There are awesome views available from the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area just north of San Francisco. An exceptionally scenic view is from Hawk Hill.
More Info: Hawk Hill is at 920 ft elevation. Marin Headlands site at Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy National Park Service page on Hawk Hill Golden Gate National Recreation Area at redwoodhikes.com
Nearby: Fort Cronkite
The golden summer sunsets at Shell Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek CA are delightful, with beautiful views of Mount Diablo.
The SF Bay shoreline in downtown Tiburon, CA. A marina is nearby where you can take a ferry to Angel Island or also to San Francisco.
The Lafayette Reservoir Rim Trail has some beautiful scenes from the several steep hills above the water.
Here is an excellent hiking guide and article on the reservoir and its trails.
“Mulholland Ridge is a 250 acre open space area along Donald Drive on the boundary of Orinda and Moraga.The ridge is relatively high, offering breathtaking views on a clear day of the Moraga valleyand the Diablo Range.It is a lovely, quiet trail that runs along theridge of the Mulholland Ridge Open Space Preserve.” [quoted from Moraga Area Trails Guidebook]
The following links display some of my favorite Pinterest photo collections generated via the RSS-Bridge tool.
SF Bay Area Beauty Favorite Places & Spaces Angel Island California Coast SF Bay Area Beauty Marin Coast North Bay Nature's Beauty California Wildflowers Awesome Beauty Lake Tahoe Animals Birds Art