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Napa, Sonoma, Stinson beach, mt. tam, tahoe, big sur, carmel, sequoia nat park, redwood nat park, yosemite... it's so absurd how blessed the bay area is with amazing trips within 3 hours.
Is there anywhere that comes close? I can't think of one that even has half of the great getaways the bay does (literally). Seattle I think comes closest, with the North cascades, olympic nat park, san juans, eastern desert, vancouver, and the coast.
Boston, where I live atm, definitely has some good road trips, but nowhere even remotely close to the bay. Coastal maine, white mountains n.h., lake winne/squam lake, vermont, newport, cape, vineyard, nantucket are cool... but none of those are world-class in any way. Tahoe is probably a world top-10 ski destination. Napa/Sonoma is a top 10 wine region, ghost trees and mavericks are world top-10 rated surf waves, yosemite is THE no.1 rock climbing spot in the world, Sequoia has THE biggest trees in the world, U.S. 1 through big sur is regarded as a world top 10 drive. Oh, and the bay area happens to be THE biotech, software, social media, semiconductor, computer, and entrepreneurship capital of the world. So easy to be so jealous. Ahhh
Yes, LA. I'd argue it's better than SF in terms of weekend/day-trips.
Palm Springs, Big Bear, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Catalina Island, Joshua Tree National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Los Padres National Forest, Solvang, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Tijuana. And just a little bit further and you have Sequoia National Forest, Death Valley National Park, Ensenada, Las Vegas.
Actually, Sacramento can compete - it is closer to the Sierras/Tahoe/Reno and you can go to all of the same places that you can from San Francisco. :-)
Actually, Sacramento can compete - it is closer to the Sierras/Tahoe/Reno and you can go to all of the same places that you can from San Francisco. :-)
Point well-taken... it's farther from the coast, but closer to the Sierras & the Gold Country, so it depends on one's preferences which is best. Also, three hours' travel from Sac can get you to Mt Shasta or Mt Lassen.
Chesapeake Bay, Va Beach, Ocean City/ DE beaches, Jersey shore, Shenandoah valley, Blue Ridge mountains, PA Amish country, Virginia wine vineyards, Chincoteague and Assateague pony islands, Sugarloaf Mountain Maryland, Deep Creek lake Maryland, the Poconos, Luray Caverns Virginia, Harve de Grace. And that’s not even getting started on the big cities and small towns yet.
Those places are nice, but few of those are immaculate in the way that the bay area locales are. Chincoteague and assateague probably, given the beaches and wild horses... that's special. But the rest, on par with napa or monterey peninsula, redwoods, yosemite, etc... not quite.
The whole premise of this thread's title is so arrogant that it makes me want to vomit.
That's a very ignorant statement. Arrogant? I'm not even from the bay area... so I'm paying a nod to somewhere else... which is the opposite of arrogant. SMH
I peep what the OP is trying to do also, but I am certain that some places “come close” in terms of weekend/ day trip options. The Bay Area may be at the top of the list for having the most diversity there, but the East Coast certainly has its plethora of options that at least “come close” to it without a doubt. Not to mention the cities are better on the EC.
Seattle, portland, sf, la, sd vs. boston, nyc, philly, baltimore, dc, raleigh, charlotte, atlanta
There's more EC cities, but I'm not so sure on better. Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and has awesome sports culture, incredible food, great music scene, is super innovative and open culture. Portland is similar. SF we all know is world-class stunning, very very funky, and the global tech hub. LA (despite what most people say who have never spent more than a weekend there) is an incredible place... 40% foreign-born, such an amazing melting pot, the world's entertainment capital, best weather on the planet, 10k ft. mountains an hour from downtown, amazing surfing, food, entrepreneurialism... something for everyone. SD is pretty cool too.
LOL I agree it’s just insecurity and it’s a public forum you can post anything. In the end it’s just opinion but I’d never start a post like this one.
so first it's arrogance, now it's also insecurity? So by saying "wow, the bay area has way better road trips than my city" that is.... ARROGANT?!? And insecure? Wow. Horrendous analysis.
Most posts about the Bay Area are arrogant, as are many of the Bay Area posters on this forum, as are many of the actual residents of the Bay Area. Try telling anyone from the Bay Area that they're not the greatest region on earth and their region wasn't created by God himself and you'll be outcasted. I tried as an Angeleno. I know the banishment you get from Bay Area locals when you disagree with them.
I am NOT from the bay area... if you actually read my post. Holy hell, you people
so first it's arrogance, now it's also insecurity? So by saying "wow, the bay area has way better road trips than my city" that is.... ARROGANT?!? And insecure? Wow. Horrendous analysis.
That's how it goes on these forums, for the most part. People cannot handle anything but unadulterated adoration for their home cities and most can't handle another place would do it better than their own.
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