During the week there was plenty of free street parking in the park.
Baker Beach
We visited Baker Beach to get some great views of the Golden Gate Bridge! It was a really pretty day and parking was scarce, but we got lucky after circling a few times and snagged a spot (free). We started walking down the beach and I was later focused on capturing the Golden Gate Bridge. All of a sudden, I noticed an old, wrinkly naked man wearing only a fanny pack walking right towards us! I had to do a double take! I just figured he had escaped from the nursing home and was delusional. Poor man.
Then Calista said, “mommy, why is that girl naked?”
I stopped to look around and realized that there were a LOT of naked people all around us on the beach… then it hit me… we must be at a nude beach! That was unexpected! Sorry for judging you, “nursing home man.” We turned around and headed back the way we came from!
Sutro Baths
We were able to meet up with my cousin, Peter one day and visit Sutro Baths. We climbed and played among the ruins and had a great time.
One of our favorite things we did in San Francisco was drive over to Muir Woods. Such an incredible National Monument. Our first time seeing Redwoods was amazing! We walked through the forest in awe at the huge trees surrounding us! You do have to have to go online and make a reservation to enter, as parking is limited. There is no cell reception in Muir Woods. We met Peter in Sausalito (one of my favorite little towns ever) for dinner on the water, which was beautiful and a great way to end the day.
The kids earned Junior Ranger badges at Muir Woods as well as at Fort Point. That was a neat experience. There is SO much history there. It’s located underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Casen was even asked to assist with lowering the flag before they closed for the evening while we were there. He loved that!
The final place we had to visit while there were the Painted Ladies. The row of houses in the opening of the old sitcom “Full House!” That was pretty cool and there’s a fun little playground right there the kids enjoyed as well!
We had a great time and made some great memories. There is SO much to do in San Fransisco and we haven’t even scratched the surface. I know we’ll be back!