The 49 Mile Scenic Drive was created in 1938 in order to showcase the highlights of the City of San Francisco. for the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition. It was already a convoluted route which originally began at city Hall and ended on Treasure Island. Since 1939 the route has been altered somewhat but still remains convoluted and today plagued with traffic problems and poor maintenance of signage. Specifically, the Seagull in profile with a blue background signs have been badly faded and not all are clearly visible. You will need to use the internet to get a clear description of the route. Some of the major sites along the route are City Hall, Asian Art Museum, Little Saigon, Japan Town, Union Square, China Town, Telegraph Hill, Lombard Street, Coit tower, Fishermen's Wharf, Palace of fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, Lake Merced, California Academy of the Sciences, Haight-Ashbury, Twin Peaks The Castro and Oracle Park. Parking at these various sites runs the range of easy to very difficult. Metered street parking is available at some locations. Due to the numerous hassles involved in trying to run the route most tourists opt for city transportation or the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus. "If you are going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair..." read more

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This is a great idea but in the day and age we are in now I wish they already had a google map link for this drive. As most of the reviews mentioned the signs are missing so I had to follow a map on SF website and my friend would navigate me which is great if you're traveling with people. A lot of the places we already hit due to our own itinerary but some of the places on the drive I never saw when doing research about the city so this was great anyways! read more

A confusing route with missing signage, or else it's hidden away fairly well, since it was instituted decades ago. The seagull that is to be your guide is pretty faded out and hard to find along the route. It was a nice drive still as tourists to meander around the outskirts of the city and see the gorgeous views before us. read more

I can't believe this is an actual review on Yelp but I had the pleasure of finally taking that scenic drive in SF this past weekend. First of all, like most people said, it's not a scenic drive of SF itself, it's more like a drive to see pretty ocean views and trees. Luckily, the day I went, it just happened to be a BEAUTIFUL clear day (which is rare in SF) so it made the drive amazing. While you don't actually see SF itself, you do get a lot of cliff views of the oceans and all the others tourists who are taking pictures. It's a nice drive if you're into the nature scene. If you want the local scene of SF, this probably isn't the drive for you. read more

My Mom used to take Scenic Drive whenever she had the notion in the days of her youth on her Triumph. Sometimes with my Aunt on the back, coming from or on the long way to get sundaes, sweets or chili dogs. I like to take the drive today and picture her zooming through the city streets on her bike. It takes you by Ocean Beach, which is THE beach view that is in all our fantasies when we think of an Ocean scene. It swallows you with uninhibited views of the water and the sky, creating exquisite sunsets, and surely their opposite. Take the drive, like all the Hip Katz do. You'll Dig. read more

I dunno, I thought the 49 mile drive was pretty cool. It seems like most of the other reviews are local San Franners and knew good things that weren't featured in the drive, but I was just visiting so I thought it was cool. We hadn't planned in advance to do it. I was looking on a SF tour map and saw a little advertisement box with a couple sentences and an internet bar code thing. We didn't really have anything to do our 2nd day in SF, so we decided to go on this drive. The views and places we passed were pretty awesome: Alcatraz, the bridge, some beautiful art museum place I can't remember the name of, a Holocaust memorial, the hill you can climb and almost be blown off that has a nice view downtown, the beaches, a nice big park. Good thing I had the map pulled up on my phone, because there were a few times that we didn't see the seagull signs on turns we needed to make. All in all, I highly recommend doing the drive. It was fun. read more

I always saw those little ... pelican? seagull? signs around the city and wondered what they were. 'Course, when I found out they marked a citywide path, I figured, why the hell not? My friend and I had an awesome time with this 5-hour drive -- we stopped at the recommended spots and did touristy (read: silly/awkward) things -- you'd probably finish it in two if you didn't stop to gaze at the half-fog-covered Sutro Tower and the architectural modernism that is downtown. The route was scenic and beautiful at times but frustrating at others: We missed a couple of signs due to overgrown trees and odd circles around the block. It didn't take us throughout the entire city -- then again, the Excelsior/Bayview probably wasn't too developed and paved by 1938... But it DID show us, in true San Francisco-style, traffic jams at 5 p.m., bad drivers on Sunset and slow bicyclists down Lombard -- a perfect thing for me to remember the city by. read more

I'm sure at one time or another you've wondered about following the blue and white 49 Mile Scenic Drive signs with the seagull and arrows scattered throughout the city. Well, they're really designed for a one-day tour by car, and even though the route has been revised over the years, it needs to be revised again. Currently you get the requisite panoramas like the Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks, Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park, the Embarcadero, even Interstate 280 approaching downtown. You also get districts like Chinatown, Japantown, the Presidio, and Fishermans Wharf. So why only two-stars? Look what's missing on the route that is quintessential San Francisco. Mission Street in the Mission, Haight Street, Market Street/Castro Street , Fillmore Street and the hill, even the crooked Lombard Street. If the 49 Mile distance needs to be maintained, perhaps a portion of the route that goes down to Lake Merced should be cut. When I take people around I implement these ideas. Can you imagine that the original route used to go to Treasure Island? Surely the view is nice from the island as well as the drive back into the city, but these days traffic is so crazy that I wouldn't recommend re-establishing this portion of the route, especially with the short ramps to and from the island. Also, some of the directional signs are fading... read more

We wander and are decently good wanderers. Therefore you'd think this path would be easy for us to follow. But it wasn't. We started following the route and then our seagull friend disappeared. So I google where to find him again. Then shortly after finding him he disappears on us again. If you have signs posted around the city for people to follow then it should be easy to follow. Not only that the signs were faded and some of them were hard to tell they were even related to the "scenic" drive. It really isn't worth the time. I'll stick with what I normally do - exploring on our own! read more

I attempted this drive yesterday, even though I am a native. I thought it would be a fun, historical, and an informative first date. It started off great...we cruised from City Hall up though Little Saigon, over to Japantown, down to Union Square, over through Chinatown, up to Nob Hill...then suddenly we lost our Seagull Buddy. Where did you go? So...maybe another time, but we liked what we saw in the 2 mi area we did cover. read more

We normally wander about San Francisco in an unstructured way, so I thought it would be fun to try the 49 mile scenic drive. It took us through some less populated areas of San Francisco that I hadn't seen before, and it was nice not to worry about my level 2 navigator getting us lost. I see what people are saying about how this drive kind of skirts around much of the city, but I liked it for that. When I'm exploring the city on my own I tend to stay in the city; it was nice to be directed to areas on the edges that I hadn't seen yet. It would have been 5 stars but sometimes the bird signs let us down and I had to fall back on my human navigator. read more

Hi Folks, Just wanted to point out that lamenting what the 49 Mile Scenic Drive misses - is missing the point. Keep in mind the drive was created in 1938, it originally went from City Hall to Treasure Island. It was designed by the downtown association to promote the city and highlight it's beauty, the drive created a diversion for tourists attending the Golden Gate International Expo of 1939-40. That said, it has changed a bit over the years, now beginning and ending at City Hall. Although it does miss some of the neighborhoods, with some planning, patience and time you can do the drive with detours and added stops and get the big picture. It's an excellent way to get an overview of what SF is all about. If you want to add some history, an excellent map and driving directions and some interesting and well thought out detours grab this book "San Francisco's 49 Mile Scenic Drive: The Guidebook" by Joseph M. Lubow and Laurel Rose - published in 2001 it's a bit dated but still an easy, fun read excellent directions and tips for the drive. Whether you use this book or a map (AAA has a good map) you will need a map - the signs are famous and get stolen or turned around often. The drive takes time (4-6 hours + if you want to make stops) and patience. If your hobby is lamenting traffic this drive is not for you. If you just roll with it, it can be a lot of fun. For even more fun, rent a SmartCar, Vespa or Piaggio from fabulous and friendly, Jeremiah at Buzz Rentals. Traffic is just no big thing when you're driving a bright yellow smart car with the top down and the tunes rolling! http://www.yelp.com/biz/buzz-rental-san-francisco#hrid:0EPojYRr2O-A7uNUy-4BjQ The 49 Mile Scenic Drive was meant to be driven, make yourself a "mix tape," put the top down and go with the flow!! read more

Aww, why the low review rating? 49-Mile is an excellent part of San Francisco flair. Yet it remains fairly unknown; even to locals. Sit back, relax and enjoy the view. read more

I agree that this is best as a survey of neighborhoods. It does live up to its scenic name. My boyfriend drove this route but we didn't go to Ocean Beach or Twin Peaks. This should focus on areas tourists don't think of visiting so I feel its right to skip Haight and Lombard. We didn't know it left the city. read more

This drive is great for visiting family or friends who are in town. You can as much or as little as you like, and it's pretty much a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Yes, there are simply parts of the drive that are much more scenic than others, but overall it's really great. read more

seagull....where did you go little seagull?? lol, even though we got lost multiple times on this drive, my mom and I had a blast on it, mainly because we kept searching in vain for the stupid little seagull and laughing hard the whole time we were looking for him. Lots of things to see on this drive, and we took the whole day to do it, stopping multiple times and getting out and walking around, but yes, I agree you miss out on a lot of things San Fran has to offer. As much as we enjoyed it, we probably would only do it once as there are so many other things to check out in the city. Bring a guidebook with you if you don't want to get continuously turned around searching for that pesky little birdy.... read more

The signs are difficult to follow so you might want to find the route online first and print out some directions! But overall the drive is pretty cool. Plan to spend a good 5 hours or so driving around. The drive did miss a few places I probably would have included in a city tour but really did hit most of the big ones and is a fantastic overall tour of SF. Plus, if you're new in town it could really help you get your bearings. If you have a friend who isn't big into touristy stuff but hasn't really been to the city you should definitely try to take him/her on the drive...you won't be dissapointed witht he scenic views, landmarks, and a reminder of the fact that SF is really one of the most beautiful cities anywhere :) read more

I've driven this route three times, and I get lost every time. It's not the Scenic Drive's fault, and it is a beautiful ride, but man, I wish I could follow the signs better! Kind of confusing once you get to Golden Gate Park. I was all up in somebody's sh*t at their Haight Victorian-- strange culs-de-sac, etc. I guess it is fun even if you get lost! read more

I would rather walk through Golden Gate Park. Driving in the city can be too hectic.

This is cool! I wish I would have know about this the first week I moved to the Bay area. We had some time to kill while in the city, so we started off near AT & T park then followed the seagull signs. We saw some pretty great landmarks. We didn't stay on the path for long, ending up at Fort Baker before we had to get back. This would be a great leisurely motorcycle ride some lazy weekend. read more

For Native or honorary native San Franciscans. WayFun!!!!!!!! I get my motorcycle club, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_mc, to do it every Spring Equinox. The last bit around the Ferry Bldg. on a Saturday afternoon can get gridlocked, so head North on Main to Washington, enjoy, Keep the shiny side Up!!!!!!!! xoxoxo, Lenny read more

I like this drive, but I would recommend an abbreviated version that starts at Ft. Mason, does the Presidio/Crissy Field/GG Bridge bit, cruises down the Pacific Highway (optional Lake Merced or just jump into GG Park), Twin Peaks, Buena Vista Park - and that's it. The rest of the drive doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, if this is supposed to be a scenic drive. The rest of it is just a city drive...scenic cred debatable. read more

Can be a little difficult to navigate but this is such a great concept that gives you a great overview of San Francisco. If you don't have a ton of time to spend in San Fran, I would definitely recommend driving this to take in much of the city. read more