San Francisco Day Trip
If you want to do a few things in San Francisco that not everyone else is doing, we have a few ideas for you including visiting the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, hiking Lands End Coastal Trail, shopping and lunch at the Ferry Building, and an ebike ride along the Embarcadero to Crissy Field.
You can do each of them individually, make a half day of two of them, or have an action-packed day filled with culture, nature, food, and beautiful scenery. We did them all in a day and had a great time.
Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, San Francisco
Activity 1: Legion of Honor
We started our day at the Legion of Honor because it’s usually easy to park there, the museum collections and special exhibits remind us of Europe, and the cafe has tasty treats and coffee, not to mention the two gift shops on the lower level with fantastic selections of items ranging from art books, jewelry, home decor, children’s items, and things to commemorate your visit to the museum. It’s not really near anything other than the Lands End Coastal Trail so it’s not something you’ll just happen to walk by unlike the MOMA downtown.
Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy exhibit (2022-2023)
The Legion of Honor is located at 100 34th Avenue (at Clement Street) and is open Tuesday-Sunday. There are always special exhibits on display with a separate entry fee for the primary one on the lower level. They are always good and the audio tours are worth the extra price.
The Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy (2022-2023) was spectacular and the most recent Botticelli Drawing exhibition was unique in the way it showed his preparatory drawings and the final masterpieces. Last summer, the Legion of Honor had the distinction of being the “sole West Coast venue for the first major exhibition of Tudor portraiture, textiles, sculpture, silver, jewelry, and manuscripts in the United States.”
Check the website for special events before you go and while tickets and reservations are no longer required, they are recommended.
Pastries at the Legion of Honor cafe.
Don’t miss the lovely pastries and coffee (and other food and drinks including adult beverages) which is directly across from the main gift shop.
View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Lincoln Highway and Lands End Coastal Trail
Activity 2: Lands End Coastal Trail
Just to the right of the museum (as you are looking at the front), is the Lincoln Highway and a short walk to the trailhead for the Lands End Coastal Trail. This is a great activity to do with the Legion of Honor since it too is off the beaten path. We clocked it as a 1.5 mile loop beginning and ending at the Legion of Honor’s Holocaust Memorial (which is small but powerful and worth a few moments of reflection).
Cross the street at the Holocaust Memorial and walk north-east-ish toward the Golden Gate Bridge and you’ll reach the trailhead. Make a left and follow the trail until you hit a fork in the road and head up the hill, through the golf course back to the start.
The views of the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate Bridge, and rugged coastline are incomparable and it’s a moderate hike. We don’t recommend fancy shoes or heels but hiking boots/attire are not required. Be sure to stop and take in the view (especially if you need to take your breath on some of the stairs).
Activity 3: Ferry Building
All the way across town is the Ferry Building which is back to its bustling busyness with new shops and restaurants to replace some that left during the pandemic. Some days there is a farmers market out front and on other days there is a food truck / pop up vibe.
Inside there are shops and restaurants well worth exploring. While Cowgirl Creamery and Sur la Table have left the property, Miette Patisserie, Heath Ceramics, Hog Island Oysters, Book Passage, and Blue Bottle Coffee remain.
View of the Bay Bridge from the back of the Ferry Building
Be sure to venture to the back of the Ferry Building to take in the views of the Bay, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge.
Lyft bikes for rent across from the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero
Activity 4: Lyft eBikes Along the Embarcadero
On a beautiful day, riding a bicycle along the Embarcadero is a great way to appreciate the beauty of the Bay and this part of San Francisco. It’s mostly flat with one hill that is totally manageable with an ebike. There are bike lines that provide added protection from what may appear to be a pretty busy road.
View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Field
We rode down to Crissy Field where there was a spot to park the Lyft ebikes in front of Presidio Building 603. If you do all of these activities in the same day, you’ll get to see the Golden Gate Bridge from both the ocean side and the Bay side. If you watched our video on Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, you’ll know how I (Terri) feel about the Golden Gate Bridge. Regardless of the weather, she’s gorgeous.
It’s easy to call an Uber or Lyft from Presidio Building 603 or you can turn around and head back the way you came or explore the Presidio. At this point in our day I was ready for a snack so we hopped in an Uber and headed back to the car with our fingers crossed that we didn’t have a ticket since we’d exceeded the 4 hour parking time limit.
There really is so much to see and do in San Francisco and sometimes we want to do something that other people aren’t doing. Or we need to combine activities that I like (museums, food, wine) with those that Zeke likes (cycling, hiking, outdoorsy shit).
Let us know if you give any of these a try and what your favorite parts were.
Be sure to check out our YouTube video on this very topic for more visuals and explanations.