Love the view from San Francisco’s best lookouts
Posted by Mary on Mar 29, 2010
Spring is one of the best times to visit San Francisco — days are getting warmer, flowers are blooming, and the skies are frequently clear.
While lots of summer tourists go home with Golden Gate Bridge photos shrouded in fog, April and May visitors often have a whole different experience.
We can’t promise you good weather, and we know you’ll love San Francisco with or without it, but when it is clear, check out these spots for some amazing views of the city, the Bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Parks, Hills, & Stairs
Buena Vista Park
Haight Street at Buena Vista Avenue
The hill is steep, but at its peak is a lawn with some of the area’s best views to the east, north, and west including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands. On your way up, check out the lower lookouts. At "The Window," an overlook on the western side, you get an awesome vista of Golden Gate Park and the ocean. Sometimes you can see even farther north to the white cliffs at Drake’s Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore.
Corona Heights
Roosevelt and Museum Ways
Want a good lunch spot but getting sick of the tourist crowds? Pack a picnic or grab lunch to go in the Castro District, then head to rocky Corona Heights, where you’ll have unobstructed views of the city from downtown to Twin Peaks. Bring a sweatshirt — it can get windy at the top! While you’re there, check out the Randall Museum (open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday), which is meant for kids but is free, and has more great views from their garden.
Lone Mountain, University of San Francisco campus
Turk Street at Chabot Terrace
Freshmen at USF dread these 100 or so stairs on their way to classes, but no one can complain about the view. The hill they climb is between Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, and offers great views of the bridge and bay north of the city.
Twin Peaks
Portola Drive and Twin Peaks Boulevard
Almost at the geographic center of San Francisco, Twin Peaks is renowned for having some of the city’s best views. And the best part, for those of you who are tired of all those hills and staircases, is that you can drive to the top! There’s also a more interesting, less touristy, and recently improved hiking trail, which is well marked and starts on the north end of Crestline Drive. You can take the Muni 37 bus to Crestline Drive, and have the driver let you off near the trailhead.
Buildings & Elevators
San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel
Fort Mason Building 240
You can check the details of the Fisherman’s Wharf hostel on our website, but all you really need to know is that from the hostel’s backyard, you get unparalleled views of both Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Pick up a picnic lunch at the hostel’s Cafe Franco, then grab a discounted bike rental or walk through Fort Mason.
De Young Museum’s observation tower
Golden Gate Park
Even if you’re not interested in the art exhibits at the de Young Museum, it’s free to take the elevator to their observation tower, which overlooks Golden Gate Park and the unique "living roof" of the California Academy of Sciences next door. The elevator is toward the right when you enter. If you decide to check out the museum, admission is $10, with $2 off if you take public transit there.
Westin Saint Francis Hotel
335 Powell Street
There’s a high-speed glass elevator to the 32nd floor, and it’s free to the public. Need we say more? You can even pretend you’re sneaking in to the high-class hotel, although really, nobody cares. Just follow signs to the tower elevators, which are beyond the first set of elevators (those only take you to the 31st floor). From the top, get a bird’s-eye view of downtown.
Coit Tower
One Telegraph Hill Boulevard
The 210-foot tower atop Telegraph Hill is a well-known landmark in San Francisco, and offers amazing panoramic views from the top — if you want to pay $5 to take the elevator. The Art Deco style tower was built in 1933, and features murals by 26 different artists, most of which are accessible by the public for free.
Food with a View
Grandviews Lounge at the Grand Hyatt
345 Stockton Street
Check out the Grandviews Lounge, open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, for cocktails and 36th story views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Nob Hill. A meal will run you $13-$16, cocktails are $8-$14. If you’re looking to splurge, the Grandviews Restaurant next door has dinner entrees priced $28-$32.
The View Lounge at the Marriott
55 Fourth Street
If the Grandviews Lounge wasn’t high enough for you, head to the 39th floor View Lounge at the Marriott. The windows are floor-to-ceiling, and the cocktails cost $13-14 (beer is $6-$7).
Top of the Mark at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins
One Nob Hill
The glass-walled penthouse cocktail lounge at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins hotel is only on the 19th floor — but since the hotel crowns Nob Hill, this is one of the highest points from which to see the city. Martinis are $13, but there are 100 of them on the menu. You might want to eat beforehand, since most appetizers cost more than $20.
Outside the City
If you have access to a car, you can get stunning views of San Francisco from the north and east by taking a bridge off the peninsula. Head north across the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Marin Headlands or toward Mt. Tamalpais — the view from the top of the mountain is great, and there are some pretty breathtaking vistas along the road, too, if you aren’t in the mood to hike. Head toward Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands for some of the best views. (You can even stop for the night at our Marin Headlands Hostel).
East of the city, get off the Bay Bridge onto Treasure Island, and drive around. There are great skyline and Bay Bridge photo-ops on the western side of the island. Take the winding road to the top of the hill, and look down on the bridge as cars cruise below you.
Keep going across the Bay Bridge into Oakland, and head up into the hills on the eastern side of the city. Take Snake Road toward Skyline Boulevard, and on a clear day you can see all of downtown Oakland, Berkeley, and across the bay to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. There are some good hiking spots in the hills — check out East Bay Parks for more info.