For a new take on the traditional picnic lunch in the sun, visitors can orchestrate their al fresco dining around San Francisco's fabulous spectacle of summer fog. Summer fog is common, but not an everyday event, so a bit of spontaneity works in favor of those in pursuit of a fog adventure. Morning and evening fog rolls into San Francisco Bay from June to August, pushing its way through the Golden Gate Bridge towers, drifting and swirling up and over the Marin Headlands, and nestling up against shoreline piers. Then, more often than not, it magically stops before consuming the city itself. It's a picturesque show of nature that changes each day as the elements of the sea, sun and wind interact.
Timing is essential.
By mid-day the sun has burned off the white wispy stuff so people shed their jackets and sweaters to bask in the sun before the fog rolls in again by late afternoon. Whether one is beside it, above it or in the thick of it, fog is a mystical and magical drama of nature to behold. Here are a few suggestions of where to find fog viewing spots. Just below the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge and Vista Point lies East Fort Baker. This secluded recreation area with views of the bay is often sunny when the western park areas are fogged in.