As you enter this final year of high school there are so many things headed your way: fun adventures, a long checklist of to-do's, preparing to say goodbye to friends and family as you get ready to leave for college, and the innate desire to make and savor as many memories as possible. To help you with making some pretty awesome memories I compiled a senior year bucket list. You won't find things like take the SAT or apply to college on this list. Those belong on the checklist NOT the fun list. What also makes this list unique is that is regional. It includes Instagram and TikTok worthy places to visit here in the San Francisco Bay Area. This bucket list also includes weblinks so you don't have to go searching for information. It's all conveniently right here at your finger tips.

Your San Francisco Bay Area Senior Year Bucket List:

1. Participate in homecoming

2. Make a scrapbook of your favorite school memories and friends

3. Visit some of your favorite elementary and middle school teachers

4. Have a party with your friends

5. Go to the beach

6. Get ice cream at Meadowlark Dairy with your besties

7. Dance in your graduation gown

8. Go to a football game decked out in spirit wear

9. Get your senior portraits taken

10. Set up a cottage core picnic with your friends with lots of good food and take photos (tip, go to Heather Farm and visit their flower garden)

11. Hike to Little Yosemite

12. Start a gratitude journal to remember all the good stuff from your senior year

13. Go on a college tour

14. Sing at the top of your lungs to a song and dance like no one is watching at least once

15. Write a letter to your future self that’s sort of a time capsule

16. Listen to the band play

17. Ride the Big Dipper at The Boardwalk and eat some greasy amusement park food before heading to the beach.

18. Print some of your favorite selfies and photos so they don’t just live on your phone

19. Create a playlist of all your favorite high school songs

20. Join a club

21. Write a thank you letter to your parents detailing how they helped you through childhood and give it to them on graduation

22. Participate in senior cut day

23. Learn some basic cooking skills (they’ll serve you well in college)

24. Go to the Alameda Point Antique Fair to some fun dorm room decor

25. Take a photo from the top of Coit Tower

26. Go ice skating. There are ice skating rinks in Dublin, Fremont,  Livermore, Oakland, and the seasonal Holiday Ice Rink in San Francisco's Union Square.

27. Start a memory box of your high school years

28. Cheer on your friends at a game or performing arts event

29. Watch the sunset from a Livermore hilltop

30. Do a daily random act of kindness

31. Thank a teacher or coach who helped you or made a meaningful impact on your life

32. Take a photo with your mascot

33. Go to prom

34. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge (lots of bridge information HERE)

35. Pick some wildflowers, press them in a book, and put them in a frame to remind you of home

36. Participate in a spirit day

37. Take a weekend road trip with a friend (Mountains? Beach? Desert?)

38. Visit a Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch (list of patches HERE) and then go over to the Moss Beach Distillery. Maybe you will get to see the Blue Lady Ghost!

39. Visit a record shop or independently owned bookstore

40. Savor every moment with your friends

41. Buy some spiritwear from your high school to wear senior year and keep as a memento

42. Decorate your graduation cap 

43. Buy a stack of postcards to send to your parents when you’re away at school

44. Have a sleepover 

45. Write down your college bucket list

46. Go to San Francisco and drive the 49 Mile Scenic Drive (hint, it's the one with all the seagull road signs)

47. Visit Mt Diablo and explore Rock City

48. Buy a plant for your dorm room and practice keeping it alive

49. Share a deep conversation about the future with one friend

50. Laugh so hard your stomach hurts

51. Find a cause you love and volunteer your time

52. Go to athletic game other than football

53. Walk under the redwoods at Muir Woods or Henry Cowell State Park

54. Have a gingerbread house decorating contest with your friends

55. Binge watch a new series with someone special

56. Start a Pinterest board for your college dorm room

57. Wander the quaint storybook streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea and tour 17 Mile Drive

58. Take your parents out for coffee or ice cream

59. Teach yourself a new skill or learn a new hobby

60. Do a closet clean out in preparation for college

61. Go to a concert

62. Step out of your comfort zone at least once. 

63. Hike Sycamore Grove in the fall and the spring

64. Soak up the sights in the Haight

65. Roast marshmallows with your best friends

66. Go on a camping trip

67. But some swag from your future college

68. Make a new friend

69. Spend a day wandering the gardens at Filoli and imagine you're living your best Bridgerton life

70. Visit the Sutro Baths and hike Lands End, and finish the day with a stop at the Yoda Fountain

71. Grab a specialty sundae at San Francisco Creamery (hint, it’s in Walnut Creek not SF)

72. Wander the streets of Niles and take a train ride

73. Visit all your favorite local places before moving to college and take photos of them.

74. Try some crazy fun food at the NorCal Night Market at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, Ca

75. Walk the hidden and artistic staircases in San Francisco (additional information HERE)

76. GRADUATE!

Looking for a senior photographer in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Santa Clara County, or the San Francisco Bay Area? I would love the opportunity to get to know you and work with you to capture this once in a lifetime moment for your child! My clients come from all over the Northern California and the Bay Area - Pleasanton, Fremont, Danville, Dublin, Walnut Creek, Castro Valley, San Ramon, Livermore, Lafayette. Book a consult with the button below so we can get to know one another and start planning your senior's bespoke portrait experience.