Sonoma County Trip w/ Child- questions
 

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are planning a mid-week trip to Sonoma County this summer with our son (who will be about 18 months). We're looking at rental houses in Sonoma, Sebastopol and Healdsburg and are torn. Having not been to the wine country/ Russian River area before, we're not certain which area would be best for us and could use a little advice.

We're hoping for a quiet, low-key getaway and want to stay in a peaceful, countryside environment. We plan to take some hikes, explore local parks and markets, sample some local foods at child-friendly restaurants and drive around the area to see some of the sights. My husband would particularly like to see some redwoods. I'd like to see some vines. Don't worry, our plans do not include dragging the little one to wineries. We'd like to be close enough to town that we don't spend our whole trip in the car, but definitely don't need to be in the middle of the action.

Is there a particular town you think would best suit these desires, or will anywhere in the county be fine since we'll have a car? Can you recommend some particularly scenic spots or points of interest? Any casual dining recommendations? Oh, and do we need to worry about air conditioning in our rental house in July/August? How hot does it get in the area?

Thanks! We haven't been able to take a vacation in forever and are really looking forward to a little time away.

I would probably recommend Healdsburg. You will be in close proximity to the Russian River and can take the baby for a few "dips" if the weather gets hot.(It usually is at that time in that area). If you stay in Sebastapol you will be spending more time in the car.

We have friends in Healdsburg and often visit them at that time of the year. They have ceiling fans. It works. I would not worry too much about AC. The heat here is dry.

Once you decide on where you are staying, many of us can give you specifics on the other items.

Healdsburg will also provide relatively easy access to redwoods.

Personally speaking, the Russian River Valley is one of the prime spots for GREAT pinot noir.

Thanks, Pam! I was especially interested in Healdsburg just from looking at photos. I think we'd love to be close to the river and trees.

I'm definitely hoping to buy some local pinot noir and enjoy it at the house after the little one has gone to sleep. :-)

i second pam on healdsburg.
the dry creek valley has some lovely small wineries.
i would also not worry about taking your 18 mos old when wine tasting.
i was out on memorial day weekend and there were many families and couples with young children.
at everett ridge winery, there was a couple who had their 2 year old sitting on the counter while they were tasting.
i was not sure if it was proper but the people pouring the wine did not have a problem and gave the little one extra cheese puffs to keep her busy while her parents tasted.

abranz, well probably the child shouldn't have been sitting on the counter, but many (most?) wineries don't mind children as long as they are not fussy.

monica,
i was really amazed to see the number of young kids at the wineries.
after my initial surprise at seeing the 2 year old on the tasting counter, i really enjoyed her presence. she was adorable as she discovered the cheese puffs and could not get enough of them. the staff at the winery were also very professional in their pouring and indulgent of the little girl.
all in all a great afternoon of good wine and young entertainment.

If you google "wineries children" you'll find a lot of information, including an article from the SF Chronicle about "family friendly" wineries.

Everett Ridge is owned by friends.

We like to stay on the Coast in the Jenner area. You can still get into the 'back door' of Sonoma wine country + there are some good, little known wineries right near the coast. Occidental is also a cool little town w/a Farmers Market & an interesting spa nearby. http://www.osmosis.com/

Each Sunday during the Summer, the plaza in Healdsburg has music. It's fun. Take a couple of lawn chairs and a picnic. There is a fountain the kids frolic in. You can find the schedule of concerts around town.

Everett Ridge is owned by the Estalina folks.

The grocery store in Healdsburg to check out is Big Johns.

Thanks so much for all the tips. I think we're definitely set on Healdsburg now and are just trying to decide between a couple of rental houses we like.

I love wine, but my husband doesn't drink. I'll check out the lists of family-friendly wineries and if there's a place or two where they could explore the grounds while I do a quick tasting, that could work, but we'll probably focus more on other pursuits this trip.

Thanks for the tip on the summer concerts in Healdsburg and Big John's. Any other great local places or events I should know about?

There is a Farmers' Market on Saturdays in downtown.

There is a great "dive" Mexican restaurant across the street from the Oakville grocery-El Sombrero.

The Downtown Bakery on the Plaza is a good place to go for bread and for pastries. The owner used to be the pastry chef at Chez Panisse. They also have gelato.

Flying Goat coffee is just off the plaza. It will be a great source for ground coffee and coffee fixes.

Ravenous is a nice place to go and "eat locally". If you go early enough you could also bring l'enfant without any problem.

Big Johns has very good meats

Sorry to be so late coming back to report back on our trip. I am really grateful for all the input. We had a wonderful time in Healdsburg. Here's a short trip report:

* TRIP REPORT: HEALDSBURG *

We'd spent several days in Monterey prior to our stay in Sonoma County. Monterey was beautiful, but cold and grey. We were looking forward to the sunshine in Sonoma County! We drove out of Monterey in the late morning and decided to drive through Oakland so we could stop at Fenton's for lunch and ice cream. We have childhood memories of that place and wanted to return. Then, we continued north across the Bay, into Marin County and then up into Sonoma County.

Healdsburg is a good hour north of Oakland and the last half of the drive was spent on a small, four-lane highway that was under construction and thus totally congested. We just wanted to get there already. We had planned to make a detour into Sonoma and do a quick drive-by of the main square, but decided to scrap that and just get to Healdsburg. We were so glad when we arrived. Our little rental house (found on VRBO.com) was beyond adorable and only two blocks from Healdsburg’s central plaza and all the wonderful restaurants and shops in town. We loved being able to walk all over town and spent much of our time doing just that.

Healdsburg is so wonderfully quaint, lovely, scenic and romantic in every way. We adored it from the first minute. Over the next several days we spent a lot of time wandering around town, trying a bunch of restaurants and bakeries, browsing through the fantastic bookstore (Copperfield's), looking at antiques and chatting with the super friendly residents that we met. We also drove out to the Dry Creek Valley wine region, really close by, to check out the wineries and gorgeous vineyard views along little valley roads. This is just such a beautiful little corner of the world. We didn't do any tasting since we were traveling with a small child, but it was easy enough to pull into the wineries and enjoy the ambiance and take some photos. We did specifically go to Ferrari-Carano Winery to walk through their pretty gardens and I'm glad we did. It's a beautiful setting.

One day we drove out to Guerneville, about 30 minutes away, to see the property my great-grandfather used to own in the 1940s. It's now a B&B and the current owner made time to greet us, give us a tour and tell us about recent renovations to the property. After that, we drove to Armstrong Woods State Park and hiked amongst the Redwoods. You could really spend all day at the park. There are a number of different trails, all very well maintained, and a small visitor's center and gift shop.

While in Healdsburg, we also went to the beach on the Russian River that you see when you drive into town. When it's warm out, this is a nice way to spend an afternoon and there's usually a lifeguard on duty. You have to pay to park in the lot, but there's a nice little park there with picnic tables and such.

We were really sad to leave Healdsburg. On the morning of our departure we took one last walk through town, stopping by the local farmer’s market, and then began the long drive back to L.A. It took nearly 8 hours, and the last hour was spent in gridlock on the 405 freeway. But it was worth it. It was a wonderful trip, and a great getaway that we could share with our child.

Restaurants:

Downtown Bakery- This is the place all the locals go for coffee in the morning. Every morning there is a whole crowd of folks standing on the sidewalk out front talking. The interior is modest, but really... it’s all about the food. The pastries here are ridiculous. They make a cinnamon donut muffin that rocked my world.

Bovolo- Located in the back of Copperfield’s Books, it doesn’t look like much. The food is wonderful, though. The watermelon and prosciutto salad and margherita pizza I had here was one of the better meals I ate in Healdsburg. Bovolo has a bacon of the month club (!) and serves homemade gelato. Enough said.

Flying Goat Coffee- They have the best coffee in town. They also have Wifi, so all the young people in town set themselves up here. I didn’t like their food as much as other places in town, but their coffee is great.

Costeaux Bakery- Love, love this gorgeous little French bakery. They have a full menu, but we just ordered from the counter for breakfast and then sat at a table in their lovely, open dining area. The pastries are excellent (two thumbs way up for their croissant and morning bun), the coffee is good and service is very friendly.

Barndiva- We weren’t sure if a toddler would be welcome at any of the "fancy" restaurants in town. Fortunately for us, on Wednesdays at Barndiva they host a special dinner with a $35 prix fixe menu where families are specifically welcome. Their large back garden area was perfect for us. When our son got restless we were able to walk around with him and show him the fountain and grassy area at the back of the restaurant. No one minded a bit. And the food... YUM. Lamb sopes, tortas Cubanas, melon salad and a fruit galette were just some of the amazing dishes served up the night we were here. We loved it.

There are also plenty of markets in town where you can pick up food. Oakville Grocery has really nice, high end specialty foods (great cheeses) and Big John’s Market, which we absolutely loved, is filled with all sorts of local treats, pre-made meals and fresh fruits and vegetables. There’s also a Safeway for your basic stuff. We ate at home a couple of nights in Healdsburg, because it was a lot easier and cheaper, and were able to purchase some really great things from the grocery stores.