Informative Entertainment

Undiscovered (kinda) Jewel of the Bay Area

Benicia, CA. Once the state capital. It has always been a small, water front town on the Suisun bay, in the San Francisco bay area. I used to live in Vallejo (another brief state capital), which is about 3 miles away. I never really though much of Benicia and it was always just...there. Not a huge city, composing of a bunch of little shops on 1st street (which is basically the only area of shopping) and a TON of little cafes. There is even a starbucks there (although it will soon be closing).

If you were to visit Benicia, it'd probably to visit your family in the area, or you would be going to nearby Martinez to hop on the Amtrak. Although, if you take a look around, there are things to do everywhere. There are GREAT little shops, which I'll talk about in a bit.

On thursday evenings, May through October, there is a Farmers market, which is free and has been a tradition since 1992.

Also May through October, on every first friday of the month, there is a no charge first friday night in which local vendors and shops encourage a sort of "festival" atmosphere. During the summer , outdoor movies are shown at the Benicia State Capital. There is also no cover charge.

Benicia is a very tight knit community and on July4, there is a huge community picnic and fireworks.

There are plenty more awesome and FREE events in Benicia, such as Yacht races on thursday nights during the summer (seeing as Benicia is a VERY ACTIVE boating community especially sailing). As well as the Benicia Peddler's fair, which is basically a lhuge antique fair. However, I don't want to bore you, as I'm sure I already have.

Now, on to activites. There are numerous parks in the Benicia area to hike and bike. You can go fishing off the pier in the Suisun bay (as well as watch boat races). Go hiking around the bay. In fact, there are MANY hiking trails, take a hike from Benicia to the Vallejo waterfront.Benicia State Recreation Area is a great hiking destination and this park has a cool bike trail to get some great exercise with a great view. There's the Franklin ridge trail, Carquinez Strait Overlook, Bay area ridge trail. I can't name them all.

If you're interested in a unique beach, go see the glass beach. It has small trinkets of glass scattered about, it's quite similar to the Fort Bragg glass beach, except Benicia's doesn't have nearly as much, which makes it more unique.

There is MASS amounts of transportation in the Benicia area, you hardly ever need to drive, it's about an hour on the train to Sacramento, San Francisco is probably almost an hour's drive, although you could just take B.A.R.T (Bay Area Rapid Transportation) and be there without paying for parking. You could even take the ferry from Vallejo, which takes about an hour. The BEAUTIFUL Napa valley is just a short drive away, and you don't even have to drive there! Just drive to Vallejo and take the VINE bus to Napa or even on to Calistoga!

The possibilities are just absolutely endless. You will never get tired of living here or even just taking an annual vacation here. I encourage everyone who reads this to go visit Benicia and the surrounding areas. or even tell your friends about it.

If you or a friend can't decide on where to go for a little getaway, Benicia is the place. Plenty of B & B's for you. Benicia, CA. Once the state capital. It has always been a small, water front town on the Suisun bay, in the San Francisco bay area. I ... more

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