Day Trippin' › California › From San Francisco › Empire Mine State Historic Park
The drive from San Francisco to Empire Mine State Historic Park takes about 2 hr 23 min (northeast of San Francisco), by real roads from ZIP 94103. Along the way we found 88 stops within a short detour: 21 coffee shops, 2 bakeries, 21 ice cream and treats and 24 places to eat.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from San Francisco) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: Beej71, CC BY 2.5
Historic site
One of California's richest hard-rock gold mines, with a stone owner's cottage, formal gardens and the old mine yard.
Heads-up: Grounds open at 10 and close at 4 in winter and 5 in summer; closed on major holidays. No dogs in the buildings.
First third Middle third Last third Empire Mine State Historic Park
About 2 hr 23 min by road, heading northeast from the middle of ZIP 94103. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery (Emeryville), Waterside Cafe (Albany), Takara Sake Museum (Albany), Joe's Coffee (Albany) and CANDY BOX (Richmond). The page lists 27 in all, in driving order.
Waterside Cafe in Albany, Joe's Coffee in Albany, Starbread in San Pablo and The Bistro in Carquinez Heights. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
Brazuca Açaí in East Richmond Heights, Tsing Tao in East Richmond Heights, Sunshine Smoothies & Coffee in Vallejo and Hinata Japanese Steakhouse, Sushi, and Bar in Fairfield.
Takara Sake Museum in Albany, Omescape in Albany, Murietta Rock in East Richmond Heights and 2003 Alfred Zampa Memorial Suspension Bridge in Crolona Heights.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.