Watch Planes takeoff and land near SFO

michael o's suggestion is right on. it is a great place to watch planes. if you walk up to the top of the hill you can listen in to the air traffic control.
its a great view of the bay in general.

another place a bit close to the airport is over by the hotels off broadway in burlingame.

There is a small park at the northmen end of east Millbrae ave that is right on the edge of the airport. I'm not sure of it's name but here it is on the map.

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=h&lat=37.605007&lon=-122.376524&zoom=18

It's close enough to really feel the rumble of the engines as the planes open their throttlers to take off

We like Coyote Point Recreational Area. You can go out on the point:

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=s&lat=37.589982&lon=-122.315399&zoom=17&q1=coyote%20point%20park%2C%20burlingame%2C%20ca

(the point, at the top in this picture)

You are surrounded by water. The walk out is nice, plus there are parks and other activities in the area for before or after.

We also go the Hiller Aviation museum to watch smaller planes take off and land, as well as the Palo Alto airport. We also used to go eat breakfast at a diner at the half moon bay airport, which could also be fun. (Three Zero Cafe?)

Katie's suggestion for Coyote Pt is a great one. Another alternative is San Carlos airport. I know this is nothing like the big planes in SFO, but you do get to see the smaller planes and helicopter take off and land there, and be up closer to them. There's also a real display helicopter at the near by fast food place (MacDonald's?) that kids can go up close to see and touch.

Adding a slightly different twist: I'm totally blind and absolutely love to hear the sounds of the planes take off and land. I work under flight path of SJC and love taking my scanner outside at lunch. How easy is it to get to the park Shabadoo mentions? There used to be a place right at the end of the runway that they closed after 911, I really miss going there. Did it ever re-open or is there another real close place I could get to?

We were at SJC airport over the weekend for a few hours and learned about the observation deck outside. It is where united flies out and through the security gate. You have to go outside and up a flight of stairs. It is also where people smoke, so if you don't like smoke it may be an issue if someone is smoking. But, if you love the sounds -- it is really noisy. You just need to be flying somewhere to access it.

Thanks for the quick reply, Katie! I get enough out of SJC when I'm outside at lunchtime, what I was more looking for had to do with places closer to SFO. Obviously there's much more traffic in and out of there and many of the planes are bigger and have more interesting sounds. We used to go to a place right off the end of one of the runways near 101 and listening to them taking off was awsome. But they closed that spot after 911 if I remember right.

on a related topic, the cafe at the San Carlos Airport is great for watching small planes take off and land while having a good meal (the huevos rancheros or the corned beef hash are especially tasty!)

I have not been but have heard that the restaurant at the Half Moon Bay airport is pretty good.

The restaurant at SC Airport is my favorite, it combines airplane viewing, good food, firendly staff, warm atmosphere, congenial company.