History

The City of San Francisco has a lot to celebrate this summer. In addition to the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco's longest running music festival is also commemorating its 75th year. Since 1938, the Stern Grove Festival has presented a wide variety of local and international performing artists in the idyllic setting of Sigmund Stern Grove, a natural amphitheater surrounded by eucalyptus trees.

In May of 1937, San Francisco's most iconic landmark first opened to traffic. A physical gateway to Marin County and a hallmark of technology and ingenuity -- a legacy which remains in force throughout the Bay Area -- the Golden Gate Bridge represents many things to both locals and tourists.

Artisan, small-batch craft beers are on the rise, and while the malty libation may never eclipse wine as California's premiere beverage, its booming popularity is putting beer hotspots like Sacramento on the map.

Hoping to continue our "Urban Hiking" series, which has so far taken readers across the Golden Gate Bridge and through Golden Gate Park, I set out to find an urban trek from our San Francisco Downtown Hostel. There aren't many parks nearby big enough to warrant a trip, and the most popular walking paths downtown are between the many stores in the Union Square shopping district.

Driving through the one-way tunnel a mile north of the Golden Gate Bridge -- after leaving city lights and traffic and a long week behind -- I feel like I'm entering San Francisco's own Secret Garden.

When I heard that a few new restaurants and bars had opened on K Street, just a few blocks from the Sacramento Hostel, I immediately added them to my list of Sacramento spots to check out.

When I first visited San Francisco in 2005, my friends demanded we visit the Haight-Ashbury. Standing at the intersection looking up at the sign, I had little knowledge of what had happened here -- at the time I was more interested in the vintage clothing shop on the corner.

The New Years ball dropped in Times Square long ago, but here in San Francisco the party is still to come!

Celebrate the evolution of two Gold Rush-era mansions with the "Mansion 2 Museum Package" offered this winter at the Sacramento Hostel. Save up to $58 on two nights at the hostel plus admission to the Crocker Art Museum, located just one mile away.

After taking a hiatus in 2009, the annual lighting of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse is back. Join thousands of visitors on November 13 to see the spectacular, original Fresnel lens light up the sky, as we celebrate the 138th anniversary of the lighthouse.