San Francisco packs an absurd amount of scenery into 47 square miles, and more spills out in every direction past the bridges. The catch is that the best of it is on hills, behind one-way streets, or on the ocean side of a road with no shoulder. These are the routes worth driving — and the reason it's better to ride them than steer them.
The 49-Mile Scenic Drive
Laid out in 1938 and marked with the blue-and-white seagull signs, the 49-Mile Drive is a self-guided loop that strings together most of the city's landmarks — the Civic Center, Nob Hill, Chinatown, North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, the Marina, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Presidio and the bridge, Lincoln Park, the Cliff House, Twin Peaks, and Mission Dolores. Done properly with stops it's a full half-day. The signs are famously easy to miss; a driver who knows the turns means you watch the city, not the next placard.
Twin Peaks & the city overlooks
Twin Peaks is the 900-foot pair of hills near the geographic center of the city, with a parking deck that takes in the whole grid down to the bay. Best at dusk as the lights come up. Tank Hill and Corona Heights are the quieter, sharper alternatives if the main lot is mobbed. Grandview Park over the Sunset adds the ocean to the frame.
The Marin Headlands
Across the bridge and immediately left, Conzelman Road climbs the headlands with the bridge and skyline behind you the whole way — Battery Spencer, Hawk Hill, and the hairpin descent to Point Bonita and Rodeo Beach. One of the great short drives anywhere. Pair it with the bridge overlooks on the way out.
Highway 1 south — Pacifica to Half Moon Bay
Out of the city along the Great Highway and Skyline, then onto Highway 1 hugging the cliffs through Pacifica, past Devil's Slide, and down to Half Moon Bay. Tide-pool stops at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, the harbor at Pillar Point, lunch in town, and the big winter surf at Mavericks offshore. A relaxed half-day with the Pacific on your right the whole way.
The Great Highway & Lands End
Along the city's western edge, the Great Highway runs the length of Ocean Beach with the Pacific on your right, up to the Cliff House ruins and the Lands End lookout, where the coast trail frames the bridge through the cypress. A slow sunset stretch — see beaches and wildlife.
How a drive runs
We pick you up at your hotel, handle the route and the timing so the light lands at the overlooks, and stop wherever you want to get out. No circling for parking at Twin Peaks, no missing a seagull sign. For a full chauffeured day that bundles the drive with the wharf, the bridge, and lunch, see limo tours.