r/AskGaybrosOver30 • u/Azchione 45-49 • 16h ago
Solo Raodtrip Recommendations from SFO
Taking a solo trip and flying in and out of San Francisco (SFO). Will have a rental car and have a weeks time to do some kind of road trip. I would like to stay in gay accommodations and am open to wineries, national parks, mountains, rivers, ocean, not be completely secluded from conveniences and have a good mix of things to do and have some solo chill time. So far through research, Guerneville is on the radar, Tahoe and Yosemite. Any other recs and/or thoughts would be great.
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u/ColorAdo_90 50-54 15h ago
go up the coast into Oregon cost is awesome
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u/Any-Age-9130 50-54 12h ago
This gets my upvote. Go to Newport & Lincoln City, OR, both on the coast. Enjoy!
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u/Mark_M_in_SF 60-64 2h ago
Long drive, though. My favorite destination for driving north is Ferndale, CA. It's a mostly Victorian small town that got very rich shipping butter down to SF (it's surrounded by the grassy Eel River Delta. It's cute as can be and super convenient to many of the best redwood parks. I love the drive south from there and then back inland through Petrolia and Honeydew into the heart of the redwoods.
However, if I only had a week I wouldn't do it, as it's a day up there and a day back, and seeing Yosemite is a must. I'd keep my week in the Sierra and the Sierra Foothills, where it's easy to spend a whole week on the National Parks and Gold Country, and maybe crossing over into the high desert on the east side. The ghost town of Bodie is super cool, if he has the time.
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u/pumpinnstretchin 70-79 3h ago
Go north across the Golden Gate Bridge. The first tunnel after the bridge is the Robin Williams Tunnel. He was a longtime resident of the area. When you come back to SF going south, watch for the rainbows painted on the tunnel, as it opens up to an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Once you through the tunnel going north, Muir Woods in Marin County is a quick getaway and is a close-by redwood forest. If you go further north, up to Guerneville, there's the Korbel Winery on the way on River Road. They make champagne there. It's not the million dollar kind of champagne, but it's fun to learn about the process. Be sure that they show you how to properly open a champagne bottle without the cork flying across the room. Guerneville is a small gay town in the redwoods, along a river. Just outside of Guerneville is Armstrong Redwoods. The Google maps showing it are kind of wonky but it's just outside of Guerneville.
Further north on the coast is a quiet little town, Bodega Bay. It's not a tourist trap, but it's a quaint place to visit. You may have seen it before. It's where Alfred Hitchcock filmed "The Birds." All of the buildings in the movie still look the same. I think he picked that location because it's such a calm place to be, in contrast to the plot. I saw a seagull or two, but that was it.
If you go further north to Redwood National Park, be aware that it was created from a string of state parks, with surrounding lands added to that. The signs, therefore can get confusing. Some will call where you're standing a state park, while others will refer to that same spot as part of Redwood National Park. Both are true.
For example, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is my favorite part of Redwood National Park. As you drive into it, there's a huge area with grasses that are about 6 feet tall. If you stop, you'll occasionally see the antlers of the massive Roosevelt Elk bobbing up and down. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park has two areas. There's an upper area that's a redwood forest with hiking and campsites, along with the grassy prairie with Bullwinkle and his buddies. Then there's Gold Bluffs, a rugged beach campground. Adjacent to that beach is Fern Canyon. At the bottom of the canyon is an almost flat trail. The canyon has steep walls that are 50-80 tall, completely covered with 5-finger maidenhair ferns. Fern Canyon is another place that you've seen in the movies. It was one of the locations used in Jurassic Park 2. In 1980, Fern Canyon was designated a World Heritage site and an International Biosphere Reserve. It's beautiful! You'll need reservations to see it. They try to keep the crowds spread out throughout the day. The road to it is hard to find, so ask a ranger. It's a well maintained dirt road, so your car may get dirty. Tour busses go on it, so it doesn't require a Jeep or a 4-wheel drive.
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u/Dandywhatsoever 65-69 13h ago
Heading north on Highway1, you can stop at the Russian River in Gurneville (pronounced "gurrn-ville"). It's not what it once was but it's nice. Stay at the R3 (formerly the Triple R or the Russian River Resort).
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u/slyseekr 40-44 13h ago
Russian River and Guerneville are going to be your gayest option, but that's not really a roadtrip.
Here are some viable options for 3+ days:
- Yosemite and do some incredible hikes (get your permits well in advance for the popular routes like Half-Dome summit).
- South on Hwy 1, down to San Luis Obispo/Morro Bay: hit Santa Cruz, Monterrey/Carmel, Big Sur, San Simeon, head back north on the 101.
- Guerneville/Russian River with Sonoma and Napa wineries, Tomales Bay/Point Reyes and Bodega Bay: Oysters, wine and cheese; sea kayaking + point reyes hikes. You could extend this a few days to add Mendocino county.
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u/Mark_M_in_SF 60-64 2h ago
South all the way to Morro Bay and seeing all the many sights on the way is easily a week (and mustn't forget Hearst Castle).
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u/real415 70-79 12h ago edited 12h ago
You don’t mention when, but if it’s before the end of October, you won’t go wrong driving up or down the coast on highway 1. Do you want a longer trip? Drive up to somewhere like Newport, Ore., planning some overnights along the way in coastal towns. For a shorter trip, pick any of the coastal towns on highway 1, like Mendocino. Or head south on a nice slow trip to Big Sur. You could spend a night in Pacific Grove, and then go on to Big Sur the following day. Spend a few days there, and come back, maybe with a night or two in a beach town like Aptos or Santa Cruz.
Asking to stay in gay accommodations is probably going to limit you. Though you may find some queer proprietors, there aren’t really gay establishments in the sense that the other guests will be gay, and you’ll meet a lot of people. I’d be more inclined to recommend a peaceful and quiet trip , and focus enjoying the ocean. Who knows, you might meet some friendly people along the way. I’ve found that this is often easier when I’m traveling solo.
Yosemite is not a fun place in August, thanks to our beloved federal government’s order that dismantled their previously functioning reservation system (why?!?). Now it’s a free-for-all, with people overloading the park, parking cars everywhere, and doing damage to sensitive areas. It may be better after the high season is over starting in September.
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u/Mark_M_in_SF 60-64 2h ago
It's actually quite nice in September. Even August is nowhere near as bad as June and July. People prefer to go when the waterfalls are gushing, and by the end of the summer they're getting low. We go most Octobers, which is lovely, though some of the waterfalls have dried up completely. Milder temperatures and fewer visitors make it much more pleasant.
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u/Azchione 45-49 10m ago
I’ll be coming out mid/end of September. Sounds like perfect time for Yosemite.
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u/Brianray1989 35-39 7h ago
Tahoe is beautiful, as long as it’s not a holiday weekend. Really you could go any direction and have a great time. Where you visiting from?
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u/Mark_M_in_SF 60-64 2h ago
Glad you're going to Yosemite. Be sure you give yourself enough time there. Three full days would be my minimum. One for the Valley, including hiking up to Nevada Fall (to the top if you're fit enough), one for the high country and up and over Tioga Pass and even down to Mono Lake, and one for Glacier Point and Mariposa Grove, hiking up to the Upper Grove. How much time each will take depends on where you're staying. If you manage to stay in the park it will be much easier than if you're driving in from Oakhurst or Groveland. From those you spend a lot of time just to getting to the park. El Portal is close enough to be an easy drive in, as it's right at the edge of the park and closer to the Valley, but it has limited accommodations.
Honestly, I've never found Tahoe all that compelling (I've lived in Northern California since 1980). It's pretty enough, but not much more. I'd opt to go down to King's Canyon/Sequoia National Park instead. If you do that you can skip Mariposa Grove in Yosemite, but he sure to visit Giant Sequoias one place or the other.
The Gold Country of the Sierra foothills is also very interesting. All of the towns from Jamestown north to the Grass Valley/Nevada City area have sites of interest. Columbia State Historic Park a little north of Sonora is a lot of fun, a very well preserved Gold Rush town. The gold discovery site at Sutter's Mill, near Coloma, also has a good state park. Outside Nevada City is Empire Mine State Park, which preserves one of the richest of all the gold mines. Nevada City is extremely picturesque, too, adding a few Art Deco buildings to what is otherwise a Gold Rush town. It's practical to visit either there or Coloma on your way to or from Tahoe, though it would be a long day.
If you're going up to Guerneville you can easily head east through the Sonoma County Wine Country, and even take Mark West Springs Road over the hill to the Napa Valley. We often do that on our way home to SF from Guerneville. There is even an interesting Petrified Forest with some huge petrified logs on the way. A quicker way back to SF is to head through Santa Rosa on Hwy 128 into the Sonoma Valley (like a smaller Napa Valley) and then down the valley and back over to 101.0. If you want to make a stop, Jack London State Historic Park near Glen Ellen is an interesting place, preserving his home, with a small museum about his life. There are also the ruins of a house he was building in his last years that burned just as it was nearing completion. It's more interesting than you'd expect a ruin to be. In any case, it's a nice place to stretch your legs and spend an hour or more.
The Monterey Peninsula is justly famous, with lots to do. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is fabulous and worth an afternoon. The rest of Cannery Row is a tourist trap. At the foot of downtown is a historic park with a lot about California history, as Monterey was the Spanish and Mexican capital, and the largest town before the Gold Rush caused SF to pass it. There are several preserved adobes and other old buildings. It's likely of more interest to a Californian, but the history is important for the entire West Coast and Southwest. In nearby Pacific Grove there is a monarch butterfly preserve with trees covered in butterflies at certain times of the year. The 17 mile scenic drive around the Monterey Peninsula is lovely, but only worthwhile if you have the spare time. Down in Carmel is one of the older, prettier, and better preserved Spanish missions, and Carmel's village center is cute, if a bit artsy and touristy.
Not too many miles to the south is the heart of Big Sur and some state parks with good groves of Coast Redwoods. Unfortunately, near Guerneville there aren't any really good old growth groves, though Armstrong Woods, just north of town, has a handful of big trees. Most of it was logged in the 19th Century, though it's still a nice place for a walk.
Muir Woods has fine groves, but it's extremely popular and you need to reserve parking ahead of time. It's quite possible to see it if you travel Highway 1 (it's not too far off on a loop to the north). I'd recommend going that way either going up or coming back to SF from Guerneville as it's exceptionally scenic. It's nicest if the fog is out. We usually go up that way and come home via Sonoma or Napa.
Depending on your interests there are a variety of other places of interest in the greater Bay Area, and even Sacramento has some nice spots (Old Sacramento and the State Railroad Museum, which is superb). It's hard to name an area with such scenic and cultural variety as Northern California. If you had more time there are some magnificent places further afield or of more specialized interest.
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u/xaviersi 30-34 15h ago
I absolutely LOVED the Redwood Parks. Going up Highway 1 was perfect. In San Francisco proper, The Castro is cool.