Hi! Welcome to the forum, from Hauptmann in Hurst, Texas!
The SF Bay Area is GREAT for droning. Just ask a Texan!
1. Try Treasure Island, just west of the dog park. You get a terrific view of the Bay Bridge and the SF Financial District. Early morning is best. You can also reach Alcatraz from there if you have Superman's vision.
2. Another good spot is the parking lot behind the Palace of Fine Arts, from which you can reach the east side of the GG Bridge (again, with Superman's vision).
3. A good spot for taking off to fly the west side of the GG Bridge is the cul-de-sac at the end of 25th St.
4. Alamo Park will give you a good view of the "Painted Ladies", with the Financial District in the background. The streets SURROUNDING Alamo Park have several beautifully-renovated Victorian houses even more spectacular than the Painted Ladies.
5. Flying above Coit Tower is a nice shoot. You can legally take off and land on the surface streets nearby. City employees have seen us controlling our drones from the Coit Tower parking lot, and didn't interfere.
6. Lombard Street, with its twists and turns, is a fun shoot. You can legally TO/Land from the sidewalks by the tennis courts.
7. JapanTown has a Pagoda and a really modern, beautiful church. Be sure to go inside--the architecture and stained-glass windows are spectacular.
8. Alcatraz is pretty ugly up close, but every Bay Area droner needs to fly it at least once. The best launch spot is the wood pier at the end of pier 45 ( I think that's the one). Nobody minds if you park right by the dumpsters. But watch out for the seagulls. They can get pretty aggressive while you're trying to land.
9. The East Bay: the wood fishing pier at Port View Park is a nice spot for shooting shipping activity and the south side of the Bay Bridge.
10. Most if not all city parks are off-limits to TAKE OFFs and LANDING of drones. You can legally TO/Land from city sidewalks and fly the parks. We've had the cops watch us take off and not bother us. SF is really a pretty drone-friendly town.
That's all I can think of for now. There's a LOT more! below is a link to a vid we did a few years ago:
