San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area surrounds San Francisco Bay in central California, the most densely populated stretch of the state outside greater Los Angeles. The setting is geographically distinctive — a deep tidal estuary nearly enclosed by coastal hills, with the Golden Gate as the only sea entrance and the Bay extending more than 50 miles north–south. Urban development climbs steep hills on three sides. San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties cover the region. Anchor cities include San Francisco itself, plus Oakland, Berkeley, Sausalito, San Rafael, Half Moon Bay, Concord, and Walnut Creek. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore (in Marin), Mount Tamalpais State Park, and the East Bay Regional Park District together cover an unusually large stretch of public land for an urban region. Most trips concentrate on San Francisco. The city handles a few packed days of itineraries — Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Ferry Building, Chinatown, the Mission, Golden Gate Park, the Presidio. Day trips reach Muir Woods and Point Reyes north of the bridge, the Berkeley and Oakland food scenes east, and Half Moon Bay south.