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What to see near The Scarlet Huntington

1075 California Street·San Francisco, CA·thescarlethuntington.com

Cross the bridge when the mood takes you, and make for Battery Spencer in the Marin Headlands. You park, walk a short rise, and then the whole geometry of the Bay opens up below you: the Golden Gate suspended between its towers, the city arranged behind it like something dreamed. The concrete battery walls frame the view just enough to make it feel discovered rather than given. The wind comes in cold off the Pacific, and the fog may be doing anything at all, burning off or rolling through, and either way the scene is worth standing in for a long time. It is the kind of place that earns the drive across the bridge many times over.

Within 25 miles · ranked by scenic score

12 Places Worth Seeing

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Wide coastal panorama of the Marin Headlands above Rodeo Beach, with sunlit brown hills rolling down to a deep blue bay. The shoreline curves past the beach and low red-roofed buildings, while thin fog hangs along the distant ridgeline under a clear sky.
Overlooks
34

Sausalito, CA

Marin Headlands - Battery Spencer

A decommissioned military battery perched above Fort Baker offering one of the most iconic views of the Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco as a backdrop. The vantage point sits directly above the north tower of the bridge. Fog frequently rolls beneath the bridge, creating dramatic layered compositions.

golden hoursummer · fall
A wide view from a rocky ferry slip shows calm blue water framed by concrete seawalls and grasses, with the Bay Bridge and several green container cranes lined up across the harbor. The industrial shoreline and distant skyline sit under clear daylight.
Waterfronts
37

Oakland, CA

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park

A 38-acre park built on a former shipping terminal in the Port of Oakland, offering close views of container cranes, the Bay Bridge, and the San Francisco skyline. An amphitheater and restored shoreline habitat provide varied foreground elements. Large container ships regularly pass nearby en route to the port.

golden hourfall · winter
The Golden Gate Bridge stretches across the bay in glowing orange light, with San Francisco’s skyline sparkling behind it under a deep blue twilight sky. Dark Marin Headlands frame the foreground, and the bridge’s reflection shimmers across the calm water.
Overlooks
47

Sausalito, CA

Hawk Hill

A 920-foot summit in the Marin Headlands that provides sweeping 360-degree views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco skyline, Angel Island, and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the premier raptor migration observation points in North America during autumn. The hilltop offers unobstructed sightlines in all directions.

golden hourfall · summer
Wide view across a vast, empty concrete runway at Alameda Point, with a few orange cones and faint cracks in the foreground. Low on the horizon, the San Francisco skyline and industrial port cranes sit under a clear blue sky, giving the scene a stark, open feel.
Hidden Gems
27

Alameda, CA

Alameda Point

The former Naval Air Station Alameda at the western tip of Alameda Island offers wide-open views of the San Francisco skyline and Bay Bridge. The decommissioned runways and former military buildings create a distinctive industrial landscape. The antiques faire and spirits producers draw weekend visitors.

golden hourfall · winter
A wide view of Sausalito Yacht Harbor shows rows of moored sailboats and yachts beside a dark timber dock, with a bright red tugboat near the end of the pier. Calm gray-green water stretches toward the hazy bay and distant hills under a partly cloudy morning sky.
Waterfronts
29

Sausalito, CA

Sausalito Waterfront

The Sausalito waterfront along Bridgeway Boulevard features a Mediterranean-style harbor with colorful houseboats, marinas, and views across Richardson Bay to the San Francisco skyline. The floating homes community at Waldo Point is one of the last major houseboat communities in the Bay Area. The calm waters of the harbor create excellent reflection opportunities.

morningspring · summer
Point Bonita Lighthouse sits atop a steep, rocky cliff, reached by a white suspension bridge stretching in from the left. The weathered lighthouse and adjoining building stand against a pale gray sky and calm blue-gray ocean, with visitors gathered along the viewing platform.
Architecture
27

Sausalito, CA

Point Bonita Lighthouse

A historic lighthouse built in 1855 situated at the tip of Point Bonita, accessed via a half-mile trail that includes a hand-cut rock tunnel and a suspension bridge. The lighthouse marks the narrowest part of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The surrounding cliffs drop steeply into the Pacific with views of the Farallon Islands on clear days.

afternoonspring · summer
A paved shoreline path curves along the calm blue bay, edged by low rocks, coastal shrubs, and a line of wind-shaped trees on the right. In the distance, a lone person walks toward the horizon under a clear sky with a few wispy clouds.
Waterfronts
37

Emeryville, CA

Emeryville Marina

A small marina and shoreline park offering direct views across the Bay to the San Francisco skyline and Bay Bridge. The adjacent Shorebird Park includes a nature center and restored wetlands. The unobstructed western exposure makes it an excellent sunset location.

golden hourfall · winter
Old St. Hilary’s white Carpenter Gothic chapel fills the frame, with a steep gable, pointed-arch windows, and a cross crowning the roofline. Bright sunlight casts sharp shadows across the front steps and trim, set against a clear blue sky with wispy clouds.
Hidden Gems
22

Mill Valley, CA

Old St. Hilary's Open Space Preserve

A hillside wildflower preserve in Tiburon centered around a restored 1888 Carpenter Gothic church. The preserve hosts one of the rarest native wildflower populations in Marin County, including several species found nowhere else. The hilltop church against the backdrop of Richardson Bay and the San Francisco skyline creates a distinctive composition.

golden hourspring
Wide coastal panorama of Rodeo Beach and the Marin Headlands, with a pale arc of beach curving along blue water beneath steep, grassy cliffs and rugged headlands. Low clouds and soft light give the hills a moody blue-hour look, while the shoreline and scattered buildings add detail along the cove.
Waterfronts
36

Sausalito, CA

Rodeo Beach

A dark pebble and sand beach situated in a cove between dramatic headland cliffs in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The beach features multicolored semi-precious stones including jasper, agate, and carnelian. Rodeo Lagoon sits directly behind the beach, offering mirror-like reflections on calm days.

blue hourwinter · spring
An Amtrak California train in blue, gray, and yellow rolls through Jack London Square on tracks set into a quiet street, framed by leafy trees and low waterfront buildings. Bright sunlight and a clear blue sky give the scene a crisp midday look.
Waterfronts
29

Oakland, CA

Jack London Square

A waterfront commercial district on the Oakland Estuary named after author Jack London, who frequented the area. Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, built in 1883, still stands and was a regular haunt of London's. The boardwalk offers views of the estuary, passing boats, and the Alameda shoreline.

eveningspring · summer
Sunlit grassy hilltop at Cesar Chavez Park with a stone-lined path and scattered boulders in the foreground, looking out over the Berkeley waterfront toward the hills across the bay. The wide sky is streaked with soft clouds in late-day light, and a few small figures dot the open parkland.
Parks & Wilderness
32

Berkeley, CA

Cesar Chavez Park

A 90-acre waterfront park on the Berkeley Marina peninsula built atop a former landfill, offering 360-degree views of the Bay, San Francisco skyline, and Golden Gate Bridge. The park is popular with kite flyers due to consistent winds. A network of trails circles the grassy hilltop.

golden hourspring · summer
A wide view across the sandy beach and low marsh grasses looks out over the estuary to the Oakland skyline, with the Bay Bridge faintly visible in the hazy distance. The foreground is open and sunlit, with a few small people near the waterline and a calm, pale blue sky above.
Waterfronts
37

Alameda, CA

Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach

A 2.5-mile sandy beach on the southern shore of Alameda Island with direct views across the estuary to the Oakland skyline. The beach faces south and west, providing warm light during afternoon and sunset. A restored marsh and Crab Cove visitor center are located at the eastern end.

golden hoursummer · fall

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