Day Trippin' › California › From San Francisco › Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
The drive from San Francisco to Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park takes about 2 hr 12 min (northeast of San Francisco), by real roads from ZIP 94103. Along the way we found 93 stops within a short detour: 21 coffee shops, 2 bakeries, 22 ice cream and treats and 25 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: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0
Historic site
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.
Heads-up: November to February the museum is open 9 to 4. The river is cold and fast in spring.
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About 2 hr 12 min by road, heading northeast from the middle of ZIP 94103. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Tower Cafe Sacramento (Sacramento). The page lists 27 in all, in driving order.
Waterside Cafe in Albany, Joe's Coffee in Albany, Butter Pecan Bakeshop in Pinole 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, 2003 Alfred Zampa Memorial Suspension Bridge in Crolona Heights and 1958 Carquinez 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.