During our two years living in San Francisco, Kevin and I visited Sonoma wine country on just three occasions. Kevin worked in Santa Rosa, so he never wanted to go over the weekend. But that wasn’t the only reason. We shared one car — a stick shift none-the-less. I had no clue how to drive the thing and freaked out just thinking about San Francisco’s notorious hills. Kevin tried giving me a lesson once in nearby, flat Petaluma. But let’s just say I failed the exam when we nearly careened off the highway! We’re still together so I guess he didn’t hold it against me too much.
Heading along the back roads of Sonoma wine country.
Now that we live in LA, we reminisce about our time in San Francisco and wish we made more trips to wine country. So needless to say, we were very excited when our long-time San Francisco friends — Daniel and Alex — told us that they bought a place in Monte Rio, a tiny town on the banks of Sonoma County’s Russian River. They didn’t have to ask us twice about coming up for a visit.
We love a road trip — making our way over the Golden Gate Bridge heading to wine country.
Check out our full itinerary below and our top picks on what to do in Monte Rio and nearby Guerneville. It’s the perfect getaway from the city, just a 2-hour drive from San Francisco.
Starting Point (Stop #1): San Francisco’s Farmer’s Market
My favorite farmer’s market of all – in the ferry terminal.
If it’s a Saturday morning and we’re in San Francisco, you’ll know where to find us. No trip to San Francisco is complete without a stop at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market, held every Saturday from 8 AM – 2 PM. You’ll find vendors lined up outside in tents (who are a hardy bunch). Even if it’s a torrential downpour, you can always head inside the ferry building to fill up on Blue Bottle Coffee, Cowgirl Creamery Cheese or browse some fancy ceramic bowls at Heath Ceramics. We can’t help ourselves as we chow down on the sour dough bread and sneak at least 10 free samples at Dandelion Chocolate. Don’t judge!
Heath Ceramics, located inside the Ferry Terminal Building
Stop #2: Get Caffeinated at Acre Coffee in Petaluma
Getting our caffeine fix inside Acre Coffee in Petaluma.
We hit the road around 10 AM in our automatic SUV rental. I mapped out a few stops along the way — making sure to include Daniel’s recommended first stop at Acre Coffee in downtown Petaluma. Okay, so I totally screwed up the exact location (turns out there is more than one Acre Coffee in Petaluma, who knew!?). But this is not your standard Starbucks chain. We ended up visiting the actual roastery, which is more industrial chic than a comfy cafe. Acre has an extensive coffee menu from loose leaf teas to espresso and even paleo coffee (which I had no clue was a thing). I ended up ordering my usual — a drip coffee with no room. I definitely needed a caffeine boost after all that food we devoured at the farmer’s market that morning.
Stop #3: Eat a Loaf or 3 at Wild Flour Bread
Piles of bread — we loved the free samples at Wild Flour Bread
We hit the usual traffic north — so we took Daniel and Alex’s recommendation to get off the 101 and take the back roads to Monte Rio. Though, make sure you have all your phone calls in if you have AT&T. After Petaluma, you’ll be off the grid. It’s about a 30 minute drive from Petaluma to Wild Flour Bread in Freestone. This place is a popular spot as we joined the line with about 15 other people in front of us.
Wild Flour uses wood fired brick ovens to give their breads a distinctive hard, crunchy crust. We had a hard time picking which loaf to get after sampling the sourdough, sticky buns, cheese fougasse (fancy name for cheese bread) and the Bohemian (apricot, orange and pecan). But we held back and decided to order just one loaf (well, mostly because we were still stuffed from the morning). We proceeded to eat just about all of it by the time we arrived in Monte Rio (sorry Daniel and Alex!). All I could think of was the early 90s fad diet — where you ate nothing but bread and pasta. If only we could turn back time and not feel the guilt.
Stop #4: Top Place to Stay: Mystic Cottage in Monte Rio
Mystic Cottage in Monte Rio
Not gonna lie, we’re totally biased with this recommendation. Mystic Cottage belongs to our friends, but even still, we’d recommend it for a perfect getaway for the weekend. There is nothing like sleeping in the redwoods. Even with a heat wave (seriously, we’ve never felt it this hot in Northern California), the shade from the towering redwoods kept it comfy and cool inside.
Mystic Cottage makes a fun friend’s weekend or a couple’s getaway. There are 3 bedrooms total and a big deck out back with a hot tub. We loved the wood burning stove and especially the large living room where you can look outside at all the trees. To check out its availability, visit Mystic Cottage’s booking page .
Stop #5: Hike at Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
Getting in a workout while checking out the redwoods.
When most people think of California’s grand redwoods, they likely think of Muir Woods. But that isn’t the only spot to check out these towering trees. Armstrong State Reserve is located just north of Guerneville, and unlike Muir Woods, you won’t have to fight for a parking spot or elbow for the perfect Instagram moment.
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve.
These spectacular trees can live to be over a thousand years old and tower hundreds of feet above the ground. There are several trails in the park, ranging from longer hikes to short walks to check out the famed Parson Jones Tree (the tallest tree in the grove measuring over 310 feet high, longer than a football field).
We followed Daniel and Alex on a 1 hour hike through the woods where we even saw a redwood knocked over from a recent storm. I couldn’t imagine the noise that made when it fell!
Stop #6: Bond with the Locals in Guerneville
Live music and lots of locals inside Main Street Bistro.
The night is young! It was Saturday night in Guerneville, and there is no shortage of things to do. The town is a hub for outdoor activities like biking, tubing, canoeing. You could laze by the river, go wine tasting, or in our case, do one of our favorite activities — look around all the cute shops.
We popped into several art galleries and gift shops. Now these are places aimed squarely at the artsy or mystic types — as I perused things that I never knew even existed like bundles of Palo Santo Wood that the shop owner said “is for mental cleansing and centering” but mostly “it’s just rich moms from Marin who buy it.” I loved that she didn’t take it all so seriously. While you’re out, make sure you stop by the vintage Guerneville 5 & 10, where you can buy retro candies, greeting cards and games.
We rounded out the night with a few drinks at El Barrio, a modern Mexican cocktail lounge located in the heart of downtown Guerneville. And of course, what better way to enjoy the cocktails than a basket (or 4) of the homemade tortilla chips and guacamole. But this isn’t the only good spot in town to grab dinner and drinks. In the past several years, downtown Guerneville has become a culinary destination with such popular spots as Boon eat + drink (a farm-to-table California bistro) and the German-influenced spot called Brot (pronounced “broat”).
Finally, our last stop on our Guerneville adventure was sort of a spontaneous one. We weren’t particularly hungry, but that didn’t stop us from ordering a pizza at Main Street Bistro. This local hot spot is home to nightly entertainment and late-night karaoke that was supposed to kick off at 11 PM, but didn’t seem like it would be ready until well after midnight. The band called Bad Ass Boots was in full swing when we walked in — or should I say, rock mode. Kevin was loving it — and gave the band 2 thumbs up with the official review that it was like seeing a group of spirited grandma’s bang out heavy rock. Looks like they have a new groupie!
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