Fair fare is, well, usually fair. But at this year’s Sonoma County Fair, there’s crawfish etouffee, fried alligator and (noms) crab fries with Old Bay aioli at Southern Comfort Kitchen (Magnolia Avenue inside the fairgrounds).
The Brill brothers are tried and true New Orleans natives with roux in their veins, serving up some tasty twists on the usual fair food. Worth a special trip, but if you miss them this time, they’ll be at Art & Soul in Oakland and various other public and private (they’re headed to Google in the coming weeks) events.
For a former Mexican highway patrol officer and soccer player who landed his first American job washing dishes, Mateo Granados has come a long way.
Working his way up from the soap and suds at Julie’s Supper Club in San Francisco to more refined kitchen gigs at Bay Area institutions including Masa’s, Manka’s and Dry Creek Kitchen, Granados now runs Mateo’s Cocina Latina in Healdsburg, with its summer-popular patio. Signature dishes range from bistec Yucateco with local potatoes to slow-roasted chochinita pibil and whole fish of the day over pumpkin-seed pepper sauce.
Just don’t ask him for generic “Mexican food.” Sworn to sustainability and local farms, Granados describes his “new Latin cuisine” as a culinary Pangaea: “I’m putting the continents together. I can take from Argentina or from Chile or a part of Portugal where they speak Spanish. If you read about the history of Yucatecan cuisine, it’s Lebanese, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Jewish crossed with Mayan.”
When he’s not in the kitchen, Granados is busy driving one around, bringing street food to the people through his Tendejon de la Calle catering business, or bottling hot sauces, or catching a Mexican national team soccer game.
Then: Born and lived in Oxkutzcab on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, with two sisters, his butcher father and high school teacher mother
Now: Lives in Healdsburg with his girlfriend of 10 years, Circe Sher
On love and life: “I said to her, ‘If I were a woman, I would never marry a chef.’ She just laughs. She is my muse. She keeps me inspired.”
Age: 49
Age he first learned to butcher a cow: 8
Time spent as highway patrol officer in Mexico City: Three months
Favorite hobby: Mushroom hunting
Favorite breed of pig: Mangalitsa
On carrying giant salmon through the restaurant: “Food is not something you want to hear about. You need to see it to believe it. I show them the eyes, how clear they are, how fresh it is.”
Position in soccer: Right wing
What he loves about soccer and cooking: “You have to play as a team, just like in the kitchen. You may hate someone in the kitchen, but it can never show in the food. And on the field, you still pass them the ball because you all have the same goal.”
Fredric and Brucye Frye built their pole house on their
La Primavera farm in southern Mendocino County. (photography by Chris Hardy)
They appear to sail like boats on an ocean of air. Yet traditional Japanese pole houses are so firmly anchored in the ground that they have withstood centuries of floods, earthquakes and savage winds and multiple generations of use.
These rustic, open-timbered homes, whose architecture dates to the high culture of 16th-century feudal Japan, have a practical and timeless appeal that makes them a fit for the casual Northern California lifestyle that celebrates the outdoors and natural materials.
“Our only regret is that we didn’t do this 15 or 20 years earlier,” said Fredric Frye, who lives with his wife, Brucye, in a pole house they built a dozen years ago on a farm between Cloverdale and Yorkville, near the border of Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
It is a house, he said, that is exceptionally smart in its simplicity, with soaring 24-foot spruce ceilings under a hipped roof and a floor plan so open that only the guest bathroom is completely enclosed. That means that everywhere you go within the house, you can look up in awe at those golden timbers.
The center of the home is the great room, an open expanse unobstructed by load-bearing walls. Perhaps the best feature, however, is the grand engawa — sliding pocket doors that open completely to a covered wraparound veranda where the samurai of the house — in this case Fred Frye — can regard the vast sweep of the landscape and declare it all good.
Although early 20th-century California architects Green & Green and Frank Lloyd Wright were inspired by ancient Japanese architecture, it was the late Gordon Steen of Southern California who brought pole houses to the U.S. in a more commercially visible way, starting in the 1970s. Several of his “Japanese folk homes” are tucked away in Mendocino County, including the Fryes’ home and one built for Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker.
The Fryes’ pole- house compound is nestled in a wooded landscape.
Now the man who milled the lumber and provided the timbers for some of those homes, including the Frye compound, is carrying on Steen’s vision, but with his own designs and ethos.
Gordon Martin’s Sonoma Pole Houses are completely milled in Healdsburg and shipped in kits complete with hardware, roofing and windows. Instructions for assembly also are included, although all but the most skilled do-it-yourselfers are advised to hire a contractor to set them up properly.
Martin was inspired by Bay Area architect Michelle Kaufmann, who 10 years ago pioneered a new era of high-quality, factory-built homes.
The elegant post-and-beam joinery of his pole houses is stronger than conventional stick framing, said Martin, whose company for years has milled the materials for industrial cooling towers around the world. His Sonoma Millworks in Healdsburg also does re-milling of fine salvaged wood. Among his projects was salvaging and re-milling some 25,000 board feet of old-growth redwood that became part of the new Boudin SF bakery in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village shopping center.
Pole houses like the Fryes’ typically are built on heavy poles inserted into the ground. While some people choose not to bury the poles out of concern for rot, Martin maintains that by pressure-treating and encasing the formidable Douglas fir poles in concrete, they can remain safe and sturdy for generations.
With the structural framework anchored so deep in the ground, the building is able to move separately, Martin said, and absorb tremors without breaking. With the living level set so high off the ground, the homes are protected from floods, rot and vermin.
The style felt natural for the Fryes, who made several trips to Japan and were enchanted by Kyoto, a jewel of ancient Japanese architecture. The couple for a number of years lived in a Japanese-style home in Davis, where Fred, a former cancer researcher and comparative pathologist who is regarded as an international expert in reptiles, served on the faculty of the University of California.
He admits his affinity for Asian culture began simply out of necessity.
“When I first got married, Brucye and I didn’t have much money,” he said. “I was going to school on the GI bill. One of the least expensive ways to survive was an Asian diet.”
As they moved up, they began collecting Japanese and Chinese art, a lifetime of treasures that grace the 1,200-square-foot home, a mirror image of their son Erik’s larger, 2,000-square-foot pole house set within what amounts to a family compound.
Together, the Fryes work a farm they call La Primavera, raising chickens and maintaining orchards of antique apples, pears, apricots, peaches, plums and nectarines.
Sonoma Millworks’ Martin has worked on pole houses in Calistoga and Hawaii. But the acquisition of a German-made, computer-operated joinery machine called a Hundegger, which takes up an entire warehouse, now allows him to produce easily and with extreme precision the components for pole-house kits.
The house can be designed in the traditional architect’s CAD software. The Hundegger reads the plans from a flash drive and makes all the adjustments to automatically cut large pieces of wood robotically. The pole houses are available in three sizes: 12 by 12 feet for use as a bonus room or guest quarters, 16 by 16 feet, and 32 by 32 feet. They can be used modularly to make a larger residential cluster and start at about $80,000 for the smallest, most basic kit. That doesn’t include construction or interior finish work.
Ilene Paul describes the home’s interior as akin to a temple, a place of “deep peace and calm.”
Ilene Paul first laid eyes on a Japanese country-style building at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County. She was so taken by it, with its big overhanging roof and wraparound decks, that she began searching for a way to build one as her own personal retreat.
She and her husband, Don, a contractor, had the perfect piece of land waiting, spectacularly situated above Jenner, looking out at the ocean and some 5,600 protected acres of the Jenner Headlands.
“It’s a world-class location,” Ilene said. “We decided it deserved a world-class house.”
She found a company in Oregon that at the time was selling pole-house kits. Hauling 15 giant poles up the dirt road to their property was so precarious that one trucker refused to go up. Don wound up pulling the big rig up the hill with his little tractor.
It took five weeks to get the foundation in. The couple chose to set the poles deep — three rows of five poles, set 16 feet apart. In process, it looked, Ilene said, a little like Stonehenge.
When finished, the house was 2,800 square feet of living space beneath 22-foot ceilings held up by rough-hewn poles so large that the Pauls can barely put their arms around them. A dramatic open bridge with copper-tube railings leads from a master suite to a second bedroom to Ilene’s
artist’s studio on the “second floor.” Materials are warm and earthy, from the hickory floors to the clay walls.
The Pauls’ deck offers a sweeping ocean view.
“There is a Japanese term, wabi-sabi, and it means rustic elegance. The house is not glitzy and shiny, but we consider it has rustic elegance,” explained Ilene, who added Japanese elements such as a stained-glass door she made, inspired by Japanese brush strokes, Asian art and shoji screens.
She described the interior as akin to a temple, a place of “deep peace and calm.”
To Martin, there is something both protective and primal about being in one of these serene homes anchored into the earth and with roofs reaching to the skies.
“It feels like leaving the earth,” he explained. “You are out on the veranda, yet feel protected by the overhang. But when you step inside and look up, you feel exalted.”
At the Weinsteins’ Sonoma home, a table in the poolside arbor is set for a twilight dinner. (photography by Rebecca Chotkowski)
The Weinstein family has a stately home on a picturesque property in Sonoma that’s not at all about being posh. It’s a place with a purpose:
solar-powered, pesticide-free and food-producing, allowing the Weinsteins to donate 2,000 pounds of produce to Valley of the Moon seniors last year.
They keep chickens, tend bees and have 52 fruit trees and 65 raised beds of Biodynamically farmed vegetables, everything from asparagus to zucchini and carrots in three different colors. Everyone who visits leaves with a basket of the land’s bounty.
Hailey, left, Kathleen, Paul and Jack pose for a casual family portrait.
Paul and Kathleen Weinstein built this haven in 2005, not long after learning that their young son, Jack, had a rare eye disease, juvenile retinoschisis, which threatened his vision. Their action plan was to get him cutting-edge medical care and provide him with a nurturing environment and excellent education. High-energy entrepreneurs who once worked on Wall Street, the couple were living in San Francisco and thought home schooling in a country setting might be best for the family. The Weinsteins purchased 5 acres and began building what they then called “Jack’s house.”
They found Stanford University ophthalmologist Deborah Alcorn, who was able to save 25 percent of Jack’s waning vision. She’s now his godmother. The family lives primarily in Ross in Marin County, so that Jack, 16, and his sister, Hailey, 13, could attend private schools that made home schooling unnecessary. But the Weinsteins return to their hillside Sonoma house, which they consider their true home, on weekends and for much of the summer.
“We try to spend 50 percent of our time in Sonoma,” Kathleen said. “That defines a good year for us.”
From the very beginning, they designed their home with an emphasis on having only what they needed, using materials and building methods that were environmentally sound. The U-shaped house is 4,000 square feet and has exterior walls that are 14 inches thick for maximum insulation. There’s a huge, high-ceilinged great room that reaches to 23 feet at its peak.
One wing holds the family bedrooms and bathrooms. The baths’ floor tiles are from Paris Ceramics, which had a once-in-a-lifetime shipment of stone excavated from the streets of Jerusalem. The stone had been laid around 2,000 years ago and may have been walked on by Jesus.
“To us, it celebrates the children’s Christian and Jewish heritage, and the miracles of faith,” Kathleen said.
The other wing has a guest suite, an office for Paul (a partner in a venture capital firm) and a TV room with an extra-large screen and comfy seats up close so Jack can see.
The Weinsteins cook and eat together in their well-equipped kitchen, pulling up leather stools around the stone peninsula where conversation is a vital part of every meal.
Paul and Kathleen team-cook on a six-burner Wolf cooktop, with a pantry, Sub-Zero refrigerator and sink in easy reach. The family eats together on leather stools pulled up around a stone peninsula, where conversation is paramount. The dark, swirly stone is from Sweden and looks almost like lava. They chose it because on the hill behind their kitchen there is evidence of a long-ago volcano, and the stone symbolizes lava flowing on, through their home. There’s also a guest house for visiting East Coast relatives, built over a garage that houses an eco-friendly electric Tesla car.
Outside is where the Weinsteins’ true selves are revealed. There’s a loggia made of Montana fieldstone with a built-in fireplace where they love to relax. Phantom screens enclose it if they so choose. There is a Sunbrella-fabric-covered arbor that hovers over weatherproof wicker furniture, with trucked-in sand underfoot. The lounge chairs and 54-inch dining table are by Positano. Redwood picnic tables under the arbor can seat up to 20 for large get-togethers. The arbor’s 10-foot support columns anchor a retractable sunshade that shields the 20-by-45-foot, solar-heated pool.
“The sun was too strong for Jack and we needed to figure out a way to shade the pool,” Kathleen explained. “Arbor Fence (in Sonoma) tackled the project and the owner was so committed to helping get Jack back outside to play. It was a real heartfelt mission. Now we string hammocks between the columns and have sand in our toes. It’s where most of our family talking happens.”
The arbor is a favorite setting for poolside dining and conversation, with a sandbox floor made for wiggling toes.
Kathleen, Jack and Hailey each swim 11/2 miles every day in the summer. Jack trained in this pool for the swim he made from Alcatraz to San Francisco in 2013. He raised $44,250 for No Barriers, a nonprofit with the motto, “What’s within you is stronger than what’s in your way,” a concept that Jack personifies. Paul and Hailey were alongside him in a Zodiac inflatable boat when Jack jumped into the 59-degree bay waters. Kathleen, who once completed the swim herself, guided his way in a kayak.
Hailey and Jack are key players in caring for the garden.
The Weinsteins’ orchard and gardens have grown into a philanthropic enterprise. The first thing they planted was tomatoes, “As an homage to my grandfather, who loves tomatoes,” Jack said. In 2005, they had 13 beds and 10 fruit trees. When they found themselves faced with 100 pounds of plums, they started thinking about a sharing plan that went beyond friends and neighbors.
The family started delivering produce to Vintage House senior center in Sonoma, both for use at the center and for people to take home. The seniors loved seeing the kids arrive with bushels of kale, garlic, radishes, peaches and pears — healthy and fabulously fresh.
Kathleen is teaching Hailey about beekeeping as a way to increase the productivity of their garden.
Jack and Hailey have spent many early summer mornings pulling weeds. They respect water, striving to never waste it. With this year’s drought, they will not plant the usual flower beds.
“It needs to produce something for us to water it,” Hailey said. “Flowers we don’t need, and they will stay dormant until next year.”
Gardening, she said, has shown her how she can give back to her community. Jack shares his sister’s sentiment. “This garden has given me a feeling of connectivity, both to my family and the people we help. When I was younger, I didn’t realize the full extent of what we were doing, but it always felt good and right. I understood the importance of being kind.”
The 5-acre property had plenty of space for a sand volleyball court next to the produce garden’s raised beds.
They’ve added Sonoma Hills Retirement Community to their donation list. On a regular basis, the kids supply enough produce to serve 80 meals there. They studied the property and devised a planting plan, so that fruits and vegetables can be grown on-site.
“I get goose bumps when I think about what those kids did,” Sonoma Hills executive director Mark Nilsson said. “They drew up a very professional schematic plan, and then gave me a check for $750, which was a gift from their grandmother, to buy trees.” Raised beds for vegetables have also been added.
The Weinsteins don’t call it “Jack’s house” anymore, because it is such a part of each of them. It’s where Jack and Hailey learned perhaps their greatest life lessons thus far: Love the land. Provide for your elders. Pursue your passions.
B Cellars, 400 Silverado Trail, Calistoga, 877-229-9939, bcellars.com. Book ahead for special tasting experiences at this expansive winery off the Silverado Trail and relax on the outdoor patio. Single-vineyard tastings and a production tour and tasting are particularly popular, and the winery has its own chef on hand to showcase the red blends, Syrah, Sangiovese and Petite Sirah with food.
Black Stallion Winery, 4089 Silverado Trail, Napa, 707-227-3250, blackstallionwinery.com. Posh and hospitable, Black Stallion offers luxury and comfort in equal measure, with plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy the winery’s Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
B.R. Cohn Winery & Olive Oil Co., 15000 Highway 12, Glen Ellen, 800-330-4064, brcohn.com. Surrounded by olive trees and meandering gardens, B.R. Cohn is a peaceful place to enjoy a sunny day, taste through Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon and sample the estate’s own olive oils and vinegars. The lovely grounds are among the most worthy for picnics and afternoon naps, and double as a show ground from time to time for classic cars and founder Bruce Cohn’s summer concerts.
Charles Krug-Peter Mondavi Sr. Family Vineyards, 2800 Main St., St. Helena, 707-967-2200, charleskrug.com. Where Peter and Robert Mondavi first got their start, Charles Krug remains an impressive blend of old and new, with its historical Redwood Cellar now ready for tastings. A prime producer of crisp Sauvignon Blanc and elegant Cabernet, Krug visitors enjoy a slew of tasting options and tours, and can take a bottle and ponder life on the Great Lawn.
Chateau Montelena, 1429 Tubbs Lane, Calistoga, 707-942-5105, chateaumontelena.com. A wonderful place to picnic, with a Chinese garden and lake and views of Mount St. Helena, Chateau Montelena remains a Napa Valley stalwart, the winner of the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris wine tasting and a consistently great producer of elegant Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Special tastings and tours abound.
Chateau St. Jean, 8555 Highway 12, Kenwood, 707-833-4134, chateaustjean.com. With a sprawling, picture-perfect lawn, bocce courts and gorgeous location, Chateau St. Jean is also worth a visit as it celebrates the 40th anniversary of Cinq Cepages, its proprietary Bordeaux-style red blend. The tasting room carries many picnic goodies.
Drew Family Cellars, 9000 Highway 128, Philo, 707-895-9599, drewwines.com. Among the finest producers of Anderson Valley and Mendocino Ridge Pinot Noir and Syrah, family-run Drew operates this small tasting room Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s also just about the only winery in Mendocino County where you’ll find Albarino, a crisp white that’s just right for summer.
Frank Family Vineyards, 1091 Larkmead Lane, Calistoga, 800-574-9463, frankfamilyvineyards.com. Frank Family is a popular Napa Valley stop because of its gardens, picnic spots and affordable tasting fees: $20 for a sampling of four wines, which include sparkling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and age-worthy Petite Sirah. It also happens to inhabit the former Larkmead Winery, third-oldest in the valley.
Freemark Abbey, 3022 St. Helena Highway, St. Helena, 800-963-9698, ext. 3721, freemarkabbey.com. Established in 1886, Freemark Abbey’s winery is a peaceful place to enjoy a classic tasting of a wide range of its wines, or settle in for a one-hour Cabernet Comparison Tasting ($30) that demonstrates the range of vineyard sites sourced for the wines.
Geyser Peak Winery, 2306 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg, 800-255-9463, geyserpeakwinery.com. This venerable winery has new digs near downtown Healdsburg, after decades of calling Geyserville home. It’s now an easy bike ride from the plaza. Premier tastings start at $10, reserve tastings at $15. Summertime picnic options and seated wine and cheese pairings are also available, by reservation.
Gloria Ferrer, 23555 Highway 121, Sonoma, 707-933-1917, gloriaferrer.com. There may be no better hillside patio from which to take in the Carneros views than the one at Gloria Ferrer, known for its lively sparkling wines. From the sun-soaked deck, enjoy wine flights and bites of cheese and chocolate, or take a tour of the cellar and vines, offered three times a day ($20) with wine. Private food and wine pairing seminars can also be booked for groups.
Goldeneye Winery, 9200 Highway 128, Philo, 800-208-0438, goldeneyewinery.com. The Duckhorn family’s outpost in Anderson Valley, Goldeneye is devoted to Pinot Noir and also produces small amounts of Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Vin Gris of Pinot Noir. Picnic tables in the gardens are available to guests, and tastings of current-release wines are $10 to $20.
Grgich Hills Estate, 1829 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford, 800-532-3057, grgich.com. The mighty Grgich Hills, a producer of wonderful Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, offers a range of visitor experiences, including barrel tastings every Friday (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.), seated wine tastings with cheese ($40), a rustic vineyard adventure ($125) and grape stomping ($30, Labor Day to Halloween). On any day, box lunches can also be ordered to enjoy on-site.
Gundlach-Bundschu, 2000 Denmark St., Sonoma, 707-938-5277, gunbun.com. This 1860s winery, still family-run, offers a courtyard tasting menu in good weather, with flights of five current-release wines or the option to indulge in five library Cabernet Sauvignons. A board of local cheeses, hummus and almonds might accompany the wines. Vineyard excursions go all summer.
J Vineyards & Winery, 11447 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 888-594-6326, jwine.com. A glass of bubbly is always a good thing, and this is a well-appointed spot at which to have it, as well as taste J’s Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Don’t miss having a sip of Pinot Gris, among its most popular, summertime-perfect wines. The J Bubble Room pairs wines with exquisite, locally sourced dishes; chef Erik Johnson is a huge proponent of sourcing locally.
Jordan Vineyard & Winery, 1474 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg, 800-654-1213, jordanwinery.com. By appointment, Jordan welcomes visitors for walking tours through its beautiful compound, which includes the estate’s gardens from which executive chef Todd Knoll sources a cornucopia of produce for winery meals. Tours and seated tastings are available Monday through Saturday throughout the year and on Sundays most of the summer.
Monticello Vineyards, 4242 Big Ranch Road, Napa, 707-253-2802, corleyfamilynapavalley.com. Come to the Corley family’s Napa winery and sit down to a Jefferson House Reserve Tasting ($30) held in the Jefferson House Reserve Room and dig deep into single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Or sign up to be winemaker for a day ($90), a two-hour blending session and walk through the vineyards that ends with a tasting of more wines.
Murphy-Goode Winery, 20 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 800-499-7644, murphygoodewinery.com. Recently refreshed, the Murphy-Goode tasting room feels akin to a redone barn, with ample room to relax, play shuffleboard or linger on the back porch. It also houses a vintage photo booth for taking funny pictures in between sips of wine.
Navarro Vineyards, 5601 Highway 128, Philo, 800-537-9463, navarrowine.com. The wide selection of crisp white wines and bright, mellow reds is worth the drive to Anderson Valley, where Navarro’s homey picnic grounds inspire taking one’s time. Plenty of picnic items are stocked in the tasting room, including winery principal Sarah Cahn Bennett’s fine farmstead goat cheeses made down the road at Pennyroyal Farms. Tours into the vineyard happen twice a day, by appointment.
Patz & Hall’s Sonoma House, 21200 Eighth St. E., Sonoma, 877-265-6700, patzhall.com. In a well-appointed house in the Carneros region, this chic tasting spot showcases Patz & Hall’s single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Taste four wines for $25, served with truffle nuts, or go for the sit-down discussion and tasting of six to eight wines with meticulously prepared small plates ($50). Chances are the day will start off with a glass of bubbly.
Ram’s Gate, 28700 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 707-721-8700, ramsgatewinery.com. Ram’s Gate was designed for lingering, with a host of spacious sitting areas. Then there’s the food, prepared to order by the on-staff chef for seated, guided tastings. Order a picnic lunch to take into the vineyard or out by the pond. The wines alone are a reason to stay, a collection of single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, Syrahs, Chardonnays and even a brut bubbly.
Red Car Wine, 8400 Graton Road, Sebastopol, 707-829-8500, redcarwine.com. Red Car makes fine cool-climate wines, from crisp Chardonnay to nicely rendered Pinot Noir and Syrah. The whimsical labels alone are worth the trip.
Robert Biale Vineyards, 4038 Big Ranch Road, Napa, 707-257-7555, biale.com. A producer of elegant single-vineyard Zinfandels and Petite Sirahs, Biale works with a wide range of old-vine vineyards throughout Napa and Sonoma. Enjoy the outdoor patio and views of the surrounding vineyards while sipping the winery’s signature Black Chicken Napa Valley Zinfandel, an ode to bootlegging in Prohibition days.
Robert Mondavi Winery, 7801 St. Helena Highway, Oakville, 888-766-6328, robertmondaviwinery.com. The place where much of modern Napa Valley tourism began, Mondavi remains a vital place to visit, gorgeously alive and airy. Concerts are hosted on the vast lawn throughout July. Check the website for the schedule.
Rodney Strong Vineyards, 11455 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 800-678-4763, rodneystrong.com. For a comprehensive taste of Sonoma County with expansive views of vines, look no further than Rodney Strong, which offers an estate wine tasting daily as well as the option to try single-vineyard and reserve wines. From its staunch Alexander Valley Cabernets to Davis Bynum Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, there’s a lot to like. Picnickers are also welcome on the winery’s lawn and vineyard terrace, with food items for purchase inside.
Roederer Estate, 4501 Highway 128, Philo, 707-895-2288, roederestate.com. Take a tour ($6) of the Anderson Valley home of Roederer Estate and see how some of America’s best sparkling wines are made, then sit on the balcony and breathe in the cool coastal air. Picnics for two can be ordered ahead of time for $25.
Schramsberg Vineyards, 1400 Schramsberg Road, Calistoga, 800-877-3623, schramsberg.com. Among the first in California to specialize in sparkling wine, Schramsberg occupies hallowed, historic ground, home to the oldest hillside vineyards in Napa Valley and some of the first caves dug for storing and aging wine. Take a tour (by appointment) and don’t miss the Mirabelle Brut Rosé and other gorgeous sparklers before moving on to taste the J. Davies Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, 100 N. Pythian Road, Santa Rosa, 888-675-9463, stfranciswinery.com. Named the No. 1 U.S. restaurant by Open Table, St. Francis isn’t a restaurant per se but does offer a gourmet food and wine experience, as well as a monthly interactive experience in its tasting room, Sonoma Tastemakers, whereby the best bites from Sonoma producers and purveyors are paired with St. Francis wines. Past months have featured cheese, savory and sweet jams, and pie.
Tamber Bey Vineyards, 1251 Tubbs Lane, Calistoga, 707-942-2100, tamberbey.com. Recently opened, Tamber Bey is located within the grounds of Sundance Ranch, a 22-acre equestrian facility with horses galore and a tasting room fit into a former barn clubhouse. Taste and hang with horses at the same time. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (by appointment) for tours and tastings of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tasting Room on the Green, 9050 Windsor Road, Windsor. A partnership of the Deux Amis and Mutt Lynch wineries, this dog-friendly spot pours Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and a red blend called Ducks a Miss, made by Deux Amis winemaker Phyllis Zouzounis. Brenda Lynch’s Mutt Lynch lineup includes Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and a limited series of vineyard-designate wines under the Man’s Best Friend imprimatur.
Twomey Cellars, 3000 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 800-505-4850, twomey.com. Owned by the same family behind Silver Oak, Twomey specializes in Pinot Noir with two locations, one in Calistoga and this tasting room in Healdsburg, the former site of Roshambo. With beautiful views of Mount St. Helena, the tasting room offers daily sampling of current-release wines, and tours by appointment. House-cured salumi and cheese boards can be ordered ahead of time.
Summer brings out the best dishes with the freshest ingredients…
Here are spoon-size portions of previous restaurant reviews by Jeff Cox, accompanied by the date they originally appeared in The Press Democrat. Reviews will appear on a seasonal basis.
Bistro 29, 620 Fifth St., Santa Rosa, 707-546-2929, bistro29.com. We’re fortunate to have a restaurant in our area that serves the food of Brittany in northwestern France. The cuisine features beautiful buckwheat crepes, both savory and sweet, with myriad choices of fillings. Brittany is known for its excellent chicken and seafood, and chef Brian Anderson makes delicious entrees with locally sourced versions of both. Great wine list of French and local wines, too. Reviewed 5/19/13. $$$
Bistro Des Copains, 3782 Bohemian Highway, Occidental, 707-874-2436, bistrodescopains.com. This very authentic Provencal-style bistro in the charming village of Occidental is the kind of place that a tourist, stumbling upon it, would write home about. Real-deal onion soup, raclette melted cheese, feuilleté of escargot, great pissaladière, mushroom crème brulée, braised rabbit in mustard sauce, steak frites with sauce Béarnaise, and so much more. Reviewed 3/17/13. $$-$$$$
Bravas Bar de Tapas, 420 Center St., Healdsburg, 707-433-7700, starkrestaurants.com/bravas. Owners Mark and Terri Stark traveled to Spain and fell for the wine-loving, snack-munching, pal-schmoozing culture of the tapas bar scene there. So they brought it back home to join their four other Sonoma County restaurants. The backyard of the bungalow that’s home to Bravas is transformed into an al fresco venue for tapas-style conviviality. The snacks are extraordinarily diverse and delicious. Scads of Spanish and local wines — and sangrias — await. Reviewed 12/16/12. $$-$$$$
Burgers & Vine, 400 First St. E., Sonoma, 707-938-7110, burgersandvine.com. The old Sonoma Mission Creamery building is now an up-to-date bar and grill, featuring burgers, brisket, ribs, salads, sandwiches and more. House-brewed beer joins many craft beers on tap. The long bar is made of rescued old-growth redwood. Big-screen TVs shower you with sports, live bands are booked, and the grub is pretty much pub. Reviewed 3/23/14. $$
Café LaHaye, 140 E. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-935-5994, cafelahaye.com. Here’s a restaurant that has its act together. Chef Jeffrey Lloyd features a different risotto and pasta dish each night, along with the best roast chicken ever. The vegetables on his plates are not given short shrift, and are cooked with intelligence and care. The appetizers are as carefully prepared as the entrees and uniformly delicious. The wine list is a tour of the region’s best wineries. Highly recommended. Reviewed 3/30/14. $$$-$$$$
Café Lucia, 235 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, Suite 105, 707-431-1113, cafelucia.net. The same highly flavored Portuguese food that has made LaSalette such a hit over the years in Sonoma is now available in Healdsburg. The kitchen turns out dishes created by executive chef Manuel Azevedo, and his sister, Lucia, hosts and runs the business. The siblings are co-owners. It’s a bright and tasty addition to Healdsburg’s already-superior food scene. The caldo verde is perfect, seafood stew is terrific, and all the entrees shimmer with intense flavor. Reviewed 1/20/13. $$$
Chalkboard, 29 North St., Healdsburg, 707-473-8030, chalkboardhealdsburg.com. This hideout for tired tourists and thirsty, hungry locals is a refreshing break from the insistent gentrification going on around it in Healdsburg. A full bar offers cocktails in a comfy setting, and the rustic décor encourages patrons to relax. The small-plate dishes of chef Shane McAnelly are modestly priced and tasty, and include the best sliders in town, raw items, house-made pastas and seafood. Reviewed 6/23/13. $$
Empire, 1400 First St., Napa, 707-254-8888, empirenapa.com. An upscale, contemporary hangout cocktail lounge with small plates of excellent international-style food with influences from Europe, Asia and the Americas. Sit on comfy couches and sip beautifully made cocktails from low tables, enjoy watching the jellyfish in their tanks, snack around the menu, and stay until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The carrot cake is highly recommended. Reviewed 7/7/13. $$-$$$
FlipSide Steakhouse & Sports Bar, 138 Calistoga Road, Santa Rosa, 707-539-7700, flipsidesteakhouse.com. Two big dining rooms serve up Certified Angus beef as steaks and prime rib, and there’s also chicken, salmon and lots of crowd-pleasing sides, all priced a la carte, steakhouse-style. There are raw oysters and crab cakes to start, and a delicious slice of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and a scoop of vanilla to finish. The adjoining sports bar has 27 huge, flat-screen TVs. Reviewed 3/9/14. $$-$$$$
Heritage Public House, 1901 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-540-0395, heritagepublichousesr.com. The perfect place to hang out, sample two dozen beers and ciders from all over California (exclusively), and enjoy pub grub that’s a cut above in provenance and quality. The focus is on good ingredients prepared well: fish tacos, a big, beefy burger (natch), salads, sandwiches, fish and chips and nightly specials. Reviewed 10/6/13. $
Hiro’s Japanese Restaurant, 107 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma, 707-763-2300, hirosrestaurant.com. Hiro’s is an exceptional Japanese restaurant. It goes beyond just fresh and lovely versions of the usual Japanese dishes — although it does have them on the menu — to bring true gourmet Japanese cuisine to Sonoma County, including hard-to-find, interesting seafood specialties. From the arty décor to the swift and smiling service, it’s a real pleasure to dine at Hiro’s. Reviewed 8/25/13. $$-$$$
Jackson’s Bar and Oven, 135 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-545-6900, jacksonsbarandoven.com. This beautifully designed restaurant in the Railroad Square district is the place for meeting friends and hanging out. There are a wide array of drinks and a menu chockablock with well-crafted American dishes including burgers, pizzas, braised short ribs, fish tacos and great desserts. Don’t miss the beignets. Reviewed 9/1/13. $$-$$$$
A half-chicken is served over bulghur with spigariello greens and Jerusalem artichokes at The Kenwood Restaurant. (Beth Schlanker)
The Kenwood Restaurant, 9900 Highway 12, Kenwood, 707-833-6326, kenwoodrestaurant.com. The focus is on organic meats and vegetables from local family farms, used in dishes that give a Sonoma twist to sophisticated American cooking. The result is wonderfully flavored food that’s as good for you as it is tasty. The chef will buy a whole carcass and use it in many different recipes. It’s farm-to-table cooking in a beautiful Sonoma Valley setting. Reviewed 3/2/14. $$$$
Le Bistro, 312 Petaluma Blvd. S., Petaluma, 707-762-8292, lebistropetaluma.com. Chef Corey Basso has prepared classic French and Italian dinners at this small neighborhood bistro since 1988, refining and improving the dishes as he went. Now, they’re just about perfect, with each expertly prepared. They menu items are not complicated (fettuccini with prawns, chicken breast, grilled lamb loin, a fresh fish of the day) but they are thrillingly delicious. Reviewed 4/20/14. $$-$$$
LoCoco’s Cucina Rustica, 117 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-523-2227, lococos.net. Joe LoCoco’s restaurant is a traditional Italian place with all the classic dishes one associates with Italian-American cooking. There’s the full range of pastas, veal, the chicken under a brick and chicken parmigiana, and the most wonderful cannoli for dessert. The portions are large, the wine list is heavy with good Italian bottles, and the waiters may break into song (but not in a corny way). The place is usually full of customers, for a good reason. Reviewed 9/29/13. $$-$$$
Pamposh Restaurant, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 110, Santa Rosa, 707-538-3367, pamposhrestaurant.com. This small but mighty Indian restaurant occupies a nondescript corner of the Mission Circle Shopping Center, but the food is anything but dull. It’s full-on Indian and Kashmiri cooking, with lamb, chicken and vegetable curries; a signature dish of lamb in an apricot and coconut sauce; marinated and flash-cooked tandoori chicken; house-made yogurt drinks; perfect creamed spinach and soft cheese, and much more. Highly recommended. Reviewed 7/21/13. $$
Press, 587 St. Helena Highway (Highway 29), St. Helena, 707-967-0550, pressnapavalley.com. Owned by the same family that owns Dean & DeLuca and the Oakville Grocery, Press focuses on high-quality beefsteaks and a huge list of Napa Valley wines from current releases to bottles stretching back to the 1960s. The cocktails are superior, too. While many good dishes come from the wood-fired oven, it’s really the steaks that are the superstars here. They include Wagyu beef from Japan, and extravagantly good American beef. Reviewed 10/20/13. $$$$
Rustic, Francis’s Favorites, at Francis Ford Coppola Winery, 300 Via Archimedes, Geyserville, 707-857-1485, franciscoppolawinery.com/rustic. Francis Ford Coppola needs no introduction, but at his winery/restaurant/resort/watering hole in Geyserville, you’ll get one anyway. The restaurant, called “Rustic, Francis’s Favorites,” features the Italian dishes of his childhood and his adult love of the Argentine grill, from which come big portions of beef with chimichurri sauce. The wine list is mostly from his winery, and that’s OK. A wood-burning oven makes wonderful pizzas, too. Reviewed 11/10/13. $-$$$$
Santé at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, 100 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma, 707-939-2415, www.fairmont.com/sonoma. This classic restaurant sets the standard for high-quality spa food, not only in Sonoma County, but anywhere in the world. The ingredients are mostly local and treated with respect so that the basic flavors shine through. The chefs use techniques and carefully measured herbs and condiments to glorify the ingredients. The service is impeccable. Luxury doesn’t come cheap, but indulge yourself and go. Reviewed 6/16/13. $$$$
Sazon Peruvian Restaurant, 1129 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, 707-523-4346, sazonsr.com. This small and inconspicuous yet clean and sunny restaurant in southwest Santa Rosa is a treasure, serving authentic Peruvian food that’s packed with flavors from the worldwide cultures that have made Peru a melting pot of a country. The dishes are delicious and beautifully presented. The ceviches are particularly good. Highly recommended. Reviewed 5/5/13. $$
Scopa, 109-A Plaza St., Healdsburg, 707-433-5282, scopahealdsburg.com. Here is an Italian restaurant with a strong influence of southern Italy and food that’s surpassingly delicious. Nonna’s Tomato-Braised Chicken with polenta keeps fans coming back. Chef Ari Rosen’s Sugo Calabrese is a perfect plate of meat-sauced thin spaghetti. But this is not Italian-American cooking, it’s authentic and soulful. A fine list of Italian wines lets you accompany this food with something from the Old Country. Reviewed 3/16/14. $$-$$$.
Seared, 170 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma, 707-762-5997, petalumaseared.com. It’s kind of a steak house, but the menu is more varied than that, with lots of seafood and a range of good appetizers. The beef tends to be the Japanese breeds, often aged and sometimes grass-fed. The vegetables are handled with care. Chef Joe O’Donnell displays his skill by adding complexity to the food. It’s a whirlwind of flavors. The restaurant knocks 25 percent off the wine prices on Thursdays. Reviewed 4/6/14. $$-$$$$
Shige Sushi Japanese Kitchen, 8235 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati, 707-795-9753, shige-sushi.com. A small but cozy room in the heart of Cotati, it has a big surprise for lovers of Japanese food. The appetizers alone are worth the trip: albacore with thin rounds of jalapeño peppers, poke salad, fried chicken karaage and much more, all well-prepared by chef Shigekazu Mori. Reviewed 3/10/13. $$
The pulled pork sandwich comes with a side of beet salad from chef Jeff Young of Twist in Forestville. (John Burgess)
Twist Eatery, 6536 Front St., Forestville, 707-820-8443, twisteatery.com. The place is tiny, with nine stools at the counter and a patio that’s open in cheery weather, but the owners are friendly, the vibe warm, the portions satisfying. It’s a great place for lunch or early dinner on Fridays and Saturdays. The food tends to be organic and locally sourced, with soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas and daily specials on the menu. The short wine list has some real gems. Reviewed 7/14/13. $$
Pink Lady Apple Pie is the perfect way to end a meal at Wishbone in Petaluma. (Alvin Jornada)
Wishbone, 841 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma, 707-763-2663, wishbonepetaluma.com. If you remember Humble Pie restaurant in Penngrove, you’ll connect with Miriam Donaldson’s rustic country take on California cooking. She and Josh Norwitt are now at Wishbone, the former site of Three Cooks Café, and once again serving up food that’s a locavore’s delight. Donaldson puts a lot of her personality into dishes such as chicken jalapeño pie, a buckwheat crepe pizzetta with gravlox and preserved lemon, and trout wrapped in house-cured bacon. The wine list is full of treasures. Reviewed 11/24/13. $$$
zazu restaurant + farm, 6770 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 707-523-4814, zazukitchen.com. While many restaurants claim to cook farm to table, Duskie Estes and John Stewart take the concept to a new level at their restaurant, located in a spacious room in The Barlow in Sebastopol. They have a small farm at home where they raise animals, gather eggs and grow produce, and a kitchen garden by the restaurant, too. Stewart makes great bacon and salumi, Estes ferments vegetables, and the kitchen turns out American comfort food that’s impossibly tasty. Reviewed 9/15/13. $$$-$$$$
At Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch, tents offer shade from the late summer sun for eager sippers. (photo by Kent Porter)
In all of Wine Country, it’s hard to find many venues as charming as the MacMurray Ranch outside of Healdsburg.
Once a getaway home for TV star Fred MacMurray and actress wife June Haver, and still home base for their daughter Kate MacMurray, the beautiful property has its own personality.
Monica Yost of Sonoma and Brian Reagan of San Francisco share the culinary delights at last year’s Taste event. (Kent Porter)
Owned by the Gallo wine family since 1996, the former cattle ranch is now planted with vineyards and has played host since 2006 to the annual Taste of Sonoma event during Labor Day weekend. Huge white tents pitched on the vast MacMurray lawn, arranged by wine region, provide shade for 2,500 attendees who jostle for a splash of crisp Sauvignon Blanc and hearty Cabernet Sauvignon, and bites of heirloom tomato salad, sushi and barbecue. With more than 200 wineries pouring and 60 local chefs creating perfect food pairings, Taste of Sonoma has become a high point of the annual three-day Sonoma Wine Country Weekend.
The ranch, with its low hills, evergreen woods and rows of vines, is an ideal setting for the casual, convivial Taste of Sonoma on Aug. 30. Sundresses, shorts, Hawaiian shirts and sunscreen are the dress of the day, contrasting with the ultra-high quality of the wine and food. Celebrated Living magazine named Taste of Sonoma one of the “10 Best Wine and Food Events in the United States.” Tickets cost $165 to $195 per person.
In addition to Taste of Sonoma, Sonoma Wine Country Weekend includes the Aug. 29 Sonoma Starlight gala dinner at Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville and the Aug. 31 Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction at Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood. The auction is an unpretentious affair attended by growers and vintners who host tables and mingle with attendees.
The Grand Lawn at Chateau St. Jean will be transformed into an African plain to suit the “From Sonoma to Serengeti” theme. Expect funny skits along with the bidding. The atmosphere is classy but casual, with some partiers showing up in elaborate costumes, others in shorts and staw hats. Admission is $500.
Fueled by community spirit, a sense of fun, good food and fine wine, lively bidding produced $1.4 million last year, almost doubling the amount raised for charity the previous year.
At The Races: Entrants in a 200-yard wine-barrel race on the Russian River raise their paddles as a few admirers look on from Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Bridge. The race was part of the 1947 Healdsburg Harvest Festival, attended by thousands. (Courtesy Sonoma County Wine Library)
(photography by Erik Castro)
Don McEnhill at teh Del Rio dam on the Russian River, where he could be Huck Finn for the summer.
Standing on the dusty banks of the Russian River, Don McEnhill surveys the mostly dry gulch that is Del Rio Woods Beach near Healdsburg in a record drought year.
Almost forgotten in the wide expanse of rocks, the speckled ribbon of current, maybe 15 yards across and a foot deep, resembles a creek more than a river. A rusty skeleton of a dam, hunkered down like an abandoned flatbed truck, sits in the middle of the water. Young willows bob for balance in a sandbar as the wind rattles through cottonwoods across the river. A handful of teenagers in bathing suits have spread out towels a few feet from the water.
“This was where you could be Huck Finn for the summer,” McEnhill says, looking back on his childhood. “If you didn’t have a canoe, you’d find a log and roll down the river or you’d spend hours just playing with green tree frogs that showed up on the river that morning. You were only limited by your imagination.”
Every summer, just before the dam went up on Memorial Day weekend, a neighbor would drive his tractor along the river bed, knocking on cabin doors and asking owners if they wanted their “beach” bulldozed. For a nominal fee, he’d push gravel and sand to the edge of their properties so that when the water rose from the Del Rio dam, a sandy beach would be waiting at the bottom of the paths that led down from cabins, which had names such as “Jim’s Folly” and “Laf-a-Lot Lodge.”
Red Cross classes at Del Rio Beach, circa 1939, taught many kids how to swim; others learned the hard way, tossed into the drink by their siblings. (Courtesy Don McEnhill)
Now 51, McEnhill was only 7 days old when he first heard the rolling waters of the Russian River, lulling him to sleep in a playpen on a beach six lots up from where he’s standing now. Back then, in the early 1960s, the river was the epicenter of town life in Healdsburg. It’s where kids learned to swim, row a boat and later chase after girls (or boys).
“That’s where you saw everybody — down at either Memorial Beach or Del Rio,” remembers McEnhill, who now does everything he can to preserve the river as executive director of Russian Riverkeeper, a nonprofit dedicated to the health of the watershed. “If it got up in the 90s or over 100 degrees, everybody would literally give up whatever they were doing and show up at the river.”
Don McEnhill Jr. in 1970 at age 7, and his sister, Marilyn, 9, are poised to float to Del Rio Woods Beach from a quarter-mile upstream. (Courtesy Don McEnhill)
Summer wine and cocktail hour was on the river. Just in case anyone ever forgot, McEnhill’s Aunt Mary scrawled the “McInerney’s Gin Fizz” recipe on a kitchen wall in the family cabin (nicknamed “End-O-Care”) more than 50 years ago. The drink includes a lemon, “a little sugar,” “1 egg to 2 shots gin” and a kicker at the end: “Then shake like hell.”
Today, the river is hardly the main attraction in town. People flock from all over the world for the tasting rooms and farm-to-table restaurants around the Healdsburg plaza, most only catching a glimpse of the river when their vehicle crosses a bridge. There are locals who have lived their entire lives only miles from its banks and have never soaked their feet, much less splashed, in its waters.
Coho salmon and steelhead trout don’t return in large numbers anymore, but river otters are making a comeback. Old-timers will tell you the water is not as clear as it once was. The last documented freshwater shrimp were caught in 1970 and the last green sturgeon was hooked under Hacienda Bridge near Forestville in the late 1980s.
Yet the Russian River is still a lively summer draw for more than 1 million visitors a year and an adventure getaway for many families. It’s also the last common bond that connects disparate communities like Healdsburg, Forestville, Guerneville and Jenner.
When summer rolls around every year, memories come back in currents for those who grew up on the river. Linda Burke, of Burke’s Canoe Trips in Forestville, remembers getting her “river feet” during hot summers as calluses quickly formed on her soles from the baking river rocks. Suki Waters will never forget learning to harvest the dogbane plant to waterproof homemade fishing line with her Native American grandmother in Jenner. Guerneville historian John Schubert recalls sun-soaked summers in “the fabulous ‘50s, before everything went to hell in a handcart.”
As Clare Harris, the 93-year-old owner of Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville, puts it, “The river is in our blood. It runs through all of us.”
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From its headwaters south of Willits in Mendocino County, the Russian River snakes 110 miles through gorges and vineyards, across dams and around sandbars before spilling into the Pacific Ocean at Jenner. The Southern Pomo called it “Ashokawna” to describe “water to the east.” The Spanish gave it names such as San Ygnacio and Rio Grande. But it was the Russian name, evolving from “Slavyanka,” that stuck.
Ladies, start your barrels, and may the best paddler win at the 1947 Healdsburg Harvest Festival at Veterans Memorial Beach. (Courtesy Sonoma County Wine Library)
As the river rolls south through Healdsburg, past Veterans Memorial Beach where McEnhill and others learned to swim in Red Cross classes, it narrows to its thinnest and least-traveled stretch, surrounded by gravel pits and vineyards. There are just two public access points (at Wohler Bridge and Riverfront Regional Park) in more than six miles, until one reaches the slow waters near Forestville, where Linda Burke grew up among virgin redwoods that tower over the campground and canoe rental business her family founded in the late 1940s.
“I learned to swim here at about 2 years old,” she says, sitting in a fold-out chair overlooking the gently rippling green water. “My folks taught me right here at this very beach. We were tough kids to keep out of the water, so my parents figured 2 is very young, but let’s teach them now.”
Before long she was tying together logs with her siblings to make rafts, fishing with string and frankfurter bait for crawdads, and “frogging” with high-powered flashlights at night.
Linda Burke passes the weathered remains of an old bridge at the Burke’s Canoe Trips launching site on the river near Forestville.
“I remember in the summer this beach would be filled with hundreds of people, beach blanket after beach blanket,” Burke recalls. “And the kids would run back from the hot-dog stand and jump from blanket to blanket, because the sand was so hot in the noon-day sun. I don’t care how tough you were, you couldn’t make it back without using people’s blankets.”
On the river, a guy glides past on a stand-up paddleboard. Looking back, Burke, 63, remembers the dance-hall-turned-roller-rink where she worked summers, as well as the horse stables and restaurant/cocktail lounge with redwood trees growing through the roof. Before she was born, her parents ran the Mirabel dance hall that held 2,000 people — the largest ballroom north of San Francisco at the time — and booked top performers including Duke Ellington, Helen Forrest and the Dorsey Brothers.
When Burke was a kid, pop crooner Bobby Darin dropped in for lunch one afternoon, but never sang. The resort is long gone, but she still runs the bustling family canoe rental business every summer.
“Times come and times go,” Burke says, “but the majesty of the river is still right here.”
Johnson’s Beach Resort owner Clare Harris, 93, in Guerneville.
From Forestville, the waters flow beneath the largest grove of redwoods on the river as it slows to a murmur and eases past Rio Nido (pop. 522), where Clare Harris’ family took over the Rio Nido Resort in 1928. It included 100 rentals (cabins and tents), hotel, dining room, bar, movie theater, bowling alley, outdoor stage, fortune teller, soda fountain, ballroom, dress shop, grocery store and service station, luring visitors far and wide.
In summer, the train from Petaluma via Fulton would arrive at the Guerneville station at 5 p.m. every day and hundreds of Sam Francisco tourists would pour out and head for the last rays of sun on the beaches. It was a “more primitive river back then,” Harris remembers, with more horses than cars, wooden sidewalks, and no television, refrigerators nor conventional swimming lessons.
“I was 6 and we were in a rowboat and my father told the lifeguard, ‘Teach him how to swim or he can’t be around the river.’ So the lifeguard threw me out of the boat and kept the boat about 6 feet from me as he kept rowing. That’s when I learned how to swim.”
In those days, Harris explains, “You wore a full bathing suit like a kid’s overall and women wore bathing suits down to their ankles.”
A 1948 photo shows the dock and beach at Rio Nido Beach. (Courtesy Sonoma County Library)
During the 1930s and 1940s, some of the biggest summer nights swayed beneath the resort’s iconic winking moon sign as big bands led by Harry James, Buddy Rogers and Glenn Miller played as the Harris family’s Rio Nido dance hall. By age 18, Harris was helping run the ballroom, collecting 25-cent tickets every night.
“The girls complained about the fellows showing up in dirty corduroys when they’d have nice white dresses on,” he recalls. “So we told (the boys) they couldn’t come in.”
On this day, he’s at Johnson’s Beach Resort, which he’s owned for 47 years. A tractor plows back and forth, getting the sand ready for opening day. Harris has seen the river change quite a bit over the years. The dam used to go up Memorial Day; now it’s June 15.
“The river has been filling in for years. It’s shallower now,” Harris says. “It was much clearer then, too. You could look down and see your feet. And there’s not as much flow as there used to be.”
But the biggest difference?
“You don’t hear the frogs anymore. It would sound like there were thousands of them, almost like a symphonic orchestra. Not anymore.”
Pageant of Fire Mountain performers, from left, are Kathy Gennelly, Jan Guidotti (who starred as Prophetess,) Vernie Fuller and Connie DeCarly. (Courtesy John Schubert)
Coming of age on the river in the 1940s and ’50s, John Schubert was a city kid who quickly shed his skin each summer and became a river kid. His earliest memory goes back to 1941 or 1942 when as a 4-year-old he made the maiden trek north and “I just remember it took forever to drive up here from San Francisco.”
A saloon owner in San Francisco, his grandfather built the family summer cabin in 1920 in the vacation retreat of Guernewood Park, just south of Guerneville. Learning to swim across the river by age 12 and later tack a “lateen” or triangular sail mounted in a canoe, Schubert quickly became a river rat.
“You had groups of kids who saw each other every summer,” he recalls. “There was the Rio Nido group, the Guerneville group, the Guernewood group and the Monte Rio group. During the winter, they were all rivals. You had kids from Mission High and Balboa, Galileo, Washington or Lincoln (in San Francisco). But when you came up here during the summer, you were all buddies.”
On a cloudless weekday morning, he’s sitting on Johnson’s Beach, across a quiet river from where the community once held its last-gasp summer celebration every September, known as the Pageant of Fire Mountain.
Laura Wilson, niece of Clare Harris, at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville.
“It was totally politically incorrect,” Schubert says. “They had teepees and white people dressed up as Native Americans with war paint, and buses (filled with people) would come up from the city just to see this.”
Clare Harris’ niece, Laura Wilson, was only a kid at the time, but she remembers being enthralled by the annual pageant onstage across the river. “My father and mother and all their friends were in it, dressed up like Indians.”
The play followed a princess (played many times by “the beautiful Kathy Genelly”) who is kidnapped by a lusty brave. They’re from warring tribes, but eventually fall in love and get married.
“One of the elders officiating the marriage would say, ‘Oh great spirit, give us a sign’ and the local fire department would light off flares and the whole mountainside would light up red,” remembers Schubert. “It’s one of those things you can’t imagine anyone ever doing now.”
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From Guerneville going south, the river hooks and bends, taking on brackish water as it turns to estuary habitat for juvenile halibut, starry flounder, Dungeness crab, harbor seals, eel grass and pelicans. Flowing beneath the Monte Rio Bridge and past Duncans Mills, it pools in a wide mouth at Jenner, where Suki Waters grew up learning everything she could from her Kashia Pomo grandmother. Josefa Navidad Santos was born in 1904 in the native village at Goat Rock Beach and lived part of her life on Penny Island.
Suki Waters on Penny Island in Jenner, where she spent much of her childhood.
“The island was our family playground,” Waters says.
As a kid, she would row to the island and explore its every cove and trail, retracing the ruins of the old farm that once thrived there. She spent summers fishing for cabezon and “rock-picking” for abalone in tide pools north of the river mouth.
“You knew summer was coming when the little Dungeness crabs would start showing up in April and they started their molt,” Waters remembers. “Then the shad would come in and you’d see them popping in the water and scaring other little fish. Harbor seals have had their babies by then and the males start coming in just as summer starts for the mating season.”
On this evening, she’s huddled on the leeward side of the state parks visitor center on the water, taking shelter from intense winds coming off the Pacific. Penny Island lies directly across the river. Family lore has her great-great aunt reaching into creeks so thick with salmon she “could pull them out with her bare hands,” to fillet and cook dinner for mill workers. Her Uncle Pio, the story goes, was once nearly pulled out to sea by a giant octopus more than 10 feet long, after he reached blindly into a tide pool.
Women take a refreshing dip in the early 1900s. (Courtesy Suki Waters)
These days, Waters, 53, runs the kayak business WaterTreks Eco Tours in Jenner and takes clients, many of them students, on the water to pass on her appreciation of nature to the next generation.
“When you see the amazement on the faces of 35 science students, it’s worth every second,” she says.
From her grandmother, she learned to harvest huckleberries and make jam. She was taught how to dig for clams with a coffee can and flash-fry sea lettuce picked off the top of rocks, so that “if you do it right, it just crunches and melts in your mouth, and if you don’t do it right, it’s rubbery.” She caught eels in the river and cut them into steaks before putting them in the pan, so the unwanted skin would curl around the edges and could be pulled off.
Back then, respect for the river “was just ingrained in us,” Waters says. “It’s been a through line, a continuous force, from a hunter-gather society, to logging and fishing, to tourism and now hopefully to teaching people about their surroundings and passing on the things my grandmother once taught me.”
When it comes to the great outdoors, Sonoma and its environs are blessed with so many appealing options that it can be difficult to decide what to do next. From the rugged coast and its alluring beaches and campsites, to the craggy inland mountains for hiking and biking, and everything in between, there’s a wealth of choices for those who love to spend time outdoors.
The glorious Sonoma summer weather — cool mornings, warm, sunny afternoons and little chance of rain — perfectly complements outdoor action. Take a look at our suggestions, then hop on your bike, lace up for a hike, or dive into a lake. Summer may not last forever, but the memories will.
There’s nothing quite like a lazy (or energetic) day of BOATING
Petaluma River (photo by Alvin Jornada)
Petaluma River, Petaluma
Spending some time on the water is a great way to get away from it all without traveling too far. Launch in downtown Petaluma and within minutes, great blue herons in the reeds and great egrets in the trees will come into view. Haul your own vessel, or rent a kayak or standup paddleboard at Clavey Paddlesports, whose staff will guide customers to the launch dock on the river.
Clavey’s Jeff Kellogg notes that excursions can be oriented toward downtown Petaluma at high tide — the river is actually a tidal slough and fluctuates with the tides — or paddlers can set off toward San Pablo Bay. Armed with a good map, tidal knowledge and a GPS system, boaters can explore the sloughs and wetlands around the bay.
Standup paddleboard rentals start at $55 for four hours; single kayaks are $75 a day and $95 for the weekend; double kayaks and canoes cost $95 a day and $120 for the weekend. Clavey Paddlesports, 409 Petaluma Blvd. S., Petaluma, 707-766-8070, clavey.com
Russian River, Healdsburg
Just southeast of downtown Healdsburg and at the base of Memorial Bridge, River’s Edge Kayak & Canoe Trips offers guided and solo paddles on the upper Russian River, where otters, turtles and herons might be spotted. A 5-mile trip takes two to three hours and ends at the River’s Edge beach. The river is placid in summer, but late in the season, when the flow is low, some portage may be required — particularly in drought years. Kayak rentals start at $45 for a single, $90 for a double. Canoes are $90 for the trip. River’s Edge Kayak & Canoe Trips, 13840 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-7247, riversedgekayakandcanoe.com
Russian River, Forestville
Burke’s Canoe Trips in Forestville rents canoes for serene floats along the Russian River. Drift downstream toward the sea on this redwood-forested riverway; the 10-mile trip includes a return shuttle. $65 per canoe (not per person) includes paddles and life vests. Burke’s Canoe Trips, 8600 River Road, Forestville, 707-887-1222, burkescanoetrips.com
Other water spots:
Lake Sonoma’s Yorty Creek Recreation Area in Cloverdale is good for kayak launching.
Like still-water kayaking? Check out Lake Benoist at Healdsburg’s Riverfront Park.
TIP: Polarized sunglasses cut down on the glare of the water and are easier on the eyes.
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Pack up the marshmallows, get the tent, and go CAMPING
Doran Beach camping (photo by Alvin Jornada)
Doran Beach Regional Park, Bodega Bay
Camp a stone’s throw from the Sonoma Coast’s most family-friendly beaches. RVs are welcome and descend by the dozens during weekends at this popular site, but there’s also a section for tent camping. A boat launch is nearby, and there are plenty of opportunities to explore hidden coves and fly a kite. Doran also has tranquil, yet bracingly chilly, swimming.
Campgrounds in Sonoma County’s ’s regional parks start taking reservations exactly a year in advance, so plan ahead and book for next summer. But don’t give up on this summer: cancellations are frequent and weekdays are often open. The $32-per-night fee includes one vehicle and one towed. Follow the links on the website to check for availability and book a campsite. Also reserve by going to sonomacountycamping.org and selecting the campground from the drop-down menu. Or call the Regional Parks office at 565-2041. Doran Beach Regional Park, 201 Doran Beach Road, Bodega Bay, 707-565-2041, parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Get_Outdoors/Parks/Doran_Regional_Park.aspx
Hood Mountain Regional Park, Santa Rosa
Located in the mountains between Santa Rosa and St. Helena, Hood Mountain is a hidden gem that offers rustic, yet blissful, camping solitude. Two hike-in campsites provide tent space and a primitive toilet; there is no running water, so bring your own H2O. Campers who are also experienced hikers can traverse trails that lead to views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Even though there are only two spots, in late May, both were open for almost every day this summer. Hood Mountain Regional Park, 1450 Pythian Road, Santa Rosa, 707-539-8092, parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Get_Outdoors/Parks/Hood_Mountain_Regional_Park_Open_Space_Preserve.aspx
Stake your claim:
Cabins at the base of Steep Ravine Canyon off Highway 1 in Mt. Tam State Park offer great ocean views. Hipcamp.com is a great place to find last-minute available camp sites.
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Skip the walk around the block and hit the trails for some HIKING
Annadel State Park, Santa Rosa
Just 10 minutes from downtown Santa Rosa, Annadel State Park offers more than 5,000 acres of rolling hills, meadows and woodlands. Its trails provide a good workout without being too taxing. After hiking for a few miles (the distance depends on the chosen route; there’s a map on the website), reach Lake Ilsanjo and enjoy a cool swim (it even has a rope swing). It’s the perfect way to cap a vigorous hike.
Another way to enjoy the lake: Pack a fishing rod and cast your line for bluegill and black bass, but be sure to have a California fishing license if you’re 16 or older. Tip: use a purple plastic worm for bass, live worms for bluegill. 6201 Channel Drive, Santa Rosa, 707-539-3911, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=480
(photo by Charlie Gessell)
Bald Mountain, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Kenwood
“A rough smack of resin was in the air, and a crystal mountain purity … there are days in a life when thus to climb out of the lowlands seems like scaling heaven.” So wrote Robert Louis Stevenson about hiking in the Mayacamas mountains.
Share that exhilaration by trekking to the top of 2,729-foot Bald Mountain, in the 4,020-acre Sugarloaf Ridge State Park northeast of Kenwood, between Sonoma and Napa valleys. Elevation gain during the strenuous 5.6-mile hike is about 1,500 feet. Allow at least three hours and pack a lunch to enjoy at the summit, which on a clear day has fabulous views of Calistoga, Sonoma and Mount Diablo. Sugarloaf also has a Planet Walk with hiking among a vastly reduced scale model of the solar system. 2605 Adobe Canyon Road, Kenwood, 707-833-5712, sugarloafpark.org
Pomo Canyon to Shell Beach, Bodega Bay
Starting a few miles north of Bodega Bay, this hike takes in much of the best of coastal Sonoma: verdant trails, misty forests and expansive views of the ocean. The hike starts with a climb through towering redwoods, then opens to jaw-dropping views of the Russian River Valley and the ocean, including landmarks such as Goat Rock. The route is almost 4 miles each way.
For more coastal glory, try the breathtaking Kortum Trail from Shell Beach, but bring a windbreaker, as afternoons can be gusty. A portion of the trail is a wood-plank path that goes over sensitive marshland, but these planks make the walk even more appealing. The Kortum Trail is slightly more than 4 miles.
Both routes are within Sonoma Coast State Park. While there are no fees to hike, parking is $8 per day, $7 for seniors. 10439 Highway 1, Jenner, 707-875-3483, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=451
Shollenberger Park, Petaluma
Anyone who enjoys communing with birds will love this flat, 2-mile paved loop in east Petaluma. Observe avocets, swans, pelicans and all sorts of ducks while circling a lagoon alongside the Petaluma River. Red-wing blackbirds perch atop reeds and bitterns (a type of heron) sometimes linger in the thrushes. Go soon, because the recently approved Dutra asphalt plant nearby will likely alter the habitat. 1400 Cader Lane, Petaluma, 707-778-4303, cityofpetaluma.net/parksnrec/parks-pages/shollenberger.html
Made for hiking:
Download the Google Field Trip app for interesting facts and landmarks along the way.
In Calistoga’s Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, look for intriguing rock formations along the trail to Table Rock.
The privately owned Grove of Old Trees in Occidental is open to the public at 17400 Fitzpatrick Lane.
Always pack water and a snack; a trail map is handy, too.
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To enjoy the view from a new perspective, go HORSEBACK RIDING
(photo by Charlie Gessell)
Chanslor Ranch, Bodega Bay
There’s nothing like riding a horse over the rolling dunes and expansive beaches of Bodega Bay, with its sea-salt air, crashing waves and miles-long views. Chanslor Guest Ranch & Stables makes this adventure possible, offering three daily 90-minute rides on trusty horses, some of which have been rescued from neglect. Prices start at $125 and profits support horse-rescue groups. Chanslor Ranch also offers several inland rides. Check out the “About the Horses” page on the website and fall in love with the one you want to ride, based on breed, height, gender, temperament and the story of how the horse got to the ranch. Reserve a specific horse online. Chanslor Guest Ranch & Stables, 2660 N. Highway 1, Bodega Bay, 707-875-2721, chanslorranch.com
Vineyard Exploration, Healdsburg
Affiliated with Chalk Hill Estate, Wine Country Trail Rides leads rides through 1,300 acres of lush vineyards and oak woodlands east of Healdsburg. Owner Rafael Hernandez, a former professional polo player, offers polo lessons and will set up three-on-three polo matches in an enclosed arena.
A 90-minute guided trail ride through Chalk Hill’s vineyards is offered three times a day and costs $100 per person. After the ride, guests enjoy a tasting of Chalk Hill wines. Kids 7 and older are welcome. A four-hour tour combines horseback riding, wine tasting and a culinary tour of Chalk Hill chef Didier Ageorges’ garden. This $175 tour concludes with wine tasting paired with small plates from the chef. Chalk Hill Estate, 10300 Chalk Hill Road, Healdsburg, 707-494-0499, vineyardrides.com
Family Riding:
Five Brooks Ranch, Olema
There aren’t many places where a 2-year-old can celebrate his or her birthday on a horseback ride, but Five Brooks Stable, located in the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County, recently found a pony to make a toddler’s dream come true. Specializing in guided trail rides geared to families, Five Brooks has 120 miles of trails including grassy meadows, coastal scrub and white-sand beaches, and offers both private and group rides. Guided rides starts at $40 per person for one hour. The most popular ride, a two-hour trot along the Fir Top Trail, is $60 per person and climbs to the top of Inverness Ridge through a Douglas fir forest, with views of the Pacific Ocean. Three- and six-hour rides give riders a more immersive experience; private rides can be arranged, too. Five Brooks Ranch, 8001 Highway 1, Olema, 415-663-1570, fivebrooks.com
Ricochet Ridge Ranch, Fort Bragg
In Cleone, just north of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County, Lari Shea’s Ricochet Ridge Ranch has athletic horses built for endurance rides along the rugged Mendocino Coast. Most popular is the 90-minute, Ten Mile Beach Trail Ride ($50), and multiday rides can be arranged as well, which might include beaches, redwood forests and coastal mountains. Children 6 and older are welcome. Ricochet Ridge Ranch, 24201 Highway 1, Fort Bragg, 707-964-7669, horse-vacation.com
Good to know: Sturdy-soled shoes with a slight heel are the best choice for time in the saddle.
Giddyup now:
Horse trailer parking for the Sonoma Mountain Ridge Trail is available at the Bennett Valley trailhead.
There are deals for equestrians at Saddles to Boots consignment store in Sebastopol.
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Roads and trails await you on skinny or knobby tires for some CYCLING
Road riding:
(photo by Chris Hardy)
Chileno Valley, Petaluma
Just west of Petaluma is a gloriously uncrowded loop through bucolic scenery with few big hills. Start in Petaluma, pedal west on Western Avenue to Chileno Valley Road, then head back on Spring Hill Road. It’s 26.2 miles, the same distance as a runner’s marathon, and a perfect two-hour ride for intermediate cyclists. To extend it, head out 5 miles more to Tomales, refuel at the Tomales Bakery, then return to Petaluma. Tomales Bakery, 27000 Highway 1, Tomales, 707-878-2429
Coleman Valley Road, Occidental
For those whose legs are up to the challenge, conquer the steep hills of Coleman Valley. It’s a tough climb, but the ocean views make it worthwhile. Start in Freestone with biscotti or scones at Wild Flour Bread bakery, then ride north some 3.5 miles to Occidental. Turn left to go up Coleman Valley, maintaining control on the descent to coastal Highway 1 because it’s easy to really fly down the steep hills. Follow Highway 1 south to Freestone Valley Ford Road and enjoy the homestretch back to Freestone. Allow at least three hours for this exhilarating 27.5-mile ride. Wild Flour Bread, 140 Bohemian Highway, Freestone, 707-874-2938, wildflourbread.com
Healdsburg-Geyserville Circuit
From Healdsburg, this classic Wine Country route wends its way north along scenic Dry Creek Road. Veer right on Canyon Road and head through Geyserville via Highway 128; stop for refreshments and a sandwich at Jimtown Store. Return to Healdsburg via Alexander Valley Road, turning left onto Healdsburg Avenue, the route back into town. After the ride, cool off with a pint at Bear Republic Brewing Co. Approximately 30 miles, this route takes two to three hours, depending on how often one stops to admire the scenery and take photos. Jimtown Store, 6706 Highway 128, Healdsburg, 707-433-1212, jimtown.com Bear Republic Brewing Co., 345 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-2337, bearrepublic.com
Mountain biking:
Annadel State Park, Santa Rosa
With bumpy single-track, wide-open fire roads and fern-shrouded paths, Annadel is mountain-bike heaven. That’s no secret. What many people don’t know is that in recent years, a network of under-the-radar trails has been developed by riders. One Annadel mountain bike insider says that although these trails “aren’t sanctioned by the authorities, they’re more technical, faster, more difficult and … more fun.”
The sanctioned trails are fantastic, too. A 25.7-mile loop around the park that includes the North and South Burma trails takes about three hours and starts with a difficult climb up the Cobblestone Trail. From the top of Cobblestone, connect with the Rough Trail and follow it to Lake Ilsanjo, where the trail opens up to a fire road. Continue to the Ridge Trail and prepare to ford a creek that isn’t too deep during summer but can be more than knee-high after a winter rain. There are some scintillating downhill runs on the way back to the parking lot. Annadel State Park, 6201 Channel Drive, Santa Rosa, 707-539-3911, parks.ca.gov/?page_id=480
Lake Sonoma, Geyserville
A 45-minute drive north from Santa Rosa, Lake Sonoma is surrounded by mountain bike trails (Bike Monkey magazine hosts a series of races there, staged at Liberty Glen Campground, March through June.) The 45-plus miles of trails are steep and technical, yet offer frequent views of vineyards and the lake. It’s a thrill a moment, with tricky terrain winding through redwood groves and shady oak stands, and with the possible sighting of wild pigs, deer, rabbits and falcons.
After a ride, visit the state fish hatchery behind the visitor center, where a spawning ground for salmon and steelhead has been established to preserve these species. Lake Sonoma Visitor Center, 3333 Skaggs Springs Road, Geyserville, 707-433-9483, www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/LakeSonoma.aspx
For all wheels
In Glen Ellen, there’s a water stop for cyclists at the Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Department station at the intersection of Trinity and Cavedale roads.
Find a great ride in the book, “75 Classic Rides Northern California,” by Sebastopol’s Phil Oetinger.
Cyber tip: mapmyride.com is an excellent tool for mapping bike rides and getting information on climbs and distances.
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Get sand between your toes and splash up some fun while SWIMMING
(photo by Scott Manchester)
Johnson’s Beach, Guerneville
The atmosphere at Johnson’s Beach can be raucous and frenetic, yet totally fun, as families crowd the beach and kids romp everywhere. Rent a canoe for $30 or an inner tube for $5 and drift in the cooling waters. Umbrellas and beach chairs can also be rented. There is a snack bar on the beach, and beer is sold at the boathouse. Families take note: There is a roped-off kiddie pool, and there is no fee to use the beach. Johnson’s Beach, 16241 First St., Guerneville, 707-869-2022, johnsonsbeach.com
Veterans Memorial Beach, Healdsburg
Upriver from Johnson’s is Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach Park, an alcohol-free zone where in most years, kids can paddle little wine-barrel boats and where a lifeguard watches over the dammed-off swimming lagoon. Drought-induced low flow in the river this year has resulted in wading-only conditions at the beach, yet it’s still a great place to cool off. The park, open from 7 a.m. to sunset, has plentiful picnic benches and restrooms. Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach, 13839 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, area.parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Get_Outdoors/Parks/Healdsburg_Veterans_Memorial_Beach.aspx
Pack it up: On sweltering summer days, Sonoma’s swimming sites beckon. Pack a picnic lunch, sunscreen, beach chairs and towels, and head for the Russian River to escape the inland heat.
Splashy spots
Access the Russian River from Odd Fellows Park Road, which runs off Highway 116 between Forestville and Guerneville near Korbel Winery.
There’s a cooling pool for swimming at Morton Hot Springs in Glen Ellen.
Day passes are available for the pool at Calistoga Spa Hot Springs.
Monte Rio’s community beach is lovely, surrounded by serene redwoods.
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By the water or the redwoods, grab your clubs and go GOLFING
The Links at Bodega Harbour, Bodega Bay
Those who have golfed fabled Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula know how spectacular coastal views complement a round of golf. The Links at Bodega Harbour, designed in part by the legendary Robert Trent Jones, offers one spectacular vista after another. The course is lined by vacation homes, and golfers are responsible for any broken windows or other damage — something to consider before teeing off. All 18 holes have a view of Bodega Bay, as long as the fog isn’t too thick. Per-player rates range from $45 (after 2 p.m. on weekdays) to $90 on weekend mornings. The Links at Bodega Harbour, 21301 Heron Drive, Bodega Bay, 707-875-3538, bodegaharbourgolf.com
(photo by Christopher Chung)
Northwood Golf Club, Monte Rio
Surrounded by massive redwoods alongside the Russian River, Northwood Golf Club is an affordable gem. This nine-hole course, designed by Alister MacKenzie (who also created the Augusta National and Cypress Point courses), has rates starting at $21 (weekdays after 3 p.m., walking nine holes). Even 18-hole weekend rounds (the nine-hole course played twice) in a rental cart won’t break the bank at $53. Some folks come as much for the abundant pancake-and-eggs breakfasts as they do for the golf. Or maybe it’s the bloody marys, which help players forget about how many shots they bonked off the majestic trees. Northwood Golf Club, 19400 Highway 116, Monte Rio, 707-865-1116, northwoodgolf.com
Windsor Golf Club, Windsor
A former host of PGA Nike (now Web.com) Tour events, Windsor Golf Club’s par-72, 6,650-yard course is challenging for its year-round creek, lakes, trees and the occasional noise of airplanes landing and taking off at nearby Charles Schulz Sonoma County Airport. The most difficult hole is the par-4 No. 2, where accuracy is key to avoid water on the left and oaks on the right. Head pro Jason Schmuhl has played in nine PGA Tour events and holds the course record of 62. Instructor Molly James is known for her work with youngsters and women. Enjoy the 19th “watering” hole or a meal at Charlie’s, the club restaurant. Course fees range from $17 to $56, depending on day of week and tee-off time, and there are discounts for juniors and seniors. Windsor Golf Club, 1340 19th Hole Drive, Windsor, 707-838-7888, windsorgolf.com
Check this out:
Try your hand at disc golf at Crane Creek Regional Park in Rohnert Park and at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville.
Did you know? Long before the invention of tees in the 1920s, golfers played off of hand-built sand piles.
