San Francisco is small enough to cross in half an hour and varied enough that the two halves of it can have completely different weather on the same afternoon. That is the organising fact of a weekend here. A plan that is perfect in the Mission is a cold, grey mistake in the Sunset, and the difference is a twenty-minute bus ride. Sorting ideas by conditions rather than by neighbourhood is what makes weekends here work.
The single biggest variable in a San Francisco weekend is where the fog line is sitting, and it moves within the hour. Tell Karpo when you are free and it will find something on the right side of the city for that day.
When the fog is in: go east and inland
The eastern half of the city — the Mission, Potrero, Bernal Heights, Dogpatch and the corridor south of Market — is reliably the warmest and clearest part of San Francisco, and it is where to be when the west side is under cloud. That side of town carries the highest density of good food, most of the newer bars and galleries, and the sunniest public spaces in the city.
Ideas for those days: a long walk up Bernal Hill for the view; the Mission's mural corridors; a walk through Dogpatch's converted industrial blocks into the shipyard edge; the produce and prepared-food markets; the small galleries in the Mission and Potrero; the elevated parks with the whole city laid out below. All of these are outdoor and all of them are usually in sun when the ocean side is not.
When it is clear everywhere: go west and to the water
A genuinely clear day in San Francisco is a gift and should be spent on the coastal side. The Presidio's trails and coastal batteries, the path along the northern waterfront, Lands End and the ruins at its western end, Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park from end to end, the Botanical Garden, the windmills at the park's ocean edge.
These days are also the ones for the bridges and the water: walking or cycling across to the Marin headlands, a ferry to one of the islands or across the bay, the coastal road south toward the beaches below the city. Clear weather here has a short season and an unpredictable schedule, so the rule is to drop the plan and take the day.
Indoor ideas that are not a compromise
The city's museums are genuinely first-rate and several run free days for residents. Beyond them: the older cinemas that still programme repertory, the public library's main branch, the conservatories and glasshouses in the parks, the bookshops that stay open late, the covered markets, and a long lunch in Chinatown or the Richmond, which is an activity in this city rather than a meal.
Rainy weekends, which cluster between November and March, are also the best time for the things everyone otherwise queues for. Museums, the aquarium, the cable car turnaround and the popular restaurants all become accessible the moment the weather turns, which is a genuine argument for going out in bad conditions rather than staying in.
The neighbourhood walks, which are the city's real attraction
San Francisco is a walking city on a scale that surprises people. Good half-day routes: North Beach into Chinatown and up Telegraph Hill by the eastern stairways; the Castro and Noe Valley over the hill into the Mission; Hayes Valley to the Panhandle and into Golden Gate Park; the Richmond along Clement Street and out to the coast; Bernal Heights' hidden stairways and lanes.
Every one of these costs nothing, works in most weather, and involves eating somewhere good in the middle. If someone is visiting and you have one day, a walk of this kind will show them more of the city than any list of attractions.
Practicalities that make a weekend here easier
Dress for two climates. Layers are not a cliché in this city; the temperature difference between a sunny Mission afternoon and Ocean Beach an hour later can be substantial, and the wind matters more than the number. Check where the fog line is before committing rather than checking the forecast, which averages across a city with microclimates and is therefore wrong for most of it.
And leave the car. Parking is expensive, garages fill, and street cleaning and permit-only blocks make the residential neighbourhoods a poor bet. The transit network reaches every idea above, and a weekend pass costs less than a single afternoon in a downtown garage.
The free days worth planning around
Several of San Francisco's major museums and gardens run free days for city residents, usually monthly and usually requiring proof of address rather than a ticket. A few of the institutions in Golden Gate Park are free to residents on set days each month, and the city's botanical collections have their own arrangement.
These are announced on each institution's own page and almost nowhere else, and they are busy — arriving at opening rather than midday is the difference between a pleasant morning and a queue. For anyone living here, building a year around them is one of the better value decisions available in an expensive city.
Tags: #SanFrancisco #ThingsToDoSF #WeekendInSF #SFOutdoors #GoldenGatePark #LandsEnd #MissionDistrict #BernalHeights #SFLife #BayArea #FreeThingsToDo #Walkable #SFParks #WeekendPlans
Sources consulted: sftravel.com · sfrecpark.org · weather.gov
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Ask Karpo first
The fog decides most of this and it moves faster than any forecast. Ask Karpo what is worth doing near you on the day you are free, given which side of the city is actually clear.
