SaurabhPurviIntl

Hello all!

We are planning to spend our first anniversary in the Bay area. I have been reading all the SUPERB postings and would like to get your advice on our itinerary. We will be there from May 26th to Jun 3rd.

Day 1 - Arrive at SFO, rent a car and drive to Sonoma County.
(I couldn't find the link to the scenic route post, can someone please share the info here?)
We are staying at the Hilton in Santa Rosa as we have lots of Hilton points from traveling for work. We have no plans for Monday night so any suggestions are welcome.

Day 2 - Planning to take a hot air balloon ride with Sonoma Thunder Above the Wine Country. After the balloon ride we were planning to head up to Healdsburg to check out the town and some of the wineries(Dry creek vineyard, Quivira, Kendall Jackson). We were planning to pick up some food from the Oakville grocery/Plaza Farm and having a picnic at one of these two wineries. We are open to suggestions of other wineries to check out as well as things to do in Healdsburg. For dinner we found a great restaurant in Healdsburg: Healdsburg Charcuterie. One of us is vegetarian, and we found this restaurant had some great veggie options.

Day 3 - This was going to be a relaxing day which starts off at the Osmosis spa. Planning on a cedar enzyme bath followed by a blissful massage. Afterwards we wanted to hit up some wineries in the Russian River Valley(Iron Horse Vineyards, Rochioli, and Korbel). We are open to any other winery suggestions or lunch suggestions for this area? For dinner we are heading back up to Healdsburg to check out dry creek kitchen which has an amazing menu (but definitely steep prices.)

Day 4 - This day we didn't have a definite plan. We were thinking about driving down to Muir Woods National Park and going hiking, specifically on the "Dipsea Trail And Return Via Ben Johnson Trail". It is about 1 hour from Santa Rosa via rt 101. We were hoping to drive on Rt 1 as it looks like a very scenic(but longer) route. Would it make sense to take Rt 1 down in the morning, or back to Santa Rosa in the late afternoon? Any suggestions for food are appreciated, or any stops to make along the way. We planned on going to WillisWineBar in Santa Rosa for dinner.

Day 5 - We were planning to get up early and head over to Napa valley to sample some great wine. The wineries we were interested in are:Robert Mondavi, Sterling, Beringer, Domaine Chandon, Neibaum-Coppola, Silver Oak, Clos Pegas, Silverado

We know we cant hit all in one day, which ones do people recommend not missing? Also, are there any recommendations for good vegetarian food options in the Napa valley? We were thinking about mustards grill for lunch.

Day 6,7,8 - San Francisco
Still TBD, spent all the time so far on wine country

From our itinerary we are staying in Santa Rosa for all of the nights outside of San Fran. Would it make more sense to spend 3 nights in Santa Rosa and 2 in Napa instead or is driving between them ok? Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Saurabh and Purvi

TrvlMaven

You might consider hiking at Pt. Reyes National Seashore rather than Muir Woods--lots of stop off options between your overnight--Cowgirl Creamery, Hog Island Oysters--lots of hiking at Pt Reyes and not quite as much driving as your would have to get down to Muir Woods.

StuDudley

Here's a 'scenic drive" I've posted a few times.

Head north across the Golden Gate Bridge. Just past the bridge, take the Alexander Av. exit towards Sausalito. When you get to the stop at the end of the freeway off ramp, turn left & go under Hwy 101. Continue on like you are going back across the bridge to SF, but take the road to the right that goes up-hill, just before actually getting on 101. There will be a sign that says you are entering the Golden Gate National Recreational area. Continue up on this road. You will see what is (in my opinion) the best views of San Francisco – The GG Bridge in the foreground & The City behind it.. This area was formerly a military area that is still laced with bunkers, gun turrets, underground tunnels etc. It was opened up in the ‘70s. The views of The City, the Bridge, and the Golden Gate are breathtaking. You can see all the way down the San Mateo Coast from up here. Go all the way to the top and you hit a much smaller one-way road. On the way up, get out & enjoy the sights. The kids will love the bunkers & gun turrets. At the top where the main road ends, there is the largest gun turret, where you can climb up to for an almost 360 degree view. This view is best in the evening when the sun is in a better position to light up the bridge & highlight downtown. If you plan to pass this way again later in the day, skip this venue now & do it later. If there isn’t any fog, perhaps do it now because you never know when the fog will roll in & make viewing impossible.

Return the way you came up to this area. When you get to the junction just past the tunnel under 101, head straight to Sausalito. Just follow your nose (bearing right whenever possible), until you end up on Bridgeway – the main road along the bay in Sausalito. Drive along Bridgeway, enjoying the views back to the City. Sausalito has gotten a little tacky in the last few decades with all it’s mediocre art shops & cheep souvenir stands, but the setting is lovely & there’s some nice architecture. Continue North on Bridgeway until it joins 101 North again (towards San Rafael).

Take the Blithdale exit off 101 to Mill Valley. M.A.S.H. fans will recognize this place as the hometown of B.J. Hunnicut. Keep following Blithdale as it worms around a little in some not-so-picturesque areas before it reaches the center of Mill Valley (you’ll know when you get there). Turn left & park the car where you can. Walk around the area – there are some interesting shops. There’s kind of a central square in town (a good place for a latte if you’re ready for one). The south-west side of the square is Miller Ave. When you’re finished browsing, take Miller Ave. South. Shortly after the double road section of Miller Ave ends, take a right on Shoreline Highway – this is also the famous Ca Highway #1. Follow this to Muir Beach & Stinson Beach. This is a pretty drive. After a couple of miles past the Miller/Shoreline junction, there is a turnoff to Panoramic Hwy and the Muir Woods redwood grove. If you want to visit Muir Woods, do so but remember that it gets overwhelmed with day trippers from SF in the summer.

Continue on Shoreline (Hwy #1) past Muir Beach & on to Stinson Beach. There are some nice views of the ocean along this route. There’s a lookout over Muir Beach.

Stay on Hwy #1 past Stinson Beach. You will start to see a large land mass to your left (ocean side) This is Point Reyes National Seashore, where you could spend several days exploring the wildlife & natural beauty of this area. Drake’s Bay, on the west side of Pt Reyes, is where this Northern California area was first discovered – long before San Francisco Bay was discovered by Spanish explorers. Hwy #1 will go past a long lagoon (Tomales Bay). Just past the lagoon, Hwy #1 will turn inland.

Continue on Hwy 1 past Valley Ford. When it intersects the Bodega Highway, turn right (inland/east) & go to Bodega. This is where Alfred Hitchcock filmed several scenes from “the Birds”, including the schoolhouse scene.

If you are touring in the summer, there is a very good chance that you will be inundated by fog & not much of the coastline will be visible. If you have had enough fog, continue east on the Bodega Highway to Sebastopol. This is actually a nice drive (at the beginning). At Sebastopol, head north on #116 toward the Russian River. Just before Forestville, stop at Kozlowski Farms (on your left) if you want to pick up a sandwich. They have a large selection of jams, jellies, vinegar & other gourmet delights. Continue on #116 until it hits the Russian River at Guerneville (somewhat of an interesting town). Turn right & proceed east along the Russian River on River Road. I will continue to describe the remaining drive in the Wine Country section.

Back at Bodega, if the fog isn’t so bad & you want to see some more coast, stay on Hwy #1 to Bodega Bay. Continue north on #1 until it reaches Jenner. At Jenner, you can go north on #1 to Fort Ross to tour an early Russian fur trading fort – it is quite interesting. After visiting Fort Ross, return to Jenner & head east along the Russian River to Guerneville.

Wine Country
From Guerneville, head east along River Road. Stay on River Road as it crosses over the Russian River just past Hacienda – which will still be River Road. About 4 miles past crossing over the river, turn left on Wohler Road. You will start to see some vineyards now & there are some cute B&Bs close by. Stay on Wohler Rd as it crosses the river (again) on a very narrow 1 way bridge. Just past the bridge, turn right on to Westside Rd towards Healdsburg. You will see lots of vineyards on the way to Healdsburg.

You are now in the Sonoma County Wine growing area. In contrast to it’s more famous neighbor to the east (Napa), you will find the Sonoma wineries more inviting & less hectic – I actually like them better. In the Napa Valley, there are very few wineries where you can take a picnic lunch & spread out on the lawn. In Sonoma, they seem to go out of their way to invite you to use their facilities. On Westside Road, stop at Rochioli (one of the best Chards in Calif), Hop Kiln to see an interesting former kiln turned into a winery, and perhaps Armida, or Mill Creek. Just past Mill Creek winery, Westside Road will turn right (east) to head into Healdsburg just in front of the Madrona Manor. Turn left into the Madrona Manor Hotel, park the car & explore the lovely gardens & the exterior of this fantastic Victorian manor house. Go inside & poke your nose into some of the common rooms & pick up a brochure for your next visit to this area. It has a lovely dining room with excellent cuisine. It’s a popular wedding spot. Exit Madrona Manor and turn left and head north on West Dry Creek Road (not straight to Healdsburg).

You are now in the Dry Creek appellation of Sonoma County & it’s my favorite area in the wine country. Continue north on West Dry Creek Road (there’s a Dry Creek Rd which you will follow later). Stop at Lambert Bridge winery – this is one of the wineries that “invites” you to picnic on their lawn (they have lots of picnic tables). Just past Lambert Bridge winery, turn right on Lambert Bridge Rd & proceed a couple 100 yds to Pezzi King Winery. Stop & explore this winery too (great Zins). Return to West Dry Creek Rd & head north again. Continue on this road until you see a sign for Preston Vineyards. This is another winery that “invites” you to picnic. It has very pretty grounds – explore the outside bread oven, boules court, vegetable garden, flowers, and cats. The tasting room is quite nice – my wife likes their Rose wine. Return to West Dry Creek Road & continue north until the road ends. This is a pretty drive – would you like to own one of the houses near this dead-end? Turn around & head south. Turn left on Yoakim Road & then turn left (north) where it dead ends at Dry Creek Road. Proceed north on Dry Creek Rd & stop at Ferrari-Carano winery. This is the most "extravagant" winery in this area – it received a lot of criticism from locals (we know a few) when it was built. However, it is quite impressive. It has lovely gardens, a large “Tuscan” type villa, and a pretty tasting room (good Sauvignon Blanc). Exit Ferrari Carano & turn right (south) on Dry Creek Road towards Healdsburg. This is another pretty drive.

Healdsburg is our favorite town in the wine country – including anything in Napa. When you go under the freeway (on Dry Creek Rd) turn right when you hit Healdsburg Blvd & continue south until you see the town square – it’s obvious. Park the car & get out & explore. Tour the square & several blocks north & south of the square on Healdsburg Ave. There is a produce market Saturday morning west of the big hotel. This is a wonderful town to spend the night in. There is a new (overdone, in my opinion) large hotel (expensive) on the west side of the square – I think it’s called Healdsburg Hotel or something like that. There is also a B&B on the south side of the square & there are other B&Bs scattered throughout town. For dining in Healdsburg, we like Ravenous, Bistro Ralph, and Charcuterie which are all very popular with the locals. We also like Manzanita. Madrona Manor is less than 5 mins away, by car.

Day 2

If you’re staying near the square in Healdsburg, go to the Downtown Bakery (on the east side of the square) early in the morning & rub elbows with the (lucky) locals. Have a sticky bun &/or a scone. This bakery is very well known throughout the area. There are benches outside the bakery where the “bench bunch” meets each morning to chew the fat.

On to Napa Wine Country

Here is a beautiful drive that will get you to the Napa Valley. Head out north on Healdsburg Ave and once it gets out of town, it will curve to the right and connect with Alexander Valley Rd & passes Jimtown. This route goes through the beautiful Alexander Valley & Knights Valley. Turn right on Hwy #128 towards Calistoga. This section is lovely. Hanna is a nice winery to visit while driving through this area.

Proceed on to Calistoga.

Most tour books describe the Napa Valley thoroughly. As far as driving through this area is concerned, drive down Hwy 128 from Calistoga to Yountville and then east on Yountville Cross Rd to the Silverado trail & go south to Chimney Rock Winery. Turn around go north back to Calistoga on the Silverado Trail. Oakville Cross Rd, Rutherford Cross rd & the others linking #128 with the Silverado Trail are quite pretty.

There are lots of world famous wineries in this areas. I recommend visiting:

Robert Mondavi for the most complete tour on the grape growing & wine making process. Reserve a couple of days ahead at 707 968-2166 www.robertmondavi.com

Berringer for some lovely grounds & a very pretty Victorian “Rhine House”, but they don’t make wine at this site.

Sterling for the best views, but the line for the gondola ride to the tasting room will sometimes have a long wait.

Domaine Chandon to learn how Champagne (sparking wine) is made and for nice grounds & a lovely terrace to buy & taste some champagne & relax.

Neibaum-Coppola for the best gift shop & movie mementos (Francis Ford Coppola owns the winery) and very pretty buildings & grounds.

Silver Oak to taste the best Cabs (if available for tasting).

Clos Pegas for some unusual art & a lawn where you can picnic.

Silverado Vineyards for another good view of the Valley.

There are scads of great restaurants in the area. I find myself going back to:
Terra
Mustards
Martini House
Tra Vigne to wander around & pick up a picnic lunch (not a real fan of the cuisine). The building & grounds are quite nice. If you are not a “foodie”, this probably be the most fun place for a nice dinner in the Napa Valley.

Reserve at least a week ahead for all the above restaurants – perhaps more than 2 weeks ahead on summer weekends. Serious foodies will like Terra & Martini house the best & they are a little more formal. Families with kids will probably prefer Mustards or Tra Vigne.

Day 3

Perhaps catch a final winery on your way out of the Napa Valley. Mondavi opens at 9:00 and the first tour is a lot more calm & relaxed than later ones.

Go south on #29 towards San Francisco. Where #29 hits #121, go west on #121 (follow the signs to SF). Connect with #37 & then #101 back to SF.

Stu Dudley

Ackislander

Stu Dudley's tour is wonderful. I just did almost all of it in reverse, and it is everything he said, though it is a lot more exposed on the Shoreline Highway if you drive the route going north to south as we did.

This is an incredibly beautiful route with lots of twisty roads, and it takes a lot longer to drive it than the distances would seem to warrant. Sometimes you will think you are on the Sussex Downs, sometimes you will think you are in the Highlands of Scotland, and you will know you are not in either because the weather is too good!

If you like twisty roads, take the Oakville Grade-Trinity Road route between Napa and Sonoma valleys. Either direction will give you a workout. If only we had had my wife's Mazda Miata!

scottibb

For your picnic (and Oakville grocery is a great place to get your stuff) I recommend heading about 5 minutes up the mountain to Diamond Oaks-beautiful picnic area with unbeatable valley views, also very nice wine and gift shop.

Centralparkgirl

Frank Bruni of the NY Times just reviewed 10 top restaurants in the US (outside of NY) and he loved Ubuntu, an upscale vegetarian restaurant/yoga place in Napa. See the link below

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/di...tml?ref=dining

dovima

Suggestions for your Day 3 schedule.

If you are spending time at the Osmosis spa in Freestone, there is a delightful bakery cafe right across the street from them, called the Wild Flour. Scones, breads, etc., all freshly made and delicious.

For a spectacular drive out of Freestone and towards the coast, try this: Drive from Freestone in the direction of Occidental and watch closely for Coleman Valley Road and turn onto it. You'll go uphill gradually and then you'll start seeing the views oceanward. After you cross an upland pasture, the road starts downhill and then bottoms out on Highway One. Take a right turn on the highway and proceed north till you get almost to Jenner, then you turn right onto Highway 116 which takes you along the Russian River.

SaurabhPurviIntl

Thank you all for the suggestions! We greatly appreciate it! : )

wanderfully

bookmarking

easytraveler

On driving from SFO to Sonoma County: not certain what you mean by the "scenic route".

Since you will be seeing quite a bit of the coast north of San Francisco, I'd suggest missing that small section south of San Francisco to the airport.

From SFO, take the rightmost lane and go "I280/I380 North" to San Francisco. STAY in the lane that leads to I380/I280. I380 is very short and is the connector highway between Highway 101 and I280. Once on I280, stay on it until the split and take the left lanes to Highway 1, Northbound, into San Francisco. Highway 1 is also called "19th Avenue" in the City.

Once in the City, go on Highway 1 and keep on it until it merges with Highway 101 going across the Golden Gate Bridge. Go across the GG Bridge (free direction), and you're in Marin County, where you can pick up on Stu Dudley's route - turning off for the various scenic views/drives.

Or, in San Francisco, you can take the "scenic route" by the ocean.

Once in the City, take Highway 1 until Eucalyptus, turn right and go to the next block. Turn left on Junipero Serra, go to next block. Turn left on Sloat Blvd. [There is no way to turn left from Highway 1 to Sloat].

continue on sloat until its end, turn right onto the Great Highway and go along its entire length which parallels the ocean. At the end of the Great Highway, stop off at the Cliff House.

From the Cliff House, you could drive through Lincoln Park and see the Legion of Honor and from Lincoln Park you could go through the Presidio to catch Highway 1/101 north to Marin County.

sf7307

One small directional comment: Highway 1 (which, honestly, is never called that here - it's just "19th Avenue"), when it goes through Golden Gate Park, splits in two -- to the left is 25th Avenue, and to the right is Park Presidio Blve. Stay to the right and take Park Presidio Blvd. all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge.

StuDudley

The original post is 3 years old.

Stu Dudley

sf7307

Somebody "bookmarked" it today, which presumably means the information will be of use to that person.

janisj

see the gold/yellow star at the top of the page? That is the best way to 'bookmark' a thread. Topping a 3 yo thread usually ends up w/ nice Fodorites going to all sorts of trouble/effort answering the OP when that trip is long over and done w/.

Now wanderfully's questions may be slightly (or totally) different than SaurabhPurviIntl's, but we have no way of knowing that w/o more than >>bookmarking

siwst852

I am planning my trip and just found this today so even if it's an old post I found useful information for my upcoming trip. Please don't feel your time was wasted thanks.