Do you have suggestions for a 4 or 5 day trip in and around San Francisco in mid march. We love to hike and explore?

There are a number of wonderful trips you can take from S.F.

!) Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County, stopping at Muir Woods and Mt. Tamilapais (good hiking at Mt. Tam). Check out Sausalito for lunch. End up at Pt. Reyes National Park and stay in a B & B in Inverness or Orleans or Pt. Reyes Station for two nights. Nice little towns and great hiking at Pt. Reyes and Samuel P. Taylor State Park. If you like, you can continue from there up to the Napa Valley for winetasting, eating and exploring. Nice hot springs in Calistoga: great towns are Sonoma, St. Helena, etc. Don’t miss Armstrong Woods in the Russian River Valley for a redwood forest that is not that crowded.

2) Head south on Hwy 101 to Monterrey (great aquarium and Steinbeck atmosphere), Carmel (gorgeous gentrified town) and Half Moon Bay – great seaside and seafood. Hit Anna Nueva State Park for scenic views and elephant seals. You can continue to Big Sur for scenery or cut inland to San Juan Bautista (sp?) a Spanish mission town and the site of the climax in Vertigo.

3) Go west to Yosemite National Park which is spectacular but you would have to check on snow conditions in March.

You might catch whales migrating north at Anna Nueva and Point Reyes but it might be too late for them.

(I’ve also heard that Mendocino is lovely but haven’t been there.)

4) Take me with you!

janbb knows her northern california coastline.

“Hike” up Telegraph Hill and check out the feral parrots.