Any time you get tired of the San Francisco fog, it just means you need to get out there and appreciate good ol’ fashioned coastal California beauty. These beaches are all under a 3 hour drive from SF, which is arguably the perfect amount of time before the drive gets too long. In fact, most of these beauties are under an hour drive for those favoring quicker trip! Now go have some fun.

1. San Gregorio State Beach

Nathan Siemers via Flickr

For directions, click here.

2. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

Dawn Endico via Flickr

For directions, click here.

3. Gray Whale Cove State Beach

Robert Gourley via Flickr

For directions, click here.

4. Pomponio State Beach

Jason Jenkins via wikipedia

For directions, click here.

5. Pescadero State Beach

Don DeBold via Flickr

For directions, click here.

6. Rodeo Beach

sanfranman59 via wikipedia

For directions, click here.

7. McWay Cove at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

slworking2 via Flickr

For directions, click here.

8. Natural Bridges

Alan D. Wilson via wikipedia

For directions, click here.

9. Carmel Beach

Erin McDaniel via wikipedia

For directions, click here.