my wife and i are flying from N.O. to San Francisco in early April to catch a Giants v Cards game...sadly, no baseball in the Big Easy! We are going to add 6 days to our journey so that we can rent a car and tour the wine country and pacific coast north of San Fran. I am thinking about splitting the nights up to spend two nights each in Mendocino, Healdsburg, and Sonoma before returning back to San Fran. I am looking for input and ideas about this plan...welcoming any suggestions and recommendations for other venues to visit, other possible itineraries, lodging, and dining. thanks to all who reply...and Merry Christmas!

How many TOTAL nights will you be here - including nights in San Francisco (have you visited SF before?).

IMO, there is not that much difference between Healdsburg & Sonoma to warrent 2 nights in each, unless you plan to spend 4 or more nights in SF and 6 nights outside The City.

Here are some of my ideas of things to do & see in the SF Bay area:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

If you are not going any farther north than Mendocino along the coast, stop to see Muir Woods National Monument.
If you wanted to continue up the coast, Redwood NP is even more impressive.

8 nights total. we have been to San Francisco before which is why we were wanting to venture out this trip and explore elsewhere. Perhaps 3 nights/4 days in just one wine country town...maybe Healdsburg...would allow us to tour that immediate area and to branch out and day trip down 29 through St. Helena, Napa, and Sonoma...and back to Healdsburg as a base? That would give us an extra day in SF to enjoy some of the suggestions on your link.

In April during a week-day period (but not Easter week) you could probably head up the coast to Mendocino without hotel reservations & spend 2/3 nights there, then back to Healdsburg for 3/2 nights. Let the weather & your pace of driving & sightseeing dictate how many nights you spend in Mendocino. On weekends, many hotels in the wine country require a 2 night minimum stay.

Stu Dudley

If you pick 1 wine country town as HQ, make it Headlsburg. From there you can tour/visit/taste Russian River, Dry Creek and Alexander valley wines with ease. Also an easy jaunt into southern Mendocino in the Cloverdale area.
A bit of a day trip, but you could take 128 from Healdsburg to Calistoga and thence down 29 and across on 12 to Sonoma and then stay on 12 through the Sonoma Valley and into Santa Rosa.
Lodging in Healdsburg can highly recommend the Grape Leaf Inn and the Farmhouse Inn in nearby Forrestville. Also the Best Western in Healdsburg is nice. Madrona Manner gets good reviews, but have never stayed there.

any suggestions on lodging in mendocino? my wife is also curious for input on the Healdsburg Inn...thanks!

Ah the Cards-one of Mr R5's fave teams !
Do know, as we typically attend the day games when the Cards are in SF, that it can be quite chilly at the ballpark.
If you are attending the night game on April 23-
the Giants are having a "Wearable Blanket" giveaway and these will go fast. If you don't get one you may want to bring one with you !

For Mendocino, Luxury Link has some very good deals for
Mendocino-you might take a look at MacCallum House
http://www.luxurylink.com/luxury-hot...7408&ppid=1590
Perhaps 3 nights there and 3 in Healdsburg.
If you do decide on MacCallum House, choose one of the
newer rooms located in The Barn-rooms 14-19.

In Mendocino, do make reservations for La Petite Rive
just a few miles south of Mendocino in Little River.
http://www.lapetiterive.com/
Also a not to miss is Queenies Roadhouse Cafe in Elk-
go for breakfast/brunch or lunch
http://www.yelp.com/biz/queenies-roadhouse-cafe-elk

The Healdsburg Inn is lovely, located on the sqaure
so easy to walk to dinner from there.

R5

Or for just down the coast from Mendocino check out the Little River Inn - mostly depends on your budget since their rooms run from relatively inexpensive 'historic rooms' to higher priced suites.

http://www.littleriverinn.com/

didn't even think about it being so cold in early April! glad you pointed that out...we will pack accordingly.

SF can be chilly any time of year, as can the north coast. April is a nice month though if it isn't rainy - generally lots of sunshine and wildflowers, not too much fog.

You know, oldschool1, I'm a wee but worried that you keep saying
"early April". The Giants are playing the STL Cardinals
April 23-25,2011- not in "early April".
It will be chilly at the stadium.

R5

can i suggest staying in downtown napa, and then healdsburg? both have different feels, and benefits. sonoma is rather sleepy for my taste, i love staying in santa rosa. (i can suggest a place to stay there as well if interested...)
and yes indeed, april will be brisk! especially in the morning. it'll warm up a bit in the afternoon, but it will be chilly. let me know if you need further info.

razzledazzle...you must be looking at the 2010 schedule...i sure hope so as i have tix to see the Giants v Cards on april 8th!! A neighbor last night suggested St. Helena as a possible base for the entire stay. I had not even paid this town much attention. Any thoughts on that suggestion? Also, does it make any difference to visit the wine country on the weekend v. the week days...with respect to being crowded? are the wineries and restaurants closed on Mons and Tues?

Lots of locals prefer the Sonoma wine country (near Healdsburg) over the Napa wine country (St Helena). However, it seems like non-locals (like your neighbor perhaps) prefers the Napa area. Has your neighbor every visited the Sonoma/Healdsburg area? I think the reason many/most locals prefer Sonoma is because the Napa Valley has become a little "Disneylandish" perhaps - more crowded, more tourists, waiting lines for tours, hard to get dinner reservations, parking problems, etc. while Sonoma is "less frenzy" & more "laid back". However, Sonoma is "catching up" with Napa with the crowds & hard to get dinner reservations..

Healdsburg is my favorite city in the Wine country, and St Helena & Sonoma are tied for second.

If you stay in Healdsburg, you can drive through the scenic Alexander valley to visit the Napa Valley (Hwy 128).

I'm not a big fan of Santa Rosa.

It will be much less crowded on week days in the Wine Country - that's when I would go.

Stu Dudley

I just want to chime in on the wine tour part of your trip! There are wineries in Hopland to visit as you head from Mendocino to Healdsburg (or vice versa). Some of my favorites are Saracina Vineyards, Jericho Estate, Terra Savia, and Magnanimous Wine Co. Definitely off the beaten path and it doesn't matter when you visit. Check out their websites! There are also a couple of wineries in Petaluma that are off the beaten path - Kastania Vineyards and Sonoma Portworks.

Check out my trip report. We did 3 nights in Mendo and 3 nights in Healdsburg. Healdsburg is a great base since it touches 3 very different wine regions (Alexander valley, Dry Creek, and Russian River).

I was just thinking about the wineries around Hopland - we've stopped at a few in that area and really enjoyed them. The tasting room at Jaxon Keyes is neat. It is in a great old house with a wonderful veranda - laid back format for the tasting with very friendly people.

I would split Mendocino and Healdsburg just as others suggest. No need for Sonoma as well. Have you visited wineroad.com?

"i have tix to see the Giants v Cards on april 8th!!"

That's the home opener and the only Friday afternoon game of the season. Day games are better than night games at that time of year for comfort.

St. Helena is an excellent choice for a town to stay in the Wine Country. It's the center of Napa's wine industry and you would be closer to more world class vineyards and wineries than anywhere else in California. It also has a fair number of top restaurants including the newest 3 star Michelin - Meadowood.

Here's a link to an article about St. Helena in the current VIA magazine:

http://www.viamagazine.com/destinati...alif-weekender