Day Trippin' › California › From Oakland
From Oakland, Exploratorium is about 15 minutes away, Muir Woods National Monument under 40 minutes, and Mount Diablo State Park about an hour. The best day trips from Oakland, by drive time.
177 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
Theme park · 29 min north
Roller coasters, a water park and live animal shows in one park in Vallejo.
Hike · 39 min west
Easy paths through old coast redwoods in a quiet canyon just north of the city.
Landmark · 44 min southeast
A huge odd mansion in San Jose with stairs to nowhere and doors that open to walls.
Landmark · 26 min west
The famous orange bridge. Walk or bike across for big views of the city, the bay and the Marin Headlands.
State park · 1 hr east
A tall peak in the East Bay with a summit road, wide views and many trails.
Zoo · 25 min southwest
A zoo on the ocean edge with lemurs, gorillas, a children's zoo and a carousel.
Small town · 30 min west
A hillside bay town with galleries, a waterfront walk and ferry rides to the city.
Food town · 44 min north
Food hall by the Napa River in downtown Napa with cheese, oysters and coffee.
Island · 1 hr 1 min west
Ferry to the old island prison with an audio tour and big city views.
Theme park · 1 hr 15 min south
Classic seaside amusement park with a wooden coaster, arcade and a wide beach next door.
Observatory · 1 hr 16 min southeast
Historic hilltop telescopes above San Jose with a long winding road and big views.
Historic site · 1 hr 19 min northeast
A riverfront district of Gold Rush and railroad-era buildings with wooden sidewalks, under Tower Bridge.
Landmark · 1 hr 30 min west
A historic lighthouse at the end of a long peninsula road with steep stairs and winter whale watching.
Small town · 1 hr 9 min north
A walkable downtown with tasting rooms, shops and river views.
Island · 1 hr 19 min northwest
Ferry to a bay island with a loop road, hiking, bike rentals and old military sites.
Aquarium · 1 hr 50 min south
World-famous aquarium with kelp forest, jellyfish and sea otters, right on the water.
National park · 2 hr 6 min southeast
Spires and talus caves from an ancient volcano, plus condors and good hiking trails.
Historic site · 2 hr 6 min northeast
The place in Coloma where the 1848 gold find set off the Gold Rush, with a replica sawmill, a museum and gold panning on the American River.
Historic site · 2 hr 16 min east
A whole Gold Rush town kept as it was, with stagecoach rides, gold panning, old saloons and costumed shopkeepers.
Historic site · 2 hr 17 min northeast
One of California's richest hard-rock gold mines, with a stone owner's cottage, formal gardens and the old mine yard.
Waterfall · 2 hr 35 min south
Short walk to an overlook of an ocean waterfall dropping onto a beach.
State park · 2 hr 40 min east
Giant sequoias in the North Grove on an easy, mostly flat loop, where the big trees first became famous in the 1850s.
Small town · 2 hr 52 min northwest
A seaside village on a bluff with art galleries, shops and Victorian houses.
Viewpoint · 2 hr 7 min south
Photo stop for the tall arched bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 94607 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.