We’ve put together a handy guide to upcoming community-wide garage sales — the first of which is coming up this weekend — along with events to look out for in 2025. Not only are these great cheap date destinations, but community-wide garage sales are a stellar reason to finally take a day trip to a lesser-known part of the Bay.
And if I’ve left out your favorite citywide garage sale, you can use the comment box at the bottom to suggest an update to this guide.
Before you go to a citywide garage sale
Be prepared to carry your goods — bring an empty backpack or tote bag.
If you’re driving, remember to keep your purchases out of sight in your car to avoid potential break-ins.
Most importantly, bring cash, especially small denominations. While many have embraced the PayPal/Venmo/Zelle/Cash App era, nothing is as convenient for a seller as good old dollar bills. (Cash can also provide a great haggling prop: “I only have $5!”)
Upcoming citywide garage sales
Hillwide Garage Sale
Bernal Heights, San Francisco
Saturday, Aug. 10, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
The Bernal Heights Hillwide Garage Sale has been a San Francisco institution for over 20 years, a rare neighbor-organized event in the world of community garage sales. In 2013, the annual event became a fundraiser for the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, a nonprofit that develops and preserves affordable housing in the area. Hillwide has since raised over $30,000 for the center.
Sellers pay a sliding-scale donation to list their addresses on the Hillwide map, noting what they’ll have in stock — sometimes all the way down to specific clothing sizes. By the afternoon, the whole thing turns into a delightfully cheery neighborhood-wide party, with houses offering up free treats and giveaways.
Lynn Pearce, a “hardcore” Hillwide organizer with Edie Williams, says they’ve gotten flak in the past about holding the sale on the same weekend as Outside Lands. Pearce countered, with a laugh, that people have to get their act together: they have three whole days to get themselves to Golden Gate Park. The Hillwide sale isn’t shifting for anyone.
“You do know it’s National Garage Sale Day?” Pearce says. “And we’ve been around a lot longer than Outside Lands!”
Santa Clara Spring Citywide Garage Sale
Saturday, Aug. 10, times vary by participant
Depending on where you live, you may be able to hit both Bernal and Santa Clara’s annual citywide garage sale on the same day. Santa Clara’s event is organized as part of the city’s environmental initiatives since it helps redirect usable items into new homes and away from landfills.
The truly organized shopper can plot their route through the city with a map of registered households (including “open hours” and types of wares). My suggestion: simply park in a central location at your first opportunity and start wandering.
Niles Antique Faire and Flea Market
Sunday, Aug. 25
Arguably the longest-running event on this list, the Niles Antique Faire and Flea Market celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Held on the last Sunday of every August, the event includes hundreds of vendors from all over the Bay Area and boasts an attendance of “several thousand.”
Local businesses and nonprofits also get in the mix. One stop worth mentioning is the Dharma Drum Mountain San Francisco Bay Area Center, which allows people to drop off donations throughout the month and then, over the course of the weekend, sells the goods as a fundraiser for the Buddhism center. Stop by to learn about tea meditation or if you’re looking for more of the garage-sale feel amid the bustle of the antique fair.
Mountain View
Sept. 14–15, 8 a.m.–2 p.m.
Mountain View’s annual citywide garage sale is trying out a new (hopefully non-rainy) weekend this year, shifting from May to September. The event has been ongoing since 2002 and usually involves between 100 and 153 sellers.
“It’s a fun way for people to meet their neighbors,” says Jennifer Cutter, the city’s solid waste program manager. The top offerings, based on last year’s participant listings, Cutter says, were clothes, books, kids and kitchen items.
El Cerrito
Oct. 12, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
El Cerrito is home to not just one but two annual citywide garage sales, taking place in spring and fall. Carlos Hernandez, an environmental specialist with the city, says that an average of 40–60 households participate in each event, which the Operations & Environmental Services Division helps organize and promote.
The city had coordinated garage sales since 1990 when El Cerrito resident Marianne Hegeman proposed the idea to the city council in the wake of the Loma Prieta earthquake. It turns out that holding on to too much stuff isn’t just psychically bad for you; people’s crowded garages were preventing them from getting their foundations inspected.
And for those of you thinking way ahead, El Cerrito’s spring citywide garage sale last took place in mid-May.
Mark your calendars: 2025 citywide yard sales
Sausalito
Late April, as of 2024
Unlike dispersed citywide sales, the Sausalito version is centrally located, making it much easier for visitors to attend. Over 80 sellers (residents and non-residents alike) register for booths in the MLK Gym parking lot just a few blocks from the waterfront. Goodwill sets up a station at the end of the day so that unsold goods can be easily donated.
Crockett
Early May, as of 2024
Nestled under the Carquinez Bridge and known for its C&H Sugar Factory, which dominates its skyline, Crockett claims to host the longest-running town-wide yard sale in the Bay Area. (We did not fact-check this.)
While you’re there, don’t miss the Crockett Historical Society, located in an old rail station and packed to the gills with vitrines on local history, or the incredible installations by the Carquinez Model Railroad Society.
Port Costa
Late May, as of 2024
Next door to Crockett is Port Costa, whose town-wide yard sale doesn’t boast the same longevity but does have a certain legendary status. With a population of around 200, the “waterfront Victorian ghost town” is just a handful of streets ending at a motorcycle bar and the Carquinez Strait. Once a year, those streets turn out with antiques, clothes, food, drinks and music.
A mix of centralized areas with stalls and true stoop sales, the Port Costa event is just an added incentive to visit this strange little place. And if you get parched, do not miss the Warehouse, that aforementioned motorcycle bar, which is home to not one but two stuffed bears. Just make sure you arrive early enough in the day to find parking, as such a small town gets truly congested with cars.
Palo Alto
Late May, as of 2024
I’ll only say that garage sales in tonier places often contain unexpected and deeply affordable delights.
San Mateo
Early June, as of 2024
Please see the note above re: toniness. Also! The San Mateo event has previously taken place over three whole days, so there’s plenty of time to factor it into your weekend schedule.
Foster City
Mid-July, as of 2024
One of the great joys of perusing citywide garage sale listings is trying to visualize the household from which these items are coming. A favorite from Foster City’s 2024 listings: “Bean bags, bar stools, firewood, dollhouse, printer.” Another simply reads: “Bowflex.” Yet another: “Hand-made candles.”
You never know what you’ll find.
What’s your favorite community-wide garage sale that we missed?
Whether it’s your local sale or just one you’ve enjoyed in the past somewhere in the Bay Area, use the comment box below to tell us about it.
