Where to go in Cali (near San Fran/Yosemite)

Just wondering what suggestions people had. I will be in Cali in the middle of November for work and figured I would go early and stay late to get two weekends to shoot. I've got a good list of places to go already, but I was wondering what my fellow photographers were thinking an 'east coast' person shouldn't pass up.

Basically I'll arrive in San Fran around 10pm Friday night, have till late Sunday night or early Monday to be back for work... and then I'll be off sometime Thursday... so I'll have ALL of Friday and Saturday to shoot and get back Sunday for my mid-afternoon flight home. So not a ton of time... but I think I should can do plenty with it

Thanks in advance for any input!

DLitton wrote in post #16168358
Just wondering what suggestions people had. I will be in Cali in the middle of November for work and figured I would go early and stay late to get two weekends to shoot. I've got a good list of places to go already, but I was wondering what my fellow photographers were thinking an 'east coast' person shouldn't pass up.

Basically I'll arrive in San Fran around 10pm Friday night, have till late Sunday night or early Monday to be back for work... and then I'll be off sometime Thursday... so I'll have ALL of Friday and Saturday to shoot and get back Sunday for my mid-afternoon flight home. So not a ton of time... but I think I should can do plenty with it

Thanks in advance for any input!

There are two things you shouldn't miss, but they're across the Golden Gate. One is John Muir Woods, a stand of old growth redwoods - the tall ones. The second is a rather dynamic environment, but can be fun. If you head for Mount Tamalpais, you can drive a road that basically runs along the top of the coast range, which separates the weather of the inside of the GG from the weather of the Pacific Ocean. This is almost always interesting. You can, for example, be above the clouds/fog that are coming in from the (very cold) Pacific standing in bright sunshine, looking down at the tops of the clouds - you can watch the wind whip the clouds through the hills and across the road, or you might be able to get the top of the Golden Gate sticking out of the fog - or in complete sunshine. You can walk the Golden Gate, by the way. (take a warm jacket).

Santa Cruz and its boardwalk are straight south of San Francisco - with an antique carousel and lots of stuff to see. It's supposedly the original Surf City.

Highwy 1 makes an obvious destination for your first weekend. Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Hwy1. Return via Cambria/46/101, or cut across the Coastal Range on Naciamento Fergussun Road, hiking Cone Peak en passant.

Save Yosemite for the long last weekend. Since every hour counts, drive as far as possible Thursday night - to Manteca / Modesto if possible.

DLitton wrote in post #16168358
Just wondering what suggestions people had. I will be in Cali in the middle of November for work and figured I would go early and stay late to get two weekends to shoot. I've got a good list of places to go already, but I was wondering what my fellow photographers were thinking an 'east coast' person shouldn't pass up.

Basically I'll arrive in San Fran around 10pm Friday night, have till late Sunday night or early Monday to be back for work... and then I'll be off sometime Thursday... so I'll have ALL of Friday and Saturday to shoot and get back Sunday for my mid-afternoon flight home. So not a ton of time... but I think I should can do plenty with it

Thanks in advance for any input!

Since you'll be there in November, you might want to check out Mavericks and shoot some big wave surfing (if the waves cooperate in that narrow window of time).

But that time of year gets some pretty good stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Mavericks_(loca​tion)


http://upload.wikimedi​a.org …mavericks_compe​tition.jpg

Hen3Ry wrote in post #16169881
There are two things you shouldn't miss, but they're across the Golden Gate. One is John Muir Woods, a stand of old growth redwoods - the tall ones. The second is a rather dynamic environment, but can be fun. If you head for Mount Tamalpais, you can drive a road that basically runs along the top of the coast range, which separates the weather of the inside of the GG from the weather of the Pacific Ocean. This is almost always interesting. You can, for example, be above the clouds/fog that are coming in from the (very cold) Pacific standing in bright sunshine, looking down at the tops of the clouds - you can watch the wind whip the clouds through the hills and across the road, or you might be able to get the top of the Golden Gate sticking out of the fog - or in complete sunshine. You can walk the Golden Gate, by the way. (take a warm jacket).

Santa Cruz and its boardwalk are straight south of San Francisco - with an antique carousel and lots of stuff to see. It's supposedly the original Surf City.

Thanks for the ideas! John Muir Woods looks like a really cool spot to go visit, and not too far ! I'll def have to look into that in more depth. Thanks for the info on the Golden Gate also!

Geonerd wrote in post #16170852
Highwy 1 makes an obvious destination for your first weekend. Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Hwy1. Return via Cambria/46/101, or cut across the Coastal Range on Naciamento Fergussun Road, hiking Cone Peak en passant.

Save Yosemite for the long last weekend. Since every hour counts, drive as far as possible Thursday night - to Manteca / Modesto if possible.

Thanks! I'll look into that route for the first weekend! That makes sense since my first weekend will be much shorter.

MikeFairbanks wrote in post #16170893
Since you'll be there in November, you might want to check out Mavericks and shoot some big wave surfing (if the waves cooperate in that narrow window of time).

But that time of year gets some pretty good stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Mavericks_(loca​tion)


http://upload.wikimedi​a.org …mavericks_compe​tition.jpg

WOW! That is really sweet... That is something I never see on the east coast... I'll have to look into it when I get there if the waves are cooperating.

Thanks y'all!