A 1-2-3 Day Trip Plan for successful family adventure

Create an effective plan for a day trip with your kids.

What is a 1-2-3 plan?

Setting out for the day with only a single destination in mind can work out fine, and it can also end with disaster. More than likely, it will end up someplace in-between.

Before I started using this strategy, I would have to be pretty quick on my feet to come up with new options when our primary destination failed. Usually, I could work things out and recover our outing before it became a failure. Quite often though, I’d exhaust myself early on in the day while coming up with a new plan and managing what the kids were doing around me.

Eventually, I started creating my fallback plan ahead of my weekend day trips with my kids. I realized that if I added on a couple of convenient nearby alternatives to our day trip plans, a day out with my kids became more successful. I also could investigate ideas for other days out at the same time.

Here is the structure to a 1-2-3 Plan

  1. Primary Destination

  2. Fallback Option 1

  3. Fallback Option 2

If everything goes according to plan, the primary destination might be the only thing we will need, but if needed, we have the next two options on our list to choose from. When we need to go to either of the fallback options, it might be a good idea to find a quiet place for a break in-between, in order to cleanse our adventure palate, allowing us to take on the next item with a fresh perspective.

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For example, if I planned a day out to San Francisco’s Academy of Science as the primary destination, I could add on the free area’s of the de Young museum (the tower and sculpture garden) and the Japanese Tea Garden as alternatives if it was a really busy day at the Academy. My simple plan looked something like this:

  1. Academy of Science

  2. Free areas of the de Young

  3. Japanese Tea Garden

If we had a successful day at the Academy of Science, terrific! On our way out, we might venture by the other two locations so I could gauge the interest of my kids for a future day out that focused primarily on one of those destinations. However, if our primary destination didn’t work out we could quickly regroup and head to either of our two alternative destinations without too much effort. Success was built into the plan.

Typically, I’ll also add some notes and links to places that might be interesting which support the adventure. This way I can file the adventure to enjoy again later, or share with a friend.

Categorize your adventure for better planning

In order to better prepare ourselves for adventures, I also categorize our adventures so we can pack appropriately

  • Walk

  • Hike

  • Summit

  • Visit

  • Tour

  • Bike

Walk

I tend to think of a walk as an urban variation of a hike. All you need is a comfortable pair of walking shoes, and possibly some snacks and water to take along with you. Maybe even throw in a sketchbook. These adventures tend to be flatter, but can also involve some hills. And as you are in an urban environment, you can easily stop for a coffee/bathroom break along the way.

Hike

A hike takes place in a more wooded environment, someplace away from urban surroundings. You might be on a dirt trail, and it might be to your advantage to have on a pair of hiking shoes. Hiking shoes give you more traction on slippery terrain, have a less flexible sole (better for walking over rocks), and are shoes you probably don’t mind getting a bit dirty.

Summit

A summit is a walk, or more likely a hike, that involves getting to the top of a significant hill. You might start near the top and finish at the summit, or you might take on a bigger adventure and start at the bottom before making your way up to the top. Mount Diablo in San Francisco’s East Bay has an easy mile hike around the summit that finishes at the ranger station at the top. A longer example is summiting Mt. Tamalpais in Marin, starting from the sea at Stinson Beach to the East Peak summit of Mt. Tamalpais (note: this a strenuous 15-mile hike with a 2500 foot elevation gain).

Visit

This is usually a singular location like a museum or a similar venue. You walk around the venue on your own, interacting with exhibits along the way. Visits rely on self-exploration of a venue and allow you to choose your own adventure as you move along giving you great flexibility.

Tour

Similar to a visit, but with the added aspect of someone conducting you around a location, telling you the story or history of it. Often, you get to learn about parts of the place that aren’t as apparent, or not typically open to general visitors. This could either be a tour conducted by a live person, or an audio tour you listen to as you walk along.

Bike

Similar to a hike or a walk, this activity takes place on a bicycle. It can be in an urban location, or somewhere more remote. I often look for opportunities with dedicated bike spaces or events for my kids to get more practice.

Examples of 1-2-3 plans around the
San Francisco Bay Area

It can be helpful to see other 1-2-3 plans before you start creating your own adventures. Below are six adventures to get you started.

  • Walk - Around the Golden Gate Park Windmills (San Francisco)

  • Hike - Marin Headlands (Marin)

  • Summit - Mount Diablo (Contra Costa)

  • Visit - The Tech Museum (San Jose)

  • Tour - Alameda & The USS Hornet (Alameda)

  • Bike - Canada Road Bike Sunday (San Mateo)

Walk around the Golden Gate Park Windmills (San Francisco)

A walk takes place in a primarily urban setting, possibly a park, over mostly paved roads. A comfortable walking shoe is all that you need. You might bring along snacks and water.

  1. Dutch and Murphy Windmills

  2. The Beach or Park Chalet

  3. The Blue Boat Playground

Walking in San Francisco is always a delight, especially in Golden Gate Park. Strolling between the Dutch and Murphy Windmill and the Blue Boat Playground is roughly a mile loop. Start at any point and finding your way is easy. We prefer to park behind the Blue Boat Playground and walk down to the Dutch Windmill first.

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The Dutch Windmill was built over a well drilled for irrigating the park. Most of the land out here is sand dunes, and it took a lot of water and fertilizer to get things to grow out here. Originally it pumped water to subsequent lakes as it made its way to the top of Strawberry Hill in the middle of Stow Lake. Pumping the water up here fed the waterfall and created water pressure to push the water out for irrigation in the park. The well is in use today, but the windmill was replaced by an electric pump not long after it was built, even though it could pump thousands of gallons per hour when it ran. The windmill is ornamental today and was refurbished in the 1980s.

The Beach and Park Chalet is a short walk from the Dutch Windmill. Originally it was only the Beach Chalet, reopened in the early 1990s as a brewery restaurant. Inside the ground floor lobby, you will find a remarkable fresco similar to the one found at the base of Coit Tower, depicting life around San Francisco in the 1930s. The popularity of the Beach Chalet was so much, the owners opened a second restaurant behind the Beach Chalet on the park side, the Park Chalet. The Beach Chalet is more upscale and has incredible sunset views, while the Park Chalet is more mellow and often hosts bands on the weekend. They brew their own San Francisco themed beers here and even brew their own Root Beer that is pretty tasty.

After your visit to the Chalet, continue along to the Murphy Windmill. This was built soon after the Dutch Windmill and had a slightly larger capacity. It too was replaced by electric pumps and was significantly damaged by winter storms in the 1970s and 1980s, with its giant sails being blown off to sit in the shrubbery for years. A little over 10 years ago, the Dutch community raised money to have the windmill fixed and brought back to its former glory. The entire top of the windmill was lifted off and shipped back to Holland for fixing, and now this is the spot for local Kings Day celebrations. You can see the windmill spinning on occasional weekends when staff and weather allow.

Finally, walk your way back up to the Blue Boat playground and enjoy some vintage playground equipment. If you want to experience a little more in the area, have a walk over to the delightful 3 Fish Studios on 47th & Irving. They have great local artwork, and you can see them work on their next pieces. If you need a little coffee, and maybe a fresh-baked cookie for the kids before heading home, Andytown on 43rd and Lawton is one of our favorite spots. May I suggest the Snowy Plover?

Helpful links:

Hike in the Marin Headlands (Marin)

A hike takes a walk a step further by placing you in the wilderness or country setting. Less paved areas and more trails. Ideally wearing a stiffer soled hiking shoe, but not required. You might also consider bringing along some water and snacks or food, depending on where you are hiking and what is available.

  1. Hawk Hill

  2. Point Bonita Lighthouse

  3. Rodeo Beach

  4. Nike Missile Site SF-88

  5. Marine Mammal Center

You can find some great trails in the Marin Headlands. On a nice day out, it can get crowded and traffic can get backed up. Be sure to have flexible plans, and you are bound to have a very memorable day out. Since parking can be such a headache, there are a few extra items added to our 1-2-3 Adventure Plan.

Driving From San Francisco, you have two options to drive into this area. Taking the Alexander Avenue exit after crossing the bridge and passing the Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point, you can either take the first left under the freeway to Conzelman Road or drive down Alexander Avenue a little way to take the left onto Bunker Road and the single-lane tunnel to Rodeo Beach.

Ideally, you take Conzelman road as this gives you the most opportunities. However, this can often get backed up with tourists and isn’t worth the effort. Taking the single-lane Baker-Barry Tunnel, you can take the long way around and take a left up the hill on McCullough Road, which ends at Conzelman Road, missing the heavily touristed Golden Gate View Point, but also missing Kirby Cove and Battery Wagner.

Let go through our options via the ideal route, and hope that you are out here on a day that isn’t heavily touristed. Exiting Alexander Avenue and taking the immediate first left under the freeway, you will drive toward the on-ramp for going South onto the Golden Gate Bridge. Bear right and drive up Conzelman Road.

The first parking area (on the water side) is the Golden Gate View Point. If you

manage to find a spot here, grab it. You have trails here to venture down to Kirby Cove, a secluded beach and a small campground with epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay. Battery Spencer, Battery Wagner, and Battery Kirby are also here, and it’s pretty cool to climb over these WWII defense placements.

Since finding parking at the Golden Gate View Point is nearly impossible, Hawk Hill is your next best bet to find a place to stop. Find your way to the top of Hawk Hill for an epic view of the Bridge and surrounding area. Walking through the bunkers here is also interesting.

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Driving down Conzelman Road is really cool, although make sure you have sound brakes in your car. Driving toward Point Bonita Lighthouse is one of my favorite roads to drive anywhere. It’s beautiful. If you happen to make it here on a Sunday or Monday between 12:30 - 3:30, you can even get out to the lighthouse itself, traversing cool tunnels and over a small suspension bridge.

Rodeo Beach is a favorite spot for surfers, there are even some modest tide pools at the end you can see at low tide. From the beach, there are some cool hikes into the Northern Hills, or even over to Tennessee Valley Beach. You are also close to a few other points of interest.

The Marine Mammal Center rehabilitates injured marine wildlife and is open daily. A great spot to visit sea life up close.

Nike Missile Site SF-88 is the only intact Nike Missile site remaining from the cold war. At one time, many of these sites ringed the bay, created for a cold war defense against incoming Soviet missiles. Their mission was to detonate one of these Nike missiles close enough to the incoming attack to blow missiles up before reaching their destination. They have a dummy warhead on an elevator and the former radar command building. On the first Saturday of the month, you can find Nike Veterans who tell stories of how things worked.

Don’t forget to visit the Marin Headlands Visitor Center close to SF-88.

Helpful links:

Summit Mount Diablo (Contra Costa)

A summit is a hike that will cross the peak of a mountain or hill at some point along the route.

  1. Hike the Interpretive trail around the summit

  2. Visit the Mount Diablo Summit Museum and Ranger Station

  3. Enjoy the view from the roof of the Ranger station

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Mount Diablo is often seen in the distance from a wide variety of locations around the Bay Area. From the summit (on a clear day) you can see nearly the entire Bay Area, and it’s fun to pick out locations you may have previously visited.

The Interpretive trail is roughly a mile loop around the summit. You can begin to see some spectacular views as you hike along the trail, and it’s a good spot to stretch your legs after driving all the way up there. See if you can spot all the Laurel trees.

Once you finish your modest hike, stop in at the Summit museum, I believe they have a Junior Ranger program you can take part in. There are some hands-on exhibits and dioramas inside, as well as the true summit of Mt. Diablo.

Once you finish inside, make your way to the roof of the building to have a look around the Bay Area. What cities and landmarks can you spot. How far can you see?

Helpful links:

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Visit the Tech Museum (San Jose)

A visit usually pertains to an attraction (like a museum or historic site). Your day is typically spent at this spot, maybe venturing to another spot nearby. It’s usually focused on a singular destination.

  1. The Tech Museum

  2. Enjoy an IMAX Movie

  3. Enjoy the fountain and stroll through Plaza de César Chávez in front of the museum

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The Tech Museum is the South Bay’s answer to the Exploratorium. A hands-on technology museum, this is a delightful spot to take the kids and spend the day. Plus the park outside is a great spot to enjoy a picnic to get a little rest before continuing on with your day at the museum.

We enjoy taking Caltrain down to San Jose, then walking the mile over to the Museum. You can also take the Light Rail from the train station to the museum as well. There are also several nearby parking lots downtown if that works better for you.

The Tech Museum is broken up into 3 floors. The main floor houses the museum entrance, special exhibits, the entrance to the IMAX theater, as well as a small cafe. The upper and lower floors are primarily where the exhibits are.

Directly across the street from the museum is Plaza de César Chávez, with a fun fountain in the middle. This is a great spot to step away from the museum and enjoy a quiet lunch before returning. During the holiday season, the park hosts a wonderful event, Christmas in the Park offering 40 musical and animated exhibits that are fun for the whole family.

Helpful links:

Tour the USS Hornet and Alameda (Alameda)

Similar to a visit, but focused on several destinations within close proximity of each other.

  1. Tour the USS Hornet

  2. Pacific Pinball Museum

  3. High Scores Arcade

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A visit to Alameda is a delightful step back in time. At the USS Hornet, you get a taste of what it was like when San Francisco housed a number of military installations around the bay. Then you can stroll around the streets of a less commercial downtown, with funky shops, an ice cream parlor, and even an art deco movie theater.

The USS Hornet is a WWII era aircraft carrier you can tour, and even spend the night. Aside from its remarkable record in and out of combat, this ship was also the prime recovery ship for the Apollo space program. You can tour different parts of this ship and even go up on the flight deck. It’s remarkable how big the ship is, yet small when you consider fighter jets landing there.

Play through the entire history of Pinball at this Alameda favorite. You can try your luck at some of the oldest pinball games, or the most recent. It’s remarkable to see how the scoreboard art had changed over the years.

For a slightly cheaper and more recent thrill, you can enjoy the High Scores Arcade a short distance away. They have a wide selection of arcade cabinets where you can school your kids in Donkey Kong or Pac-Man.

Don’t forget you cap your day off at Tuckers Ice Cream Parlor, might I suggest the Cookie Mint Crunch if they have it.

Helpful links:

Bike Cañada Road on Bike Sunday (San Mateo)

Biking is a trip where you reach your destinations by riding your bike. Ideally, you find a road that has been closed to traffic for the day.

  1. Park at the southern end of the Cañada road closure (at Edgewood Road)

  2. Ride along to the Pulgas Water Temple for a picnic

  3. Visit the gardens and house at Filoli

Most Sundays, the San Mateo Parks Department closes Cañada Road between Highway 92 and the Filoli Historic mansion to traffic. This is an exceptional opportunity to ride on a mostly closed road with your kids, enjoy a nice spot for a picnic, and possibly even take a tour of the historic Filoli mansion and gardens.

This ride is best for intermediate riders, ready to take on a few medium hills and possibly ride on the shoulder of Cañada road with traffic for a short distance if you park at Edgewood road. This is a good chance to talk about and experience ride safety.

I prefer parking at the southern end on Edgewood road so that the hill at the end of the ride isn’t as steep. You can park at the northern Highway 92 end of the route also, but expect a steeper climb to finish your day on the return trip. Parking on Edgewood road means that you have to ride with the traffic for visitors to Filoli, but after that, the road is all yours.

Bring water and pack a picnic lunch for a stop at the San Francisco Water Department’s Pulgas Water Temple. A picturesque spot to throw down a blanket and enjoy a nice break. This is the spot that water from Hetch Hetchy in the Sierras comes out of the aqueduct and into Crystal Springs Reservoir. Until a few years ago, you could actually see it rushing through the water temple. After recent updates, the water temple has become simply decorative.

Filoli is a lovely spot to visit. Designed by Willis Polk, this was originally home to William Bowers Bourn II, owner of the Spring Valley Water Company (which eventually became the San Francisco Water Department). Later bought by William Roth who owned the Matson Navigation Company, the house and gardens were donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975. The house and

gardens are an interesting step back in time and worth a visit. You might recognize the outside of the home from the opening of the TV series Dynasty.

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Want more tips for successfully getting out for family adventure with your family?Adventures In Getting Out has dozens of clever tips and ideas for getting your adventure on the road?Get your copy today!

Want more tips for successfully getting out for family adventure with your family?

Adventures In Getting Out has dozens of clever tips and ideas for getting your adventure on the road?

Get your copy today!



Medium, Adventures in Getting OutCody TolmasoffComment