San Francisco Road Trips


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The Road To Wine Country: A Day Trip

This is a great day trip to get away from the city since Napa Valley is only 50-60 miles away from San Francisco! Napa is a beautiful valley and you'll soon realize why they call it the "Land of Milk and Honey".

The trip: Take 101 north out of San Francisco and across the the Golden Gate Bridge. Since we want to start at the north end of the valley and then slowly head south back to the city drive to Santa Rosa (50-60 miles) and exit east on Highway 12.

Take Hgwy 12 east 5-7 miles through part of Santa Rosa and take a left on Petrified Forest Road the drive over the hills about 12 miles to Calistoga.
Calistoga is located on Hgwy 128 and we will head southeast to St. Helena, Oakville, Yountville and Napa where 128 turns into 29.

Beginning your Napa experience in Calistoga is ideal because it's beautiful and quaint and many of the top wineries like Sterling and Christian Brother's are just a few miles away. Don't forget to check out Calistoga's mud baths, shopping, and the Silverado Trail which parallels 128/29.
St Helena is a great little village too and known for it'dining as well as their nearby wineries. The rest of Napa Valley, all the way to Napa lies ahead and its possibilities are based on your exploration abilities. One more tip, this is a super place for a bicycle trip.

Getting you back: After Napa take hgwy 12 west out of Napa to 121 take a left (go south) to hgwy 37 take a right (go west) about 9 miles back to 101. Head south on 101 back to San Francisco.

Click here to view a Map of Napa Valley with all the wineries. Be sure to hit your browser's back button to get back to the Rental Car Guide!

Mount Tamalpais/Stinson Beach Half Day GetaWay

This is a fun, hilly, winding scenic view of the Pacific Ocean and even better in a convertible!

  • The Trip: Drive north out of San Francisco across The Golden Gate Bridge on hgwy 101. About 4-5 miles north of the bridge, exit on to highway 1 to Tamalpais Valley and Stinson Beach. Follow the signs to Stinson Beach. The ride takes about 25-35 minutes. After a walk on the beach, I like to backtrack the same way to San Francisco but if your adventuresome, go further north on highway 1 past Point Reyes Station.

    Other Map Goodies

  • Here's a map of Northern California. Be aware that this is a fairly slow graphic.
  • San Francisco Map


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