IDEAS TO PLAN THAT perfect date
Ah, those winter doldrums. Forget Valentine's Day. February is a great time to spark some joy with someone special. There are myriad, memorable ways to spend time together around the Bay Area, from the adrenaline thrills of indoor skydiving to spectacular hikes, sunset cruises, caviar tastings and even a chance to emulate Cupid. So here are a few ideas — at every price point — for great winter dates to deepen any relationship, whether it's your first date or thousandth, no matter where you are in the Bay. And if you're solo or in a long-distance relationship, we've got you covered, too. Summit sights
Tackling a mountain summit is a special feat, and the Bay Area offers no shortage of peaks to inspire. Winter is a great time to tackle the East Bay's summits, which are at their prettiest this time of year — carpeted in fresh grass and, if you're lucky, seasonal waterfalls. And the sights are free, to boot.
If you're feeling ambitious, Fremont's Mission Peak offers stunning views of the South and East Bays from its peak, a six-mile hike with more than 2,000 feet of elevation change. Take the trail from Ohlone College for a more gradual ascent and less chaotic, albeit paid parking ($4). Mission Peak is the Bay Area's most popular hiking trail, according to AllTrails, which makes it a great option, especially if you're on a first date with someone you don't know very well, as opposed to, say, heading straight for the backcountry.
Less strenuous but every bit as fun: Build a series of dates around the East Bay Regional Park District's Trail Challenge 2024, which invites outdoors enthusiasts to hike five of 20 different recommended trails or navigate a total of 26.2 miles between now and Dec. 1. Complete the challenge and submit a log of your adventures to receive a commemorative pin and, of course, #GreatDate bragging rights.
DETAILS >> Find the Ohlone College trailhead for Mission Peak at 43600 Mission Blvd. in Fremont; ebparks.org/parks/mission-peak. Find details on the 2024 Trail Challenge at ebparks. org/trails-challenge.
Indoor skydiving
Candlelit dinners are certainly romantic, but science — and, ahem, “The Bachelor” franchise — contend that adrenaline-producing activities make you and your date feel more attracted to each other. May we suggest some indoor skydiving? Enter the wind tunnel — of love — at iFly in Union City. Don a flight suit and feel the exhilaration of skydiving — but with a little less danger than the real thing. They've even got a Valentine's Day promotion going on. Flights last 60 seconds, and you can have the option of going on a “high flight” with a guide for even more exhilaration.
DETAILS >> Open Tuesday-Sunday at 31310 Alvarado-Niles
Road in Union City; iflyworld. com.
And indoor archery
What better way to channel your inner Cupid than by picking up a bow and arrow? Benicia's Fat Shafts Archery is a 16-lane indoor range, where you can learn how to master this 70,000-year-old sport. For whatever the reason — that Cupid thing? — it turns out this activity is quite popular with first dates and couples.
“Recently, we've seen an uptick,” says Jacob Lloyd-Massey, who runs Fat Shafts with his father Carl. “People say, `Oh, I've heard about your place and wanted to come in,' and they bring their significant other.”
The range offers $20 rentals of recurve bows — the more traditional kind, not as complicated as a compound — which comes with introductory coaching. For a bit more money, there are classes and hour-long private lessons too. If your only familiarity with shooting arrows is watching Katniss from “The Hunger Games,” don't fret. It's pretty easy to pick up.
“It all comes down to the shooter. Sometimes it could take two shots, and they get everything down, or it could take a couple months to figure it out,” says Lloyd-Massey. “My advice is just to come in and have fun.”
Another fun detail: You can bring your own targets. They don't allow pictures of people, so forget about posting your ex's photo on the shooting range. But there are other ways to get creatively vengeful.
“We had two ladies who hated their boss, and they brought in an email from him as a target,” says Lloyd-Massey. “Every Tuesday night, they'd put it up and poke holes in it. And I'm like, `If that's how you de-stress, do your thing!' ”
DETAILS >> Open Tuesday-Saturday at 3001 Bayshore Road, Suite 9, in Benicia; fatshaftsarchery.com.
Mini-golf plus speakeasy
Competitive couples, this one's for you. Tipsy Putt, a Northern California-based beer and indoor mini-golf spot, now has locations in Sunnyvale and Emeryville, in addition to outposts in Sacramento, South Lake Tahoe and Monterey. Sip local craft beers as you putt your way through obstacles on the mini-golf course
or enjoy activities like cornhole and trivia nights. The venue also features a game called 1-2 Putt — think mini-golf meets tabletop shuffleboard — that Sunnyvale general manager Taylor Snell calls “extremely fun and typically a fan favorite.”
As the putting gets tipsier, you know it's only a matter of time before people start imitating the late, great Carl Weathers from Happy Gilmore and reciting, “It's all in the hips.” We'll let you decide how romantic that is.
The Emeryville Tipsy Putt location at the Bay Street shopping center is also home to a speakeasy called the Trophy Club. (Note that priority seating goes to Tipsy Putt members.) Plus, there's food, including stout-braised carnitas tacos ($3.75 each), pub nachos ($10.95), churros ($7.50) and birria quesadillas ($11.95).
DETAILS >> Open daily at 301 W. McKinley Ave #150 in Sunnyvale and 5690 Bay St. in Emeryville. Admission is restricted to ages 21 and up after 5 p.m. in Emeryville and 6 p.m. in Sunnyvale; tipsyputt.com. Emeryville's Trophy Club speakeasy is open Wednesday-Saturday. Find details and hours at trophyclubbar.com.
Icy fun
For some of us Californians, going ice skating with a date is an exercise in vulnerability. You're wobbling around a chilly rink, trying to avoid running into the small children expertly zooming by, still reeling, perhaps, from a childhood field trip anecdote about how easy it is to lose a finger if someone skates over it. But really — it's romantic! All of these are excellent reasons to grab your date's hand for balance, share a laugh and enjoy a mug of cocoa, the true purposes of the outing, anyway.
While most of the holiday pop-up rinks have closed for the season, there are plenty of year-round ice rinks around the Bay offering public skate sessions. Palo Alto's Winter Lodge, for example, offers public ice skating sessions daily ($17 plus $5 for skate rental; winterlodge.com). So does the Oakland Ice Center ($15 plus $7 for skate rental; oaklandice.com) and San Francisco's Yerba Buena Ice Skating & Bowling Center ($14 plus $5 rental; skatebowl.com). And Livermore's Tri Valley Ice is open for public skating from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. on Saturdays ($10 plus $5 rental; trivalleyice.com).
Caviar and champagne
When the weather turns Siberian — here in the Bay Area that means there's a slight chill in the air and a chance of hair ruffling — there's no more appropriate luxury than Russian-style caviar, cream-topped blinis and effervescent wine. Here are two opulent caviar options with tasting experiences to impress your beau with a seriously leveled-up date game. They're both conveniently reached via ferry, or as we like to call it, the most romantic mode of transportation.
In Marin, there is the Tiburon Caviar & Champagne Lounge from the two sisters behind San Francisco's Caviar Company. They source sustainably harvested eggs from abroad as well as the United States, including jadegreen caviar from Mississippi River paddlefish and royal-white sturgeon caviar from California. Sharing flights range from $75 to $250 and come with a “caviar concierge” who guides your educational journey.
A nice middle ground is the $150 Chef's Tasting with salmon roe, royal-white sturgeon and Russian Osetra plus a complimentary Champagne pairing. If you're still peckish, there are tasty small plates such as caviar grilled cheese and caviar-topped ice cream, plus interesting beer and wine options, including a dangeroussounding “Champagne vending machine.”
Tsar Nicoulai is another local outfit that raises sturgeon on a farm near Sacramento, and whose caviar graces the menus of highend San Francisco restaurants like Gary Danko and Aphotic. At its Caviar Cafe in the city's Ferry Building Marketplace, you can enjoy premium
Cabaret life
A little song, a little dance, a little romance. Now that the pandemic is (mostly) in the background, we can gather in velvet-padded theaters to enjoy the thrills of cabaret — and whatever smooching happens in the shadows is up to you.
The newly renovated Great Star Theater in San Francisco's Chinatown is hosting “After Dark,” for example, through Feb. 25. It's a show that celebrates the versatility and athleticism of the human body, with acrobats and artists from all around the world. “After Dark intertwines temptation and charisma, naive beauty and pure athleticism, breathtaking tricks and naughty little stunts. All in one unique sensual and stylish production,” the theater teases. Tickets start at $39, but the Date Night Package ($69) includes two glasses of Champagne, a rose and seating in the first six rows.
The city's historic Club Fugazi, former home of the famous “Beach Blanket Babylon,” is hosting an intimate circus production called “Dear San Francisco” that traces the foggy city's mythology from the 1906 earthquake to the Summer of Love.” (Tickets start at $49.)
And at the Fairmont San Francisco's fabled Venetian Room — the supper club where Tony Bennett supposedly first sang “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” — the nonprofit Bay Area Cabaret is holding a series of performances featuring renowned singers and musicians. On March 24, there's a musical review ($74) celebrating all the artists who have played the venue, from Tina Turner to Ella Fitzgerald to Sammy Davis. And April 14 features Broadway singer Julie Benko ($75), whose credits include “Les Misérables” and “Funny Girl.”
DETAILS >> Find ticket information at greatstartheater.org, clubfugazisf.com and bayareacabaret.org.
caviar service presented on ice with blini and accoutrements ($40-a $800). For the everimportant clink of the glasses, there's French champagne and Anderson Valley brut as well as sparkling wine concoctions, such as a sage and honey-pear cocktail.
DETAILS >> Tiburon Caviar & Champagne Lounge is open noon-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at 46A Main St., Tiburon; thecaviarco.com. Tsar Nicoulai's Caviar Cafe is open daily at 1 Ferry Plaza, San Francisco; caviarcafe.com.
Dinner on a yacht
You might not be a billionaire, but you can treat your loved one to a billionaire's lifestyle thanks to a private-chef service aboard a yacht.
The Daiji Yacht Club offers dining experiences at the Alameda Marina and on the Bay with Daiji Uehara and his team of chefs who specialize in high-end Japanese cuisine. Uehara grew up in Japan and spent time cooking in Europe. For reservations, which begin at $175 per person, you can enjoy his talented takes on omakase and brunch. Expect multiple courses of daily sourced fish served raw, grilled and blowtorched, as well as other delights such as sozai or Japanese small plates.
Depending on the weather, you can dine inside the comfy cabin or on the deck as the sun sets, which — just saying — might be a nice place for a proposal.
DETAILS >> Explore the various yachting dining experiences at daijiyachtclub.com/experiences.
Take a sunset cruise
Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge with the setting sun on your face and your loved one on your arm may be a cliched date idea, but some cliches exist for a reason.
There's an array of sea captains who'd love nothing more than to take you on a romantic sunset cruise of the Bay. Just to pick two: Adventure Cat Sailing Charters has been around since 1991 and offers sunset cruises on stable catamarans with covered cabins. A 1.5-hour trip ($80-$90, includes one drink) departs from San Francisco's Pier 39 (by the sea lions) and glides out to sea while the night approaches and the city's lights start to twinkle.
For a more historic-feeling trip, SF Bay Adventures offers sunset sails aboard the 80-foot Schooner Freda B that pass by the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands. Trips depart from downtown Sausalito and start at $99. For a few bucks more, the bartender on board will pour mimosas and hot cocoa.
DETAILS >> Find reservation information at adventurecat.com and sfbayadventures.com.
For singles or long-distance daters Hit the theater
For folks who find themselves flying solo this winter — whether by choice or circumstance — there's no reason to miss out on the fun. Going to the movies alone is a great way to celebrate your independence, plus you don't have to share the popcorn with anyone!
It's Oscar season, so there are plenty of highbrow options, and few things will make you feel like an artsy intellectual quite as much as watching one of those “quietly devastating” indie flicks while sitting by yourself in the theater.
But you really can't go wrong, no matter the genre you end up you choosing — again, and this is critical: You don't have to share your movie snacks!
The New Parkway in Oakland is an excellent choice for its cozy armchair seating and food service during screenings. So is the Landmark Aquarius in Palo Alto, which has great reclining seats. And the Pruneyard Dine-In Cinemas in Campbell host classic film nights paired with three-course meals and signature cocktails inspired by the flick.
DETAILS >> Find screening times at thenewparkway.com, landmarktheatres.com and pruneyardcinemas.com.
Virtual cooking or mixology classes
For folks in relationships with faraway partners, why not use date night to learn new cooking or mixology skills together but apart?
Sur la Table offers regular online classes ($29-$49) on how to make sushi, fresh pasta, skillet-fried chicken and biscuits, Japanese street food and pizza, along with a recommended prep packet and shopping list.
Cozymeal.com`s interactive online classes are available at a variety of price points and include tutorials on how to prepare everything from Venezuelan street food to vegan African cuisine and Thai food. And the risotto-and-gelato lesson ($29-$39) is taught live from Italy. Che romantico!
Or sign up for a live-streamed DIY cocktail mixology class on a platform such as classbento.com, which sends you a cocktail kit before the lesson ($100). Just remember to order a kit for your faraway boo, too. It's the romantic thing to do.
DETAILS >> Browse the culinary class offerings at surlatable.com, cozymeal.com and classbento.com.