San francisco

San Francisco has an undeniable charm and beauty with its coastal landscape and of course the Golden Gate Bridge. There are also super-touristy spots that I’m not a personal fan of, but here’s 2 lesser known experiences to check out and 1 very well known experience with an electric twist. 

for the 'gram - Marshall's beach

Unabashedly, this tip is for the ‘gram. 

Marshall’s Beach has one of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s easily accessible and not very crowded. If you want to avoid the tourist crowds and be in a place where you have a great close-up of the bridge in a peaceful area, the beach is where it’s at. When you go to the Golden Gate Overlook area and take a peek down the cliffs. That’s Marshall’s Beach. 

To get there, it’s closer to a hike than a stroll, but not a difficult one. If you head south from the Golden Gate Overlook, follow the Battery To Bluff Trail to get to the beach. Eventually, you’ll arrive at a set of stairs. Don’t give up if you find yourself walking for a long time without seeing the stairs, stay on the trail and you’ll get there. I got anxious when I didn’t see the stairs so I tried making my own path down a sheer cliff. This did not work. 

On the trail itself, there are some great places to stop and take in the coastal scenery, especially around sunset. Marshall’s Beach is amazing at sunset and so make sure you to schedule your hike to make a few stops to take everything in before sunset. 

Once you hit the stairs, it’s about half a mile down (roughly 30 minute hike one-way). If you are going for the sunset, plan accordingly to hike back up in slight darkness. You should also wear proper footwear, if the tide is in, it can be quite muddy. During high tide, you might not get as far as you would like on the beach. 

For whatever reason, it’s not a crowded beach. On the trail down, we ran into maybe 5 people. You’ll see a few photographers setting up for the sunset shot, and it’s important to note that it is technically a nude beach. 

Once you’re on the beach, walk north to get as close to the bridge. But man, the views from the beach are amazing. Not just of the bridge but there are unique rock formations and the sun slowly setting over the water. It’s a location where you have to do a bit of work to get those great Instagram pictures but it is an experience that’s absolutely worth it. 

Directions:  It’s hard to Uber here, but use Langdon Court as a reference when you’re Googling directions. Once there, you’ll be at the Golden Gate Overlook and the start of the Battery To Bluff trail. 

Cocktails + Intrigue

Imagine a speakeasy inside a speakeasy, built around a storyline of intrigue about a Missing Persons case from 1932. Now, I’m not sure how historically accurate the case is, but I know that Wilson & Wilson is one of the best bar experiences for us in SF. It’s branded as a Private Detective Agency and they commit to this. 

You make a reservation online and if accepted, you’ll receive a password via email. On the day of your reso, you have to find the unmarked door and use the intercom to give the password to the hostess. Then you will be led through Bourbon & Branch’s main bar (a speakeasy in itself) through another locked door. Bourbon & Branch actually have a few different secret rooms, with their own unique passwords. 

Once seated in the Wilson & Wilson room, the amazing bartenders will go through the concept of the Missing Persons case as well as the drinks available. The menu also doubles as a case file. It’s very easy for something like this to come off as gimmicky, but Wilson & Wilson commits and that makes all the difference. For example, the case file is a pretty hefty folder with a lot of information. The commitment to the drama of passwords and secret rooms makes this a legit experience. 

Most importantly, at the end of the day, the cocktails were unique, delicious and made with care; albeit on the strong side. 

Reservations for Wilson & Wilson are a must, but there are walk-in options for some of the other rooms at Bourbon & Branch. Only drinks are available at Wilson & Wilson, but a full menu is available at Bourbon & Branch if you wanted food at the main room. Wilson & Wilson is only available for reservations Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm to 2am.

Address: Wilson & Wilson, 505 Jones St, San Francisco,CA, USA
Website: http://www.thewilsonbar.com/

The Sausalito Ride

One of the most common tourist activities in SF is biking across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. It is one of the most common because it is also one of the best. No shame. 

There are few cool tips to make the best of this experience though. First off, be cool and rent electric bikes instead of regular ones. It is much easier and there is the added benefit of looking like you are super fit  when riding uphill. You will still have to pedal, but it will have assisted pedaling on the few hills you do have to pass on your journey.

Once you cross the Golden Gate Bridge, you will reach the Conzelman Road Parking Lot. There will be markings on the path indicating Sausalito. That path to Sausalito is one of the most enjoyable experiences in SF. You avoid most traffic and it is a beautiful ride.  

There are a lot of options for bike rentals in SF; most of the time you can walk in and pick up a bike for a few hours or for the day. On my first trip to SF, that’s what we did and it was a no-hassle experience. On the latest trip, I looked at this company called Basically Free Bike Rentals [not sponsored btw] and it was such an unexpected and confusing experience, in the best way possible. 

Their business model is that for the rental fee for the bikes, they will give you the equivalent store credit to use at their store, The Sports Basement. The store is on the way from the rental place to Golden Gate Bridge and has sports equipment like apparel. You can also just pick up bottles of water and some protein bars if you prefer. That is how it is a “basically free” rental. 

It sounded super sketch, and I still don't know how they make their money, but I trusted the different TripAdvisor reviews. Now that I’ve rented from them, I can say that there were no tricks here. I used the store credit to get a new pair of shorts (although I wanted to get a Golden State Warriors pair of socks… but had to be practical). The staff at the bike rental also stood out by being really patient and helpful when we needed to find the right sized bikes as some of us were vertically challenged. 

You also save 20% booking online so I highly recommend booking ahead and online. Basically Free Bike Rentals have a 3 hour option and an all day option. Three hours is pushing it if you ride to Sausalito and plan to take the ferry back. You have to take into account the ride, stopping for photos/viewpoints, and the ferry ride back. I would suggest booking for the entire day honestly. 

Helpful Tip for Ferries: OurSausalito.com has a great resource with step by step suggestions. There are only a few sailings per day, and make sure to be there at least 30 minutes before departure time. Sometimes sailings will also be full. So you might have to take the next ferry out. 

Basically Free Bike Rentals:

Address: 2568 Jones St, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
Website: http://bikegoldengatebridge.com/

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