4 Exciting Activities to Drive to In Your Campervan In the San Francisco Area
It’s known as the “Golden Gate City” and “The Paris of the West.” San Francisco is a beautiful city famous the world over for its perfect weather, fascinating history, famous museums, and diverse culture. While you are visiting, you will find plenty of diversions right downtown.
But there are whole lot of activities in the area surrounding San Francisco as well which you will not want to miss. When you rent a motorhome or 4WD camper, you can take a drive to these exciting nearby destinations. Here are a few recommendations.
1. Mission San Francisco Solano State Historic Park
If you drive around an hour and 20 minutes north from city center, you will reach a popular destination called Mission San Francisco Solano State Historic Park. This park actually consists of six different sites close to the Sonoma Plaza. Along with the Mission San Francisco Solano, founded in 1823, the park also includes the Sonoma Barracks, the Blue Wing Inn, the Toscano Hotel & Kitchen, the Servants Quarters, and General Vallejo’s Home. It is a great opportunity to learn all about the history of the area.
2. Shark Experience
Heading north about an hour out of the San Francisco city center, you will reach the Shark Experience at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. While the amusement park itself is popular, the Shark Experience is among its most highly rated attractions. Walk through an underwater tunnel as numerous different types of sharks swim around you in a 300,000 gallon tank. You’ll find few other opportunities to get this close to some of nature’s most beautiful predators.
3. The Haggin Museum
Around an hour and a half to the east of the city is the Haggin Museum in Stockton. While this museum attracts its fair share of visitors each year, it tends to be somewhat overlooked next to some of the more well-known destinations in and around San Francisco.
The museum is located inside a beautiful historic brick building situated in Victory Park. Inside, you can view exhibits from a range of artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of these include Pierre-Auguste Renoir, William Bouguereau, and Jean Béraud, to name a few. Both the exhibits and the grounds here are well worth exploring, and can easily fill up an afternoon.
4. California Cavern State Historic Landmark
Driving further to the east, you will come upon California Cavern State Historic Landmark right near the edge of Stanislaus National Forest. Here you can embark on walking tours as well as spelunking expeditions into the depths of the caves to look at rare crystal formations. There are also some other fun activities you can do in the area, including tours of other nearby caves as well as zip line adventures. Don’t forget that this is also the gateway to some of the most majestic parkland in the country just to the east. So if you have some extra time, keep driving and exploring in your 4WD camper or motorhome.
You can see now that while there is much to do in downtown San Francisco, the area surrounding the city boasts a lot of fantastic destinations as well. So plan a few day trips around the region while you are visiting the Golden Gates City.
