Accepted to Berkeley, awaiting Stanford. Planning a short visit during spring break to check out each school. Arrive Sunday, San Jose airport, depart Wednesday, out of San Francisco. Any recommendations about something to not miss while there? DD has never been to Cali.
At Stanford, I actually recommend going up Hoover Tower to get the bird’s eye view out over the campus. If you’re in good shape, ask a Stanford student to direct you to the hiking path area known as “The Dish.” It is a tranquil open space area just west of the campus. Head down University Avenue (connects to Palm Drive) and explore some of the local upscale Palo Alto scene.
I ver in Berkeley, also recommend you go up the Campanile (Sather Tower). Great views out towards the Golden Gate Bridge and SF on a clear day. Up behind Cal’s football stadium is a great hiking area known as the “Fire trail.” Lots of Cal students and Berkeley locals use it. Get some Yogurt Park fro-yo over on Durant Ave., and explore the Telegraph Avenue area. Telegraph area (known as “south side”) remains dirty as hell, but it still carries a 60’s vibe and a 60’s smell (patchouli oil).
@GeronimoAlpaca Thank you for taking the time to share that. All sounds good but the Telegraph area which sounds a bit…eh! Will we be safe there? Will we see any leftover Hare Krishnas?
You’ll be fine down on Telegraph. Steer a wide berth around anyone muttering vociferously to no one in particular, but in general, it’s fine. You will come away with a real strong sense for how pristine the Stanford/Palo Alto scene is compared to the grittier UC / Berkeley environment though.
Have fun, both are great schools with pretty different vibes.
I’d also visit the Town & Country Village, immediately across El Camino from the Stanford football stadium, with all their shops and restaurants as well as the Stanford Shopping Mall, which is adjacent to and north of campus. Further, there are some great student hangouts on the side streets off University Avenue.
On campus: https://visit.stanford.edu/tours/
Great, @sushiritto, sounds good and thanks for the tours link. Had not come across it. @jeffnom
And if you’re talking about SF, then I’d probably hit the highlights like the GG Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, SF Ferry Building, Twin Peaks, Lombard Street (crooked-est portion), Chinatown, SF Marina, Union and Chestnut Streets, the list could go on forever. Across the GG Bridge, I’d visit Sausalito, if you have the time. A cute little city on the water with City views with shops and more restaurants. Also, the tours to Alcatraz may be all booked up, but I’d try to get one, if you can.
I’d also visit Apple’s new spaceship complex/building in Santa Clara area near the SJ airport. It’s pretty cool to look at too.
It sounds to me like you’ll have about a day for each campus, and not time for much else…might need to save the SF tour for another trip! If you or your daughter are art lovers, pop into the Cantor and Anderson museums at Stanford. They are phenomenal. Stanford is a huge campus so a tour is definitely a good idea.
@riley2 It sounds like we might need to figure out how to extend our trip. So much to see, so little time. Thanks!
As a New Yorker working in Palo Alto, I would recommend enjoying the vistas of the bridges and bays from nearby Oakland (Piedmont/Montclair) as this is close to Berkeley. Sausalito in my opinion is over-rated. The 17-mile Pebble Beach/Monterey drive is one of my favs, with Carmel another 20 min drive from there.
https://www.pebblebeach.com/17-mile-drive/
Don’t think you will have time for Napa/Sonoma on this trip but that is fun as well.
@i012575 She just turned 18 a few days ago so not quite ready for Napa but worth remembering in the future!
R&G Lounge in Chinatown. Golden Gate Park-Japanese Tea Garden, Exploratorium
Was also going to suggest the Cantor Museum at Stanford. Great (huge) Rodin collection.
Love the insider info. I had no idea where to start and too small a window to wing it.
My favorite spots on Stanford campus:
Anderson & Cantor art museum (free admission, I think they’re closed on Tuesdays, but I might be misremembering)
Hoover tower for the views ($1 admission)
Memorial Church. Gorgeous interior, wonderful organs.
Windhover center (a meditation space, I think you might need to be an affiliate to get in, but there’s nice water features and a labyrinth outside)
The cactus garden, also you can visit the mausoleum… it’s certainly interesting…
My favorite study spot was the Lathrop library/tech space. It’s very stereotypically Silicon Valley.
Since the campus is so big, it might be good to focus on the area of campus where she’ll be studying. The engineering quad looks much different from the main quad, and the biology/medical science area is also separate.
The good food options are kind of hidden. Go to the Knight school of management for the best food, A close second would be in the NVIDIA building in the engineering quad. Coupa cafe (several locations), Bytes cafe in the Packard building or the cafeteria in Clark center are also ok. The other campus run places tend to be limited for options.
Thanks, @geraniol . I reworked our schedule so that we will have one more day out there. Hopefully that will help us enjoy a little more than a fly by visit.
She is in at Berkeley. Won’t know about Stanford until after our visit. Kind of a pain coming from the East Coast. Don’t want to get her hopes up but also don’t want to miss what is important to see.
So we are flying in to San Jose on Saturday and flying out of SFO on Wednesday. DD would prefer to stay in one place and base out of there rather than have to deal with changing hotels. Brother will be joining us and is a rock climber and a surfer. Not knowing the area and the traveling times, does this make sense? Is there somewhere to stay which is good to base out of that is accessible to beach and to catch some waves or some rocks? The waves and rocks are lower priority but if they are nearby, let me know. Thanks!
Indoor climbing is very popular. There’s really nice climbing gym (planet granite) in the Presidio in SF. I think there’s good surfing at Ocean Beach nearby, but I’ve heard it can get really crowded though that might just be when it’s warm and the beach sitters are out. If you’re doing touristy things in SF and visiting GG park or GG bridge, you’ll be near that area. (From the Presidio you can walk down to the Marina district and see the bridge. Plus there’s free curbside parking by Planet Granite.)
For outdoor and close to surfing, he should stay in Santa Cruz, 45 min drive south of the Peninsula. Tons of websites will have recommended climbing and surfing spots, and there are a lot of surf shops around to rent gear. Might be a bit of a pain to get to if you don’t have a second rental car for him.
Ironworks in Berkeley is also a great indoor gym.
@geraniol Thank you.Thank you. That is exactly what I needed to find for him.
@dowzerw Glad to help! Have a great trip!