37 Things: The Great Outdoors

Beer trails, night sails, and pirates: Summer just got awesome

May 11, 2016 9:00 am

Summer’s coming. And with it: temptations.

… to waste it.

Working late. Working Saturday. Well, maybe just a couple hours on Sunday.

Stop that.

Instead, decamp your office for the out of doors — with the eight adventures every man, woman and child in the Bay must hit this summer.

We’ve got trailhead-to-bar hiking maps. Summer solstice sailing. And pirates.

Outdoor Adventures
The non-profit group debuts a brand-new slate of summer activities at our favorite national park: master the Yosemite moonbow with a special photo workshop, hike up to Lyell Glacier under the midsummer sun, or track Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (non-lethal tracking, mind you) across Mount Gibbs. All summer long

The 49 Mile Scenic Ride
May is SF Bike Month. Events range from Walk & Bike to Worship 2016 to Bike Camping: It’s Easy!, but our choice is this man-powered take on the noble seagull’s favorite tour. It’s a two-part event, with the distance split between weekends and nearly every landmark on the route. May 22 and June 11

Bay Area Trail Running Festival
If you’ve been meaning to switch from on road to off, here’s your chance: a tour through Oakland’s Garin-Dry Creek Regional Park with race distances ranging from a 5K fun run to a half marathon. Expect Bay views (during the race), and barbecue and beer (after). June 4

Summer Sailstice 2016
Get thee to the Encinal Yacht Club on June 18 (the Saturday closest to the solstice) for a day of sailing on the Oakland estuary, which is prettier than it might sound. If you can’t take advantage of special events on the longest day of the year (read: wine, PFD instruction), consider stopping by the Cal Sailing Club at the Berkeley Marina for its open house on June 19; they’ll offer four more Fast-Track Sailing Courses before the end of the summer. Courses: through Aug. 22-26

Lake Tahoe Shakespeare
The best thing about Tahoe in summer: sitting on the beach, beers staying cool in the water. Second best: taking a seat at this venerable but admirably low-key Shakespeare presentation. This season: Comedy of Errors. If you were more excited about the first option, consider exploring your surrounds with the help of the new Tahoe Ale Trail map, commissioned because hiking, kayaking, and biking between bars is fun.

Northern California Pirate Festival
Do you have children? Do you love them? Do you want to make them happy on Father’s Day weekend? If the answers are yes, we suggest this celebration of all things piratical, including appearances from “Colorful Sea Folk, British Naval Officers, [and] Swimming Mermaids,” plus a Children’s Schoole of Policy. Kids under 12 are free. June 18-19

Beer Camp Across America
Do you drink craft beers? Do you love them? Do you want to make yourself happy on Father’s Day weekend? Pick up some tickets to the S.F. appearance of Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp Across America, which despite its corporate sponsor is co-hosted by the non-profit San Francisco Brewers Guild and serves up the tasty work of an A to Z of indies ranging from Absolution Brewing Company to Yolo Brewing Company. June 18

Film Night in the Park
From Pitch Perfect (June 11) to Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Sept. 24), Film Night in the Park will draw the crowds, and their lawn food, to our parks — but our choice for swoony, late-summer entertainment comes with Sofia Coppola’s practically perfect Lost in Translation. Aug. 27

This is but only one installment of 37 Things a Man’s Gotta Do This Summer, our annual compendium of everything worth seeing, doing, eating, drinking and generally making time for in your neck of the woods between now and September

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