Outdoors
Day-use and picnic areas near San Mateo on public land, from quick drives to full-day outings.
Good to know: Group picnic sites can often be reserved; fire rules change with the season, so check before bringing a grill.
Kirby Cove is located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge at historic Battery Kirby. Visitors are awarded breathtaking views of San Francisco, its famous Golden Gate Bridge, and the rugged Pacific Coast of northern California.
The Bay Model was built in 1957 as a research tool to test the impact of proposed changes to San Francisco Bay and its related waterways.
Experience a park so rich it supports 19 distinct ecosystems with over 2,000 plant and animal species.
Contra Loma Dam and reservoir are part of the Central Valley Project - Delta Division and offers recreational opportunities for the East Bay area near San Francisco.
From its thunderous ocean breakers crashing against rocky headlands and expansive sand beaches to its open grasslands, brushy hillsides, and forested ridges, Point Reyes offers visitors over 1500 species of plants and animals to discover.
The San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge located in Stanislaus County encompasses more than 7,300 acres of riparian woodlands, wetlands, and grasslands that host a diversity of wildlife native to California’s Great Central Valley.
Nestled between Blue Ridge and Cedar Roughs, east of the Napa Valley, Lake Berryessa offers year-round recreation opportunities.
Lake Solano Park, Solano Project , is located at the base of coastal foothills at the western edge of the Sacramento Valley and offers an array of recreational opportunities.
Recreation facilities at San Luis Lake were constructed under a cost-share agreement between the Bureau of Reclamation and the State of Colorado during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Nestled between Blue Ridge and Cedar Roughs east of Napa Valley, Lake Berryessa provides ample public recreation opportunities.
Warm Springs Recreation Area is a day-use park located at Lake Sonoma, which is just a 45 minute drive north of Santa Rosa and a 2 hour trip from San Francisco.
Distances are straight-line miles from downtown San Mateo. Listings come from Recreation.gov’s federal recreation database; check each official page for hours, fees, fire restrictions and closures before you go.
Kirby Cove Campground (National Park Service), about 22 miles northwest of San Mateo as the crow flies. Next are S F Bay Model Regional Visitor Center (22 mi) and Golden Gate National Recreation Area (26 mi).
Based on San Mateo’s average highs, February–November. Conditions at higher elevations can be much cooler.
Federal agencies including Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, US Army Corps of Engineers. Each listing links to its official page for hours, fees, closures and current conditions.