San Francisco is a city that makes it easy to stay in your own corner of it, but Camryn is a local who’s spent years deliberately ignoring that temptation.
She starts most mornings with an early class at Barry’s or Solidcore in the Castro, then gets ready while the light comes through her bay windows. She recently became a mom, which she says has made her appreciate both the people and the city itself more than she expected. Her daughter comes everywhere with her, 90% of the time.
Her San Francisco is Dolores Park on a sunny afternoon with a poke bowl from Bi-Rite, long walks through Noe Valley, weekend crab bagel sandwiches from Batches Bakehouse before they sell out, and sunsets from her rooftop watching Salesforce Tower glow while Sutro Tower peeks through the hills. She’s also a marketer who pays close attention to how a place presents itself, which means she has strong opinions about which spots in the city have figured out their identity.
Here’s where she goes:
The neighborhood is the plan
Camryn’s approach to a good day in San Francisco is simple: get outside, and visit someplace new and unexpected. In other words, don’t just follow the same old tourist routes. “Every part of the city has such a different personality, and that’s what makes San Francisco fun to me,” she says. “The second you go explore another neighborhood, the entire day feels better.”
On a slow day, that usually starts with coffee at Poesia Cafe or Q Specialty Coffee, then a long walk through whichever neighborhood feels right. Noe Valley for a relaxed morning. Sea Cliff to admire the homes. Lands End for what feels like a hike without requiring much commitment (or hiking shoes).
Dolores Park is her anchor when she wants to genuinely decompress. She’ll stop at Bi-Rite first for a salmon poke bowl, then spend hours there with sunscreen and a sketchbook. Paint days, people watching, the particular chaos of a park that somehow contains every type of person at once. “It’s chaotic and relaxing at the same time,” she says. For phone-free shopping, she goes to Fillmore for the mix of luxury and mid-tier stores, or Haight Street for thrifting and the general sense that you might find anything.
For dinner, Cotogna is the one she’d be genuinely upset to lose. Seasonal menu, bistecca Fiorentina, a wine selection that earns it, and an atmosphere that feels elevated without being pretentious. For sushi, she sends people to Kabuto, her in-city hidden gem.
The same instinct extends to how she moves through the city with her daughter. She promised herself when her daughter was born that she’d keep bringing her everywhere, and she has. Club Fugazi for a circus show, restaurants across the city, parks and walking routes and family activities that she says are endless. “People have been so accommodating and kind,” she says.
San Francisco, it turns out, is a good city to raise a kid in.
Access hotel pools, spas, and resort amenities by the day. No overnight stay required.
Browse ResortPassWhen you need to leave the city
Camryn’s answer to escaping San Francisco is to take full advantage of how easy it is. “Within a couple of hours, you can completely shift the energy and feel like you’re nowhere near a major city,” she says.
Napa Valley is her go-to reset. She’s done hot air ballooning with NVA Loft at sunrise above the vineyards, wine tasting at Groth Vineyards, and eaten her way through Yountville with Bistro Jeanty as the consistent favorite. “Being above the vineyards at sunrise with absolutely no noise except the balloon burners is probably the most disconnected I’ve felt from my phone in a long time,” she says.
For a longer escape, she drives up to Mendocino and stays at SCP Mendocino Coast Lodge: quiet, coastal, and about as far from the pace of San Francisco as you can get in a two-hour drive.
Back in the city, she has a few top picks for hotels with pools, views, and good vibes (good food a must, too). Take a look and book them yourself below.
Camryn’s picks: Top ResortPass properties in San Francisco
For the Union Square pool day: Hotel Nikko San Francisco
Right in the heart of Union Square, Hotel Nikko has one of the more distinctive pool setups in the city: a glass-enclosed rooftop pool with skylights that frame the surrounding skyline from above. The 10,000-square-foot health club includes strength training, cardio equipment, a steam room, and a sauna, which makes it a natural extension of the kind of morning workout routine Camryn already has. A good option when you want the reset without leaving the city to find it.
For the Nob Hill afternoon: Fairmont San Francisco
A San Francisco landmark perched atop Nob Hill with bay views and the kind of presence that makes you feel like you’re somewhere significant. Day room access comes with bay views and full hotel amenities, and for something more active, the Fairmont also offers pickleball court rental on property, a good option if you want to make a proper afternoon of it. The Laurel Court Restaurant handles lunch, and the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar is the kind of only-in-SF stop worth building a late afternoon around.
For the escape across the bridge: Cavallo Point Lodge
Exactly what Camryn means when she talks about how easy it is to shift the energy without going far. Nestled at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito, Cavallo Point Lodge offers day rooms with Golden Gate views, king beds, cozy fireplaces, robes and slippers, and in-room dining from two on-site restaurants. The grounds alone make it feel removed from the pace of the city. End the afternoon on the lodge porch watching the sun set over the bay.
