Railfanning The Bay Area
Since I live in Fresno, which is for all practical purposes in the center of California, north/south-, east/west-wise, railfan-hotspot daytrips are numerous.
The places I have visited that were all within a day’s drive are the San Francisco Bay Area’s Niles Canyon (I lived and worked for a time in that region), the south state’s Cajon and Tehachapi passes, the area along the central coast around San Luis Obispo and, finally, the Donner Pass and Feather River Canyon districts in the more northeastern part of the Golden State. These would all be my recommended picks if you’re going.
While the central coast region doesn’t offer a great array of train types, it more than makes up for in scenery, in my opinion.
But, my favorite railfan hotspot in California is the Bay Area and Niles Canyon, in particular.
Though there are other great locations as well, like the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway in the form of the Muir Trestle very near to Martinez as well as Franklin Canyon between there and Richmond where the line terminates.
There is also the Caltrain line on the Bay’s west side located on the peninsula, and there are several places where there is good access and the scenery where watching trains and/or taking photos/videos is decent.
And, lest I forget, there is the Carquinez Straight with track (the former California Pacific Railroad or Cal-P, for short) of the Union Pacific Railroad running along its shore.
And, rounding out the lineup is the Napa Valley Railroad and its wine train, a little farther inland, but for all practical purposes, it’s still located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Even in San Francisco itself, with its rolling hills, historic or heritage streetcars, the Cable Car, MUNI light rail, Caltrain — now more so than ever with the latest addition of electric trains to its roster — light-rail (and heavy-rail too) opportunities abound in the north bay, and with those east-, west- and south-peninsula hotspots already mentioned, there is literally, something to satisfy every railfan interest.
Meanwhile, if you’re into stations, there are attractive facilities in San Francisco in the form of the Transbay Transit Center which also goes by the name Salesforce Center, the Amtrak stations (east-to-west) in Martinez, Emeryville and Jack London Square in Oakland, the Caltrain stations in Palo Alto, Santa Clara and San Jose (Diridon) and, on the East Bay side, there is the small-but-handsome one in the community of Niles.
Updated: Jan. 29, 2025 at 9:07 a.m. PST.
Image credits: Carol M. Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons (top); Alan Kandel (2nd & 5th); Fred Harvey via Wikimedia Commons (3rd); San Mateo County Transit District via Wikimedia Commons (4th)
All material copyrighted 2025, Alan Kandel. All Rights Reserved.
You just mentioned the best the Bay Area has to offer. There is also BART, MUNI, SMART, ACE, Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor, and the San Jose and Sacramento light rail lines. Speaking of Sacramento the California State Railroad Museum is well worth a visit.