San Francisco New Year's Eve

Bay fireworks, then a walk to the Pacific

3 days through The Embarcadero & Ferry Building, Lands End & Ocean Beach.

San Francisco New Year's Eve is a 3-day curated route with 2 destinations and 14 places to eat, see, and do. Preview stops and timing, then plan it in TripsCircle.

1
Destination 01
The Embarcadero & Ferry Building
8 places

Bayfront promenade facing the Bay Bridge; 2 nights for the fireworks, oysters and Nob Hill.
- Photo: Emily Mathews · CC BY 2.0
  San Francisco New Year's Eve Fireworks
  The city's free midnight show, fired from barges in the bay off Pier 14 and watched from the Embarcadero.
  Tip The stretch south of the Ferry Building toward the Bay Bridge has the clearest view.
  SeeEmbarcaderoFree60 minMidnight
- Photo: Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Ferry Building
  The 1898 ferry terminal under a clock tower, now a marketplace of bakeries, cheese shops and oyster bars.
  Tip Shops close early on Dec 31; buy picnic supplies in the afternoon.
  ShopEmbarcadero$$1.5 hrAfternoon
- Hog Island Oyster Co.
  Oyster bar in the Ferry Building run by a Tomales Bay oyster farm, with a window wall facing the Bay Bridge.
  Tip No reservations; put your name down early in the afternoon.
  EatEmbarcadero$$75 minLate lunch
- Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Boulevard
  Nancy Oakes' Belle Epoque dining room in the 1889 Audiffred Building, serving American food since 1993.
  Tip Its New Year's Eve dinner ends a few minutes' walk from the fireworks viewing area.
  EatEmbarcadero$$$$2.5 hrDinner
- Photo: Daderot · CC0
  Tadich Grill
  California's oldest restaurant, founded in 1849, with a long wooden counter, white-jacketed waiters and cioppino.
  Tip It takes no reservations and closes Sundays; sit at the counter.
  EatFinancial District$$75 minLunch or early dinner
- Photo: CVB · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Top of the Mark
  Glass-walled lounge on the 19th floor of the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, open since 1939, with 360-degree views.
  Tip On Dec 31 it holds a ticketed gala with dinner, an orchestra and a balloon drop; New Year's Day brunch is also served.
  DrinkNob Hill$$$$3 hrFrom 8 pm
- Photo: Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Treasure Island
  Former naval base island in the middle of the bay with a full-width view of the skyline and the Bay Bridge lights.
  Tip Go on Dec 30 at dusk; drive or take Muni's 25 bus from the Salesforce Transit Center.
  SeeTreasure IslandFree60 minBlue hour
- Photo: The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Hyatt Regency San Francisco
  John Portman's 1973 hotel with a 17-storey atrium, across the street from the Ferry Building.
  Tip Bay-view rooms on the upper floors look straight toward the fireworks barges.
  StayEmbarcadero$$$
2
Destination 02
Lands End & Ocean Beach
6 places

The city's wild northwest corner; New Year's Day for a coastal walk, a museum and the beach.
- Lands End Trail
  Cliff-edge path through cypress trees above the Golden Gate, with views of the bridge and the Marin Headlands.
  Tip The labyrinth at Eagle's Point is a short, signed detour off the trail.
  OutdoorsOuter RichmondFree1.5 hrLate morning
- Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Sutro Baths
  Concrete ruins of an 1896 glass-roofed bathhouse at the water's edge, below the Lands End Lookout.
  Tip Stay off the outer walls when waves are breaking over them.
  SeeOuter RichmondFree45 minLow tide
- Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Legion of Honor
  Fine arts museum in a copy of a Paris palace in Lincoln Park, with Rodin's Thinker in the courtyard.
  Tip Open on New Year's Day; it closes early, at 4 pm, on New Year's Eve.
  SeeLincoln Park$$2 hrAfternoon
- Photo: Daderot · CC0
  Beach Chalet
  1925 building at the end of Golden Gate Park with WPA murals downstairs and a brewery restaurant above Ocean Beach.
  Tip Ask for a window table upstairs; the murals on the ground floor are free to see.
  EatOcean Beach$$1.5 hrBrunch
- Photo: Insightwm · CC BY-SA 4.0
  Ocean Beach
  Three and a half miles of wide, windswept sand along the Pacific, edged by the Great Highway.
  Tip The surf is dangerous; walk the sand rather than swim.
  OutdoorsOuter SunsetFree60 minSunset
- Photo: torbakhopper · CC BY 2.0
  California Academy of Sciences
  Natural history museum, aquarium and planetarium under a living roof in Golden Gate Park.
  Tip Book timed tickets online; New Year's Day is one of its busiest days.
  DoGolden Gate Park$$$3 hrOpening time

The moments that shape this trip.

01San Francisco New Year's Eve Fireworks
02Ferry Building
03Top of the Mark
04Lands End Trail
05Sutro Baths
06Legion of Honor

Planning San Francisco New Year's Eve.

Base yourself on the Embarcadero, where the Ferry Building, its oyster bars and the lit-up Bay Bridge are all a few steps apart. On Dec 30 eat cioppino at the counter of Tadich Grill and look back at the skyline from Treasure Island. On New Year's Eve, have dinner at Boulevard or go up Nob Hill for the black-tie gala at Top of the Mark, then walk down to Rincon Park for the city's free midnight fireworks, fired from barges off Pier 14. On Jan 1 cross town to the ocean side: the Lands End Trail to Sutro Baths, the Legion of Honor, and a late brunch at the Beach Chalet looking over Ocean Beach.

Good for Couples and friends who want a free waterfront countdown and a sea-air New Year's Day.

When to go

The waterfront fireworks are free and start at midnight; the 2025 show ran about 15 minutes from barges near Pier 14. Arrive by 11:30 pm and stand on the Embarcadero between the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge (Mission to Folsom streets). Expect 8-12 C with wind off the water, sometimes fog that can hide the higher bursts. On Jan 1 many restaurants close, but the Legion of Honor opens (it closes early on Dec 31) and the California Academy of Sciences has historically opened every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Getting around

BART runs extended late-night service on New Year's Eve; Embarcadero station is a short walk from the viewing area. The Embarcadero closes to cars around the Ferry Building in the late evening, and rideshare surges heavily for the first hour after midnight; walking up Market Street to Montgomery or Powell to find a car is faster. On Jan 1 take the 38R Geary bus to Lands End or the N Judah to Ocean Beach, or drive; parking at the Lands End Lookout lot fills by late morning.

Tips for your crew

Bring a windproof layer and a hat; it is colder on the waterfront than in the hotel lobby suggests.
Book Boulevard and the Top of the Mark gala in November; both are known for selling out.
Start the Lands End walk at the Lands End Lookout visitor center and go east toward the Golden Gate views, then double back.

San Francisco New Year's Eve

3 days through The Embarcadero & Ferry Building, Lands End & Ocean Beach.

The Embarcadero & Ferry Building