Lots of details about this interesting corner of the Bay Area provided by our guide Dan G. He was a…read morewealth of information, pretty funny and as a local was able to share a lot of perspective on the islands changes. Great day trip and I wish we had more time to poke around.

Wonderful tour led by Jim. History + nature! A great morning spent on the island…read more For people who are looking to visit the Naval Museum on the island, it is no longer open, but this tour is operative and you get to see the naval chapel and walk around the area. I was originally looking for information about the museum and arrived at this page: https://www.mihpf.org/tours. I hope this will help you find their tour options and dates! All digitalized, no fuss. And it turns out I was the only who signed up for today's tour, and they did not cancel on me because of that. I really really appreciated it. One last thing, the money you spend on the tour goes into helping this foundation : ) Yay!

Beautiful downtown by a beach. Must visit. All the way to here to get the olive oil. It had…read morebeautiful decor during Christmas time

Downtown Benecia is a family friendly spot, with great restaurants and local businesses. There are…read morelots of fun events and a terrific Thursday night Farmer's Market. Benecia is a gem!

Now that I'm such a seasoned hiker (tongue firmly in cheek), I can say with some temerity that I…read morefound this mile-long trail a bit, shall we say, short. I don't mind short trails, but I had to fill up my daily step requirement elsewhere and headed over to Briones for that purpose. That's not to say this trail wasn't worthwhile. It most definitely was as the 13% grade wasn't insurmountable. It allowed nice views of the Carquinez Strait and Mount Diablo at the top. The circuitous trails were surrounded by various oak trees and wildflowers. I made an attempt at following the riding trail that goes through a gamey tunnel under the highway, but it made a dramatic climb which deflated my unearned self-image of a seasoned hiker. Regardless you can see why John Muir took pleasure in taking his daughters with him through these hills. Wanda was the name of his eldest daughter. The trailhead is directly to your right at the Alhambra Avenue exit off Hwy 4. RELATED - Up for a hike? Here's a collection of trails I've walked and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2OrC8nU

When the dog and I need a good hike that isn't too far from home and we can do in a reasonable…read moreamount of time, we come to Mt. Wanda. My man and I are hiking here every other weekend at least. The dog loves it. We recently did the Full Moon Hike that is put on by the Rangers. The kids tagged along. Its free and one of the few times you're allowed on the Mt. during the night. The kids had a wonderful time meandering around in the dark. It was fun to be out of our element with flashlights. The moon was beautiful. The only negative is ticks. We went hiking on Thanksgiving morning with our dog and proceeded to pull seven ticks off our dog. The most yet. Wear bug spray and make sure that your dog is properly protected. Morning, noon or night this is a great hike to take.

Came here for my cousin's Baby Shower this place is beautiful on the inside and outside, it has a…read morelot of history. The inside was very spacious it had two bathrooms and a full kitchen along with a bar a stage and a dance floor, there was so much room which was a great thing cause we have a huge family. The baby shower turned out amazing delicious food and drinks and you know when alcohol is involved and we haven't seen each other in a while we turnt up lol. If you are planning a wedding or baby shower or a birthday and want it to be amazing book this place you will not be disappointed.

IMHO We came here…read morefor a private event, a family baby shower. This venue is huge! Before entering the building, a nice security guard greeted us and gave us options to get to the second floor, either elevator or stairs. We chose the wooden stairs! The whole venue has a cool, rustic feel with its wood and brick facades. My first impression was that they must've just freshly varnished the entire floor because that's what it smelled and looked like. Thankfully the smell didn't overtake the venue. The floor looked great! LOL The family did all the decorating and provided the food. There is a small kitchen to do prep work. In the back there is a long bar area and a small stage. Table and chair storage holders are big and cumbersome and can't be camouflaged during your event. Bathrooms were slightly dated but brightly lit. They should update their bathroom stall latches to something other than hook and eye closures. Overall, a nice spacious area for your event.

This little gift shop / visitors center at the end of First Street has been a mainstay for at least…read more15 years. It's a one-stop shop for all things visitor related from locally focused tchotchkes, Benicia specific Merch, local maps, community events... and See's Candy!!! The employees are always super knowledgeable, patient and helpful. Would definitely recommend visiting whether you are in town for a quick visit, or you're a local that needs to procure the perfect box of See's Candy as a gift.

MAIN STREET ON FIRST STREET…read more Benicia Main Street is located at the end First Street near the water. The building stands independently and has the happenings of Benicia inside. They sell Benicia-related trinkets for a small fee, local wine, beautiful local art and photography, and even See's chocolate. Most significantly, they organize events like the Benicia Ghost Walk, and promote activities like the Benicia Artists Open Studios. They have maps and a knowledgable person working that will answer questions you have. After asking more about the Ghost Walk, we learned that it was a one-time event that drew so much attention they changed to make it reoccuring. We're told it's very popular and not just focused on ghost-hunting, but that it tells a lot of history as well. Sounds awesome! The small room here is worth stopping in if you've walked all the way down to the water. The building is cute too!

Gorgeous bridge and drops you right off in Crockett which is a fun town to hike into Port Costa…read morefrom. Get a sandwich at Lucia's.

** The following review reflects my experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. **…read more Ever wonder why the Carquinez Bridge actually consists of two bridges that look nothing alike? I mean, couldn't they have hired one of those obnoxious hosts on HGTV to swing a hammer to make them look equally vintage? Maybe they could get that nice Home Town couple. Well, I was on my way from Napa to the East Bay when I realized my FitBit step count was in need of a boost. I decided to take the Pomona Street exit and tackle the pedestrian walk on the western side of this bridge. It starts next to The Dead Fish and conveniently hugs the freeway exit lane, and then it's just a straight 2/3-mile walk to the other side where there's an open vista point space that looks out to San Pablo Bay. The only challenge is that the passing vehicular traffic is loud, I mean REALLY LOUD! I'm not sure why it's louder than the Bay Bridge Trail, but I'm guessing it's because it's a smaller structure carrying a lot of big 12-wheelers to and from the refineries. So if you bring earphones, perfect. RELATED - Going north of the bay? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2tIHlkV

I had an interesting and beautiful tour of the Thorsen house. The level of knowledge and history of…read morethe 2 guides, Collin and Charlie was impressive. The architecture was so precise and well done it would take billions to replicate. I love real estate and the architecture that goes in it. Certainly made me appreciate and respect the little tools they had but the skill used to compensate for it. Grateful I decided to see it.

The people who stay there were knowledgeable about the home. Enjoyed learning about the history of…read moremy mother in law's grandparents.

We had a wonderful afternoon visit. The docents shared so much information. It was interesting and…read morefun. I have driven by for years and finally went in. So glad I did. Parking lot behind the house was so convenient too.

From beginning to end, the staff that help and manage the venue went above and beyond to make sure…read morewe were fully taken care of to use the facility for our wedding. My husband and I picked this venue to have our ceremony and reception. We rented the garden, the fireplace room, and the reception hall for the day. Sarah Jackson worked with us in the very beginning. Sarah was very responsive and communicative with us. For arranged times for reviewing the venue, set up and rehearsal, I and my party were late. The team with the venue was very flexible and very patient with us. We also had an unfortunate untimely passing of a party member before the wedding. Sarah and her team were very willing to be flexible with us and allow us time to reschedule if needed. My husband and I decided to move forward with the event at our scheduled time. We also received assistance on the day of the event, Liz DeLaCampa, who was very helpful and was lovely to work with. She was very communicative and very willing to be helpful. A disclaimer for catering and food: The kitchen does not have a place to cook. However, this venue is ideal for working with a food truck vendor that has their own kitchen for cooking and preparing food (which is what we did for catering). The kitchen does have a lot of storage space as needed for dishes, cups storing desserts and floral as needed. What we really liked about this venue is a lot of the basic things needed for an event are available such as indoor and outdoor chairs as well as tables. The team here is wonderful and this venue is highly recommended for an event with a small to medium size party. Highly recommended and they have packages that are available (and very reasonable) for parts of the venue (garden area, fireplace room, reception hall or all of the above). Thank you to the team again who were so helpful, so kind and very thoughtful. We will keep you in mind for future events!

003/2026/Jan Passing…read morethrough this Old Navy shipyard which has a brewery , a bay trail, historical bldgs and public art attractions for tourist ! Wish could stay a little longer for a tour! For sure next visit will make time!!

Mare Island has regular scheduled tours which we missed so we decided to do a self guided tour…read more There are only a few buildings you can still go in but still great to walk around. The cementary and museum are closed, the church and admiral home are open with specific times. There are a lot of history on the island!