Weekend trips from San Francisco
- Big Sur / Los Angeles
- Laguna Beach / Santa Monica
- Venice Beach / Santa Barbara
- Paso Robles / Solvang
- San Luis Obispo / Cambria
For any of these trips, you could visit just the first or second destination if you want to do less driving and spend more time in the area.
The longest trip is about 23.5 hours of total driving, so you may want to plan to do this over a long weekend.
Trip idea #1: San Francisco → Big Sur → Los Angeles → San Francisco
leave San Francisco on Friday
55 minutes → San Jose
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
40 minutes → Monterey
47 minutes → Big Sur (stay Friday night)
55 minutes → San Jose
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
40 minutes → Monterey
47 minutes → Big Sur (stay Friday night)
3.5 hours of driving
Big Sur to Los Angeles
leave Big Sur on Saturday
54 minutes → Pinnacles National Park
1.5 hours → Villicana Winery
1.5 hours → Lost Hills
49 minutes → Bakersfield
2 hours → Universal Studios Hollywood
17 minutes → Los Angeles (stay Saturday night)
54 minutes → Pinnacles National Park
1.5 hours → Villicana Winery
1.5 hours → Lost Hills
49 minutes → Bakersfield
2 hours → Universal Studios Hollywood
17 minutes → Los Angeles (stay Saturday night)
6.5 hours of driving
Los Angeles to San Francisco
leave Los Angeles on Sunday
2 hours → Griffith Observatory
49 minutes → Bakersfield
1 hour → Lost Hills
1.5 hours → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
53 minutes → Pea Soup Andersen's
53 minutes → Modesto
48 minutes → Livermore
13 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
2 hours → Griffith Observatory
49 minutes → Bakersfield
1 hour → Lost Hills
1.5 hours → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
53 minutes → Pea Soup Andersen's
53 minutes → Modesto
48 minutes → Livermore
13 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
8.5 hours of driving
Total driving time for this trip is about 18.5 hours of driving.
Trip idea #2: San Francisco → Laguna Beach → Santa Monica → San Francisco
leave San Francisco on Friday
48 minutes → Livermore
1.5 hours → Pea Soup Andersen's
51 minutes → Firebaugh
1 hour → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
1 hour → Lost Hills
1 hour → Grapevine
1.5 hours → Griffith Observatory
1 hour → Laguna Beach (stay Friday night)
48 minutes → Livermore
1.5 hours → Pea Soup Andersen's
51 minutes → Firebaugh
1 hour → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
1 hour → Lost Hills
1 hour → Grapevine
1.5 hours → Griffith Observatory
1 hour → Laguna Beach (stay Friday night)
9 hours of driving
Laguna Beach to Santa Monica
leave Laguna Beach on Saturday
23 minutes → Costa Mesa
16 minutes → Little Saigon
17 minutes → Naples
23 minutes → Torrance
17 minutes → In-N-Out Burger
11 minutes → Culver City
11 minutes → Santa Monica (stay Saturday night)
23 minutes → Costa Mesa
16 minutes → Little Saigon
17 minutes → Naples
23 minutes → Torrance
17 minutes → In-N-Out Burger
11 minutes → Culver City
11 minutes → Santa Monica (stay Saturday night)
2 hours of driving
Santa Monica to San Francisco
leave Santa Monica on Sunday
2 hours → Griffith Observatory
49 minutes → Bakersfield
1 hour → Lost Hills
1.5 hours → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
53 minutes → Pea Soup Andersen's
53 minutes → Modesto
48 minutes → Livermore
22 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
2 hours → Griffith Observatory
49 minutes → Bakersfield
1 hour → Lost Hills
1.5 hours → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
53 minutes → Pea Soup Andersen's
53 minutes → Modesto
48 minutes → Livermore
22 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
8.5 hours of driving
Total driving time for this trip is about 19.5 hours of driving.
Trip idea #3: San Francisco → Venice Beach → Santa Barbara → San Francisco
leave San Francisco on Friday
48 minutes → Livermore
53 minutes → Modesto
53 minutes → Pea Soup Andersen's
1.5 hours → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
1 hour → Lost Hills
49 minutes → Bakersfield
2 hours → Griffith Observatory
22 minutes → Venice Beach (stay Friday night)
48 minutes → Livermore
53 minutes → Modesto
53 minutes → Pea Soup Andersen's
1.5 hours → Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
1 hour → Lost Hills
49 minutes → Bakersfield
2 hours → Griffith Observatory
22 minutes → Venice Beach (stay Friday night)
8.5 hours of driving
Venice Beach to Santa Barbara
leave Venice Beach on Saturday
22 minutes → Encino
15 minutes → Calabasas
15 minutes → Thousand Oaks
23 minutes → Camarillo Premium Outlets
24 minutes → Ventura
4.5 hours → Montecito
9 minutes → Santa Barbara (stay Saturday night)
22 minutes → Encino
15 minutes → Calabasas
15 minutes → Thousand Oaks
23 minutes → Camarillo Premium Outlets
24 minutes → Ventura
4.5 hours → Montecito
9 minutes → Santa Barbara (stay Saturday night)
6.5 hours of driving
Santa Barbara to San Francisco
leave Santa Barbara on Sunday
55 minutes → Solvang
40 minutes → Pismo Beach
1.5 hours → Paso Robles
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
44 minutes → Carmel By the Sea
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
55 minutes → San Jose
43 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
55 minutes → Solvang
40 minutes → Pismo Beach
1.5 hours → Paso Robles
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
44 minutes → Carmel By the Sea
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
55 minutes → San Jose
43 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
8 hours of driving
Total driving time for this trip is about 23.5 hours of driving.
Trip idea #4: San Francisco → Paso Robles → Solvang → San Francisco
leave San Francisco on Friday
40 minutes → Half Moon Bay
49 minutes → San Jose
34 minutes → Gilroy
33 minutes → Salinas
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
1.5 hours → Villicana Winery
11 minutes → Paso Robles (stay Friday night)
40 minutes → Half Moon Bay
49 minutes → San Jose
34 minutes → Gilroy
33 minutes → Salinas
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
1.5 hours → Villicana Winery
11 minutes → Paso Robles (stay Friday night)
5.5 hours of driving
Paso Robles to Solvang
leave Paso Robles on Saturday
16 minutes → Niner Wine Estates
25 minutes → Santa Margarita
14 minutes → San Luis Obispo
17 minutes → Pismo Beach
17 minutes → Laetitia Vineyard & Winery
21 minutes → Santa Maria
29 minutes → Los Alamos
21 minutes → Solvang (stay Saturday night)
16 minutes → Niner Wine Estates
25 minutes → Santa Margarita
14 minutes → San Luis Obispo
17 minutes → Pismo Beach
17 minutes → Laetitia Vineyard & Winery
21 minutes → Santa Maria
29 minutes → Los Alamos
21 minutes → Solvang (stay Saturday night)
2.5 hours of driving
Solvang to San Francisco
leave Solvang on Sunday
1.5 hours → Foxen Vineyard
50 minutes → Paso Robles
1 hour → King City
1.5 hours → Monterey
40 minutes → Palo Alto
29 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
1.5 hours → Foxen Vineyard
50 minutes → Paso Robles
1 hour → King City
1.5 hours → Monterey
40 minutes → Palo Alto
29 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
6 hours of driving
Total driving time for this trip is about 14 hours of driving.
Trip idea #5: San Francisco → San Luis Obispo → Cambria → San Francisco
leave San Francisco on Friday
40 minutes → Half Moon Bay
49 minutes → San Jose
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
40 minutes → Monterey
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
1.5 hours → Paso Robles
37 minutes → Morro Bay
18 minutes → San Luis Obispo (stay Friday night)
40 minutes → Half Moon Bay
49 minutes → San Jose
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
40 minutes → Monterey
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
1.5 hours → Paso Robles
37 minutes → Morro Bay
18 minutes → San Luis Obispo (stay Friday night)
7.5 hours of driving
San Luis Obispo to Cambria
leave San Luis Obispo on Saturday
12 minutes → Dairy Creek Golf Course
16 minutes → Morro Bay
11 minutes → Cayucos
17 minutes → Harmony Cellars
12 minutes → Lombardi's Pasta Familia
5 minutes → Cambria (stay Saturday night)
12 minutes → Dairy Creek Golf Course
16 minutes → Morro Bay
11 minutes → Cayucos
17 minutes → Harmony Cellars
12 minutes → Lombardi's Pasta Familia
5 minutes → Cambria (stay Saturday night)
1 hour of driving
Cambria to San Francisco
leave Cambria on Sunday
37 minutes → Morro Bay
1.5 hours → Paso Robles
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
40 minutes → Monterey
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
49 minutes → San Jose
40 minutes → Half Moon Bay
26 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
37 minutes → Morro Bay
1.5 hours → Paso Robles
1.5 hours → Pinnacles National Park
40 minutes → Monterey
1 hour → San Juan Bautista
49 minutes → San Jose
40 minutes → Half Moon Bay
26 minutes → San Francisco (back home)
7.5 hours of driving
Total driving time for this trip is about 16 hours of driving.
Discover weekend getaways from San Francisco and explore
places that are easily drivable for a short 3-day trip or a longer weekend
if there's a holiday or you can get time off. Once you've picked a
destination, you can search for alternate routes that might have more
interesting stops along the way. If you're looking for all of the
possible destinations, try searching for a radius of
50 miles from San Francisco up to 200 miles from San Francisco or anything in between. If you don't have enough time for a
long weekend, try searching for day trips from San Francisco, or you can make San Francisco your destination instead. If you have more time, you can plan a drive from San Francisco to Oregon.
