North Bay (Bay Area)

North of the Golden Gate Bridge, in the hilly country across the chilly waters from San Francisco, lies the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Perhaps best known as the home of Napa Valley, America's largest wine producing region, here you'll find lovely natural scenery and some very pleasant small towns in the hills and valleys of the area.

Cities

 * - A charming wine country town with excellent restaurants, shopping and wine tasting.
 * - Home to the scenic old-growth redwood grove of Muir Woods and other beautiful nature reserves for hiking.
 * - A historically agricultural community in Sonoma County.
 * - The county seat and largest city of Marin County, home to a historic Spanish mission.
 * - The largest city of the North Bay, home to a museum devoted to Charles Schulz and a good jumping-off point for exploring the region.
 * - A charming community perched on a hillside by the bay that's an easy ferry ride from San Francisco.
 * - A historic small town that's a popular ferry port and is the closest community to scenic Angel Island.
 * - A prominent town at the northeasternmost edge of the bay, accessible by ferry and home to a few notable attractions.
 * - A large town in Sonoma County.

Other destinations

 * - Offers beaches, hiking, history, and spectacular views of the California coast.
 * - From its thunderous ocean breakers crashing against rocky headlands and expansive sand beaches through its open grasslands to its brushy hillsides and forested ridges, visitors can discover over 1000 species of plants and animals. Home to several cultures over thousands of years, Point Reyes preserves a tapestry of stories and interactions of people.

By plane
The nearest international airports are San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Oakland International Airport  in Oakland, and Sacramento International Airport  in Sacramento. Bus service is provided by the Marin Airporter from San Francisco International Airport (every 30 minutes) and by Groome Transportation from both San Francisco and Oakland. The other major Bay Area airport, in San Jose, is really too far away to be convenient.

Sonoma County Airport also has a limited number of domestic flights. Bus service from STS is provided by Groome Transportation as well as by Sonoma County Transit. Light rail service is provided by SMART.

By bus
Major bus routes into this region include:
 * Golden Gate Transit route 101, which runs roughly once an hour from San Francisco to Santa Rosa via San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, Cotati, and Rohnert Park. Other routes in the 100s also serve Marin and Sonoma Counties from San Francisco.
 * Golden Gate Transit route 580, which runs once or twice an hour to the San Rafael transit center from El Cerrito del Norte BART station, with BART connections to the rest of the East Bay.
 * Greyhound buses to San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Vallejo, and Suisun City (near Fairfield).
 * SolTrans routes from the East Bay to points in Solano County (Benicia, Vallejo, Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville, Dixon).

By ferry
Ferries run from San Francisco to Larkspur (near San Rafael), Sausalito, Tiburon, and Vallejo.

Get around
SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit) connects the main towns along the major north-south axis in Marin and Sonoma Counties by train, including Larkspur (with ferry connections to San Francisco), San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, and Santa Rosa.

Local bus agencies include Golden Gate Transit, Marin Transit in Marin County, The Vine in and around the Napa Valley, Sonoma County Transit in Sonoma County, and SolTrans in and around Solano County.

That said, the North Bay is weak on transit compared to San Francisco or the East Bay. Most residents depend on cars to get around, and transit frequency is often as low as once an hour, sometimes less.

Drink
Although overshadowed by the world famous wine industry in the region (more detail on that can be found in the Napa Valley guide), there is a high concentration of microbreweries in the area, following the well known saying among beer aficionados, "It takes great beer to make great wine." The dominant style in the region is the West Coast IPA, popular for the aggressive hops brewed into the beer, but a vast array of styles are available. Popular breweries include Bear Republic Brewing Company in Healdsburg, Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, Marin Brewing Company in Larkspur, Moylan Brewery in Novato, Napa Smith Brewing Company in Napa, and Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa.

Go next

 * East Bay
 * Mendocino County
 * San Francisco
 * Davis and Sacramento