Planning a SF Bay Area Trip

[CoreySamson]

So this June I have an opportunity to go to a friend's wedding in the SF Bay Area, so I've been loosely planning a road itinerary to follow while I'm there. I'm going to be flying there and using a rental car, so no massive road trip, but I still want to see the sights of the area, as I have never been to the SF Bay Area before. Here's my current plan:

Day 1: Arrive late and drive to hotel
Day 2: Explore Bay Area in AM/early PM and attend wedding in PM
Day 3: Leave early in the morning

I'm aiming to get a hotel somewhere in the Dublin/Livermore area, and I'll likely be flying in in San Jose. My itinerary for Day 2 currently looks like a big loop, starting on the west side of the Bay, driving north around San Pablo Bay, and taking US 101 into San Francisco and back down to San Jose before returning to the Livermore area. If I have extra time to burn on Day 1 or 3 I may try to fit in something else, like visiting Sacramento.

My current roadgeek to-do list items are:
- An I-238 clinch
- Visiting the Golden Gate Bridge
- Visiting Christmas Tree Point
- Checking out part of CA 1

Since it has been 10 years since I've been to Cali, I have a lot of questions. What are some cool roads to visit in the Bay Area? Any iconic button copy signs still in the Bay Area? Where are some places to avoid (either for crime, closures, or traffic)? Any other pointers?

[Max Rockatansky]

Pretty much all the state highways in the Santa Cruz Mountains are worth your time.  The Shoreline Highway segment of CA 1 and CA 130 to Mount Hamilton are high on my list. 

If you want some high level old highway alignments, I recommend:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/former-california-state-route-24.html?m=1

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/07/former-california-state-route-1-over.html?m=1

Some other stuff I like in the area that is more local:

-  All the road stuff associated with Marin Headlands.
-  The Ss on Vermont Street in San Francisco.
-  All the street tunnels in San Francisco.
-  Panoramic Highway over Mount Tamalpais

[CoreySamson]

Pretty much all the state highways in the Santa Cruz Mountains are worth your time.  The Shoreline Highway segment of CA 1 and CA 130 to Mount Hamilton are high on my list. 

If you want some high level old highway alignments, I recommend:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/former-california-state-route-24.html?m=1

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/07/former-california-state-route-1-over.html?m=1

Some other stuff I like in the area that is more local:

-  All the road stuff associated with Marin Headlands.
-  The Ss on Vermont Street in San Francisco.
-  All the street tunnels in San Francisco.
-  Panoramic Highway over Mount Tamalpais

Interesting, thank you! I am definitely going to check out a few mountain roads. I probably won't have time to check out old alignments, but definitely interesting.

[gonealookin]

I always loved the view (on a clear enough day) when driving westbound SR 24.  After coming out of the Caldecott Tunnel you round a curve and approaching SR 13 you get a fantastic view of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco.

SR 13 itself is a funky old freeway mostly unmodified since original construction.  From the short I-238, maybe take I-580 to SR 13, drive the length of the SR 13 freeway portion, head east on SR 24 through the Caldecott Tunnel to Orinda and then double back westbound on 24 to take in that view.

[DTComposer]

Agree on the Santa Cruz Mountains roads. CA-35 from CA-92 to CA-17 is nice, with any of the routes connecting the coast to inland along the way (CA-84, CA-9, CA-17 if you're prepared).

Close to where you're staying, CA-84 through Niles Canyon (I-680 near Sunol to Mission Boulevard in Fremont) might be interesting.

There's still a fair amount of button copy along I-680 and I-280 around downtown San Jose, between the I-280/I-880/CA-17 and Alum Rock Avenue.

If you want one particular sign, the reassurance sign for US-101 southbound at the Rengstorff overpass in Mountain View. Button copy, green US-101 shield, green-out over what was "BYPASS" (when US-101 was still on El Camino Real), so it likely dates to 1961 when the interchange was built.
Almost every other sign on US-101 from San Francisco to San Jose has been replaced - it's like Caltrans knew to leave this one for the historical interest.

The I-880/US-101 interchange is of note since it is essentially unchanged from 1959 and woefully inadequate for today's traffic (it was woefully inadequate for 1980 traffic).

[kernals12]

Nobody's brought up Point Reyes, weird.

Anyways, in Danville, which is just up the road from Dublin, there's the Blackhawk auto museum.

[Max Rockatansky]

Nobody's brought up Point Reyes, weird.

Anyways, in Danville, which is just up the road from Dublin, there's the Blackhawk auto museum.

Point Reyes is completely worth it, but not exactly a short hop for someone on a time crunch.  All the same, I suggested several sad little coastal bluff roads on the Marin County side of the Bay. 

[DTComposer]

Nobody's brought up Point Reyes, weird.

That's because we were actually paying attention to the OP, their time frame, base location, and desired type of sights. Did you even read their post?

[TheStranger]

Looking at this, just realized you might have time to do a little side visit of...the tiny Route 77 freeway in Oakland that isn't even a mile long, yet is better signed than some much more important state routes! 

[pderocco]

Looking at this, just realized you might have time to do a little side visit of...the tiny Route 77 freeway in Oakland that isn't even a mile long, yet is better signed than some much more important state routes! 

When you get to the east end, though, turn around. Otherwise, you'll wind up in the ugliest, nastiest, most dystopian slum in the state of California, IMO. If you want an interesting short route in that area, CA-260 goes through two tunnels between Alameda and Oakland, one for each direction.

[Max Rockatansky]

Looking at this, just realized you might have time to do a little side visit of...the tiny Route 77 freeway in Oakland that isn't even a mile long, yet is better signed than some much more important state routes! 

When you get to the east end, though, turn around. Otherwise, you'll wind up in the ugliest, nastiest, most dystopian slum in the state of California, IMO. If you want an interesting short route in that area, CA-260 goes through two tunnels between Alameda and Oakland, one for each direction.

Which is signed as CA 61 for some reason.  Northbound through the Posey Tubes even yields a view at an END 61 placard. 

https://flic.kr/p/2eAXCHQ

[citrus]

That's a short trip for all that you're looking to do! But feasible if you mostly want to drive and see roads.  I would add a suggestion for CA-1 north of the Golden Gate Bridge. There are some amazing stretches to drive along the coast.

In SF, the new-ish Golden Gate Bridge approach with the tunnels and park is really cool, both to drive through and to visit the parks.

There isn't anywhere in the Bay Area I would specifically avoid at all costs, although there are some rougher areas (Tenderloin, East Oakland as previously mentioned etc.). My advice is not to leave anything in your car at all, and that goes for the rougher areas as well as the nicer ones too. Break-ins can still be an issue although much less so than 2-3 years ago.

[CoreySamson]

Just came back from this trip, but sadly, the roadgeeking aspects of it got downplayed in favor of spending more time with friends. I ended up hitching rides from the airport with friends to save money. But I still managed to get some interesting mileage, witness some ancient button-copy signs on I-680 and I-880 and even secure a clinch of CA 262.

I still want to thank everyone for their input in this thread; I will probably be back in the Bay Area for vacation sometime in my life, so I'll make sure to keep these suggestions in the back of my mind!