The family and I are thinking about visiting California around the first week of April. We are thinking of spending the last 3 nights in San Francisco and will hopefully be visiting family for another 2 nights in the San Jose (Ben lomond) region. So we are looking at things to do for another 4 nights. We are happy looking at accommodation our selves but seeing if anyone can recommend areas to consider we know Yosemite is about 3.5 hours away but not too sure on weather early April. Will be myself, wife and 6 year old son. Wife is definitely not interested in biking or any too strenuous walking.

Yosemite is great. A night at Evergreen Lodge is recommended. You make even get some snow. Had that last time I was there in April.

Monterey Bay aquarium would be my choice for a 6 yo. And of course great whale watching should be in season.

SF itself is very pleasant and I’ve been half a dozen times. But Monterey would be more fun for your child.

So much to do!

Santa Cruz and the coast there definitely worth a visit. Some great mountain biking and road biking, but you could also rent a beach cruiser and cycle around the beach front.

If you’re in SF itself, you can easily spend a day at Alcatraz (book ahead). Back on the mainland, your 6 year old son will doubtless be very happy with a tour of the submarine.

I went to Yosemite in April and the roads were kind of open and kind of a bit snowy. It’s a long drive, but worth it.

Also what TiRed said.

The higher roads are likely to be closed around Yosemite but see as you wouldn’t be passing through you might be OK.
If you don’t want to go too far afield you could happily spend a couple of days in Marin County, go up Mt Tam, see the MTB museum in Fairfax and head up to Point Reyes station for a wild beach walk including watching for some straggler whales (and some good food at the town – there’s a great dairy and bakery). The head up and east to go wine tasting in Sonoma, then make your back to SF via Berkeley/Oakland.

Second for Monterey and the aquarium. 17 mile drive is also a nice way to spend a few hours, I really liked Monterey and spent a few days there and Carmel (something about Clint Eastwood too from memory). Wanted to do route 1 but it mostly closed when we were there from the floods a few years back; could make it to Bixby Canyon Bridge though.

Computer museum in Mountain View if you’re interested in old computers. It’s got some amazing stuff.

Ride Boy Scouts (MTB trail in Marin) & Repack.
Alcatraz.
Tahoe.
Take the ferry to Sausalito for dinner.
Road bike Mt Tam & Seven Sisters.
Hill reps on the Marin Headlands.
Run round the Presidio, Baker Beach & the sand ladder.
MOMA.
Warming Hut on Chrissy Field.
Buy Peets Coffee.
Drink weird IPA.
I could go on – I used to live there….loved it..

Sounds like it is a good choice for us then. Plenty of research to do!

We went last Feb, had some great tips here –

Clicky

Had a great time – we hired e-bikes from something like Basically Free Bike Hire, or something like that. Neither of us had done much cycling but e-bikes made it easy to ride all day, plus the “basically free” bit meant we could redeem the price of the bike hire at an outdoor goods shop, so new clothes and a nice back pack (they stocked Pearl Izumi, amongst many other brands, love their stuff). Great trip, loved it there. 🙂

Yosemite is really fabulous but with road closures still in place you won’t see everything and there will be limited hiking anyway. But you can see the valley, the redwoods and some waterfalls in April I would think.

I would head south to Monterey. Stop at Moss Landing to kayak on the estuary with sea otters. Aquarium, whale watching. And then a bit of Highway 1 towards Big Sur.

Or head inland to Napa / Sonoma / Calistoga. Calistoga has hot springs and spa hotels.

Driving between SF and Yosemite we stopped at Santa Rosa for the Charles Schulz/Snoopy Museum.

Home

Theres a kite eating tree out the back and nearby there is a baseball pitch (with Snoopy’s kennel as the ticket sales but) and an Ice-Skating rink that Schulz paid for. 🙂

Sonoma is nice for wine related mooching. There’s also Stockton but we stopped there at a McDonalds and it looked like gang warfare was about to kick off…..

Some great info above.

I’d add renting a kayak at moss landing / Elkhorn slough and paddling up the estuary to hang out with the sea otters. Super easy and something your 6 year old will love!

For a 6yr old the Monterey aquarium would be ideal as would be watching the whales and otters in the bay. We were there this summer and there were over 150 humpbacks in the bay. Amazing. Not sure what the time you are looking at though. Also a walk round the Muirwoods redwoods is great. I’d give the 17mile drive a miss. It’s OK but really a great views? No.

The view of the Yosemite valley after you drive through the tunnel is one of the wonders of the natural world – you should definitely try and see that at least once.

Redwood National Park, for some giant tree action. Might be a bit too far for a one day trip though

Mystery Spot

Roaring Camp Rallroads

Wooden rollercoasters at Santa Cruz boardwalk

Santa Cruz surfing museum

Another vote for Alcatraz, the audio tour is by ex inmates and guards, very atmospheric.

Hire bikes and ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito then catch the ferry back to SF.

The drive up to Mill Valley in Marin County is very scenic too.

Another vote for Alcatraz, the audio tour is by ex inmates and guards, very atmospheric.

It’s 25 years since I went but I still remember that trip, well worth doing. Hanging on the outside of the trams was fun too.

With a little one in tow may I suggest the exploratourium, enjoyable as an adult & the kids I know who have been loved it.

Have done SF a few times. My wife has relatives in the Bay Area and its a great place to visit. Things for SF would definitely be Alcatraz, mooching around on the trams, cycling across Golden Gate Bridge and ferry back (even my non cycling wife loved that).

Relatives love going to Tahoe so that might be worth a look though we did a round trip of LA, Las Vegas, Yosemite one time taking in Bryce Canyon and Arches NP on the way and didn’t have time to get up to Tahoe.

Otherwise down the coats to Santa Cruz and Carmel sounds like the best option

Another vote for Repack adn Marin – the home of mtbing.

Napa Valley is worth a trip if you like decent wine – Stag’s Leap is a good one.

JP

Muirwoods National Monument is worth a visit – get there early and walk a short way from the carpark, the mist hanging in the trees make it a totally magical place.

The drive down the valley to PCH is pretty nice too, plus the drive back towards SF and Golden Gate on the coast road.

Point Reyes is good too – elephant seals down on the beach and maybe a spot of what watching (depending on time of year)

To the south Monterey is great – sea otters and the aquarium. Carmel so-so ( and you won’t see Clint in the Hogs Breath Tavern. It is now very Chi-Chi and full of art galleries with crap art.
Santa Cruz is a complete shit-hole ( apart from being the home of SC bikes and the “home” of US surfing. The boardwalk/ roller coaster will be closed until Easter – and the whole are looks like a less well funded Margate.
In San Francisco there is a great way of seeing all the sites via “Vantago” – in a VW Combi-van.
Alcatraz is great.
Mount Tamalpas/ Muirwoods/ Marin County, home of mountain biking is worth a visit as is Sausalito. Either by ferry or over the GGB.
Yosemite would be worth going – if you have the time.

Fisherman’s Wharf is best avoided – there are better places.
get a copy of “on the Road” by Jack Kerouac and hang out in the Vesuvio Bar…

Coit tower and Lombard Street if you are walking around San Fran