San Francisco Travel Forum

I will have two days to get from SF to Sacramento and would like to see the great outdoors. What I am looking for are the recocomnedations on wha is worth checking out. I would like to:

See the cost and parks along the Marin County ocean front - right across Golden Gate
Possibly visit a winery or two
Check out some scenery and take pictures

As I mentioned previously I have two full days and have to end up in Sacramento at the end of the trip.

SO the questions are:

1. What is the best route to take? For Example Mendocino - Santa Rosa - Lake Tahoe (or maybe Eldorado's State Park) - Sacramento ?

2. I would like to stay at some decent places (no motel 6 or scary looking bb's :) ) and be in proximity of good food (not mcdonalds)

3. Should I even try to encompass all of those destinations in one weekend or would it make more sense to spend extra day in SF and the next day somewhere in the wine county with the drive along the coast?

3. I dont want to spend excessive amounts of time driving. I don't mind a 2-3 hour ride a day but nothing more preferably.

You can't drive from SF to Mendocino to Lake Tahoe to Sacramento in two days of 3 hour drives. You could drive up the coast to Bodega Bay one day (make sure you rent "The Birds" before you go), then to Sacramento via Santa Rosa and either the Napa or Sonoma Valleys the next. Your second day might be a hair over 3 hours, but it won't be too bad. Lake Tahoe is a 2 hour drive (each way) on the other side of Sacramento.

Here is a more detailed question. What is worth seeing? Its a 3 hour drive from SF to Mendocino - should I spent that time elsewhere? I have been to SF but never visited northern California. SO i guess i am looking for recommendations son what to see considering time frames and destination.

Like where are the best ocean views?
What to see in the wine country?
Should I go to all the way to Mendocino?
Or Lake Tahoe?
Or some parks along the way?

Like ACPrincess says, Tahoe is too far.
I'd recommend going north and spending a little time at Pt. Reyes. There are great ocean views, a windy lighthouse location and good landscape scenery. Then, as mentioned earlier, a stop in Bodega Bay. Go north to Mendocino. This would be a good place for the overnight. There are plenty of scenic ocean views and some good State Parks nearby. Then take the highway inland through the Anderson Valley, where you will find some great little wineries that are highly acclaimed but a bit far from the heavily traveled wine tour areas of Napa and Sonoma. Check out Navarro winery, for example. One of my favorites for pinot noir and rieslings. Return to SF by highway 101. Visit Marin if you have time: Tiburon, or Angel Island, or Mount Tam.
Great little road trip.

I don't think you need to go as far north as Menedocino.
I recommend going up along the coast as far as Jenner and head back in land to the town of Guerneville in Sonoma which is one of the major wine regions in California.
You could go across the Golden Gate Bridge, and head to the Marin Headlands (beautiful views back across to SF) but you'll have to keep a good eye out for the turnoff right after you clear the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Lots of places to visit such as the Lighthouse or the beach or the Mammal Rescue Center.
Then you could visit the touristy town of Sausalito or as above, Tiburon where you can also catch a ferry across to Angel Island.
Or after Sausalito, follow the scenic Highway 1 to Muir Woods for a hike among the redwoods before continuing on coastal route Highway 1 to Tomales Bay, Bodega Bay, and then Jenner where the Russian River Valley enters the Pacific Ocean. There are quite a number of wineries in Sonoma to visit and you could probably spend a night here. HOwever, this would be more than 3 hours of driving per day but would make for a highly scenic 2 day trip.

It will be best to go over Bay Bridge (I-80) towards Sacramento. If you go this direction then you can also visit Wine Country on the way. This will be the most direct route. You can also go over the Golden Gate Bridge (Hwy 101 North)and visit Sausalito, Muir Woods, Wine Country and then cross over to I-80 for Sacramento.