Picnic Beneath the Golden Gate

If the weather forecast looks promising, you could do a lot worse than planning a picnic at the West Bluff Picnic Area in the Presidio. This area is south of Crissy Field (closer to the bridge) and before you get to Fort Point - situated perfectly to give you an amazing view of the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, and downtown.

You'll find about a dozen nice picnic tables, and a handful with BBQ grills. There is also a lot of open, tiered lawn area if you prefer to keep it simple. But if you want to score one of the tables, you should plan on getting there by about 9:00am. If you need one with a grill, you'll need to get there by about 7:00am. That's pretty early, but well worth it to grab a prime spot on a sunny day in the City. There is a pretty big parking lot right behind the picnic area for easy drop-offs.