Wine Country Hikes: Trekking, Tasting and Terroir in Sonoma

Sonoma Wine Country is home to some of the best hiking trails in Northern California and, luckily for visitors, many of those trails end conveniently close to tasting rooms. Cradled between the Mayacamas and the Sonoma Mountain Range, the 17-mile Sonoma Valley is home to unparalleled natural beauty and world class wine making it the ideal destination for oenophiles and outdoor lovers alike. Consider these sipping spots along a well-planned hike on scenic Sonoma trails.

The Sonoma Call of the Wild Tour combines exploration of Sonoma Valley’s natural beauty and history with an outdoor wine tasting. Guides lead visitors on an easy hike in the footsteps of Call of the Wild author Jack London and his wife Charmian. The tour goes past their early 1900s ranch, forests and vineyards, followed by a visit to his home and museum, capped off with a private wine tasting of limited-production estate wines at an historic winery. Active Winery Tours can customize hikes and wine tasting experiences or guests can join the Hike & Wine Tour featuring some of Sonoma’s best hikes and wineries.

Kunde Family Winery offers a pair of hiking options including one for pups! Winegrower Jeff Kunde and winery dogs Kalie and Cooper lead hikes through the estate, while learning about the winery’s sustainable winegrowing and winemaking practices, concluding with a wine tasting and lunch. Guests can also meander through a range of distinct ecosystems and habitats, tasting along the way. Bartholomew Estate Vineyards have three miles of trails to explore, weaving through oaks, redwoods, a duck pond and their vineyards.

 

 

For hiking experiences beyond the wineries, Sonoma Valley is also home to state and regional parks with activities and trails that will help get your blood pumping or that allow nature to calm your senses. Sonoma Valley Regional Park in Glen Ellen features several miles of trails including the Valley of the Moon, a picturesque, paved trail that showcases beautiful valley views. 

Jack London State Historic Park is a beautiful memorial to writer and adventurer Jack London, who resided here from 1905 until his death in 1916, has more than 29 backcountry trails traverse redwood groves, oak woodlands and grassy meadows. Just down the road from Benziger Family Winery and Abbot’s Passage, the park is a wonderful way to combine both passions.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, at the headwaters of Sonoma Creek, is home to a variety of wildlife and wildflowers. Sugarloaf Ridge State Park has 25 miles of trails for hiking, some with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Sierra Nevada from its 2,729-foot summit.

 

WHAT’S NEW IN SONOMA?

Whether the need is relaxation or a keen interest in some of California’s iconic vineyards, Sonoma is a one-stop destination for a memorable summer season. As travelers are eager to travel, these turnkey intentional itineraries can inspire travelers looking to Sonoma for a sensorial vacation. 

Focus on the Robust Sonoma Wellbeing Scene

Vintners Resort Garden Tours, Santa Rosa

Situated on 92 acres of vineyards, Vintners Resort is an intimate, 78-room luxury, California certified green hotel, located in the heart of Sonoma County wine country.

Explore the luxurious gardens and vineyards at Vintners Resort with one of Sonoma County’s most knowledgeable gardening experts, Garden Manager, Chris Connell. Visitors can dig deep into the soil’s history and Chris’ knowledge of growing delicious produce, gorgeous flowers, and sustainable gardening practices. Bring your gardening questions and dilemmas; Chris is happy to share his expertise.

Vintners Resort 2-hour Garden Tours are booked by appointment with at least 14 days advance notice. The resort can accommodate groups of up to 4 on the tour. The memorable experience begins with a glass of sparkling wine and a fresh Amuse Bouche from the garden. The tour concludes with a picnic lunch in Vintners Resort vineyard, made from many of the same ingredients participants tasted during their journey. 

Settle in at Sundown, Sonoma Regional Parks

Living a busy, frantic life? Feeling tense? Come unwind and immerse yourself in Sonoma County where Mother Nature does her best work. Every other Monday through August enjoy a unique park experience that will leave you feeling grounded and rejuvenated. A new summer series, “Settle Down at Sundown” focuses on outdoor wellness and relaxation exercises like mindfulness walks, journaling, stretching, and deep breathing at twilight. Various parks throughout Sonoma County include the Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail, Ragle Ranch Regional Park, Tolay Lake Regional Park, Doran Beach Regional Park, Pinnacle Gulch Coastal Access, and Helen Putnam Regional Park. Program registration is required.

Float away at two of Sonoma County’s most popular Russian River beaches and enjoy the convenience of taking the Sonoma County Regional Parks River Shuttle. Shuttle service is available on weekends and holidays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., through Labor Day Weekend, Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. Shuttles depart every 30 minutes from Tom Schopflin Fields on Old Redwood Highway in Santa Rosa and travel to Steelhead Beach Regional Park and Sunset Beach River Park in Forestville. Shuttle tickets are available at russianrivershuttle.mytrakk.com.

New in Lodging in Sonoma

Dawn Ranch, Guerneville

Located on the banks of the Russian River in Guerneville, the historic Dawn Ranch has played host to vacationers from San Francisco and around the globe since opening in 1905. From its beginnings as a dining hall with tented cabins to taking the title of the first gay destination resort in Sonoma County Wine Country, Dawn Ranch’s towering redwoods have borne witness to it all. Known as a wedding venue until 2019, the property has reopened as a full-service luxury resort for the first time in 3 years.

The 15-acre riverfront resort also features cabins, bungalows, and the restaurant Agriculture Public House. Dawn Ranch’s on-site kitchen garden provides fresh herbs and vegetables to the restaurant, which is open to guests and locals alike. The bar offers an extensive wine list with products from local vineyards, besides local craft beers and specialty cocktails. 

Besides wedding and event spaces for up to 300 guests, live music can be enjoyed on the resort’s main lawn as well as a range of activities including yoga and meditation, sunset wine tastings, creative workshops, and bird watching. Complimentary bicycles, kayaks, and paddle boards are also available.

The Sea Ranch Lodge, Sea Ranch

The iconic 53-acre property, The Sea Ranch Lodge, has opened the doors to its culinary and artisanal offerings after a multi-million-dollar renovation. Distinctive architecture, uninhibited ocean views, bold supergraphics, shared open space, and meditative tranquility — these were the beginnings of The Sea Ranch, a beacon of Modernism on the Northern California coast stretching along 10 miles of the Pacific Coastline, showing an enduring commitment to environmental stewardship and community service. Designed by a small group of Bay Area architects and designers in the early 1960s, the development was envisioned as a progressive, inclusive community, guided by the idealistic principles of good design, economy of space, and harmony with the natural environment.

The Dining Room delivers a rugged refined dining experience complimented by stunning panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and a menu celebrating fresh local harvests. The Bar + Lounge offers a cozy social environment with fireside cocktails and small bites. The Café serves health-conscious breakfast and lunch, and at The General Store, there are treasures crafted by local makers and a selection of literature highlighting the history and culture of The Sea Ranch. 

Do and Dine in Sonoma 

The Madrona Restaurant, Healdsburg 

The new owners of The Madrona have reimagined the charming Victorian home and divided it into intimate salons, parlors, lounges, a bar, and a spectacular terrace, and each space has its own vibrant personality rich in antiques, busy wallpaper, eclectic art, and dramatic chandeliers. The main dining room feels like you’re sitting in an elegant candy box, for example, framed with lemon-yellow walls and capped with rectangle frames inlaid with a black and white print. A space-age chandelier is made of cotton candy-pink glass balls clinging to metal rods. Guests can wander the pristine property, sipping wine or cocktails as they go. The gorgeous gardens (updated now to great splendor and culinary plantings) are visitor-friendly, including little seating nooks here and there, plus pop-up mobile bars for more drinks and snacks.

 

Little Saint, Healdsburg

Little Saint is an entirely plant-based restaurant headed up by the SingleThread power couple, Kyle and Katina Connaughton — and now the cavernous former SHED space houses a coffee bar, cafe, wine shop, and market has been dubbed Little Saint Provisions. Little Saint’s 100 percent plant-based menu is built around produce grown at both Little Saint and SingleThread farms, showcased in dishes like potato and green garlic soup with lovage and caraway oil. 

Kivelstadt Cellars and Winegarten, Sonoma

After a lengthy renovation, Sonoma’s Kivelstadt Cellars has reopened with Chef Jennifer McMurry (formerly of Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen and Viola Restaurant) at the helm. Located at the intersection of Highway 12 and Broadway in Schellville, just south of the town of Sonoma, the space has been transformed into a sprawling wine garden, restaurant, and showcase for its namesake winery. McMurry’s airy, seasonal menu includes burrata and sugar snap peas; peach and corn salsa that was a standout at Dillon Beach; peach and mozzarella sandwich with bacon; or the weekend brunch board with avocado, egg salad, hummus, and grilled toast from Santa Rosa’s Goguette bakery. Vegan sweet potato tacos dorado and a mushroom Cubano sandwich will satisfy meatless diners.

Kancha, Santa Rosa

Restaurant veteran and owner Angel Cayllahua (Roka Akor, La Mar SF) has opened Kancha Champagne Bar & Tapas on 4^th Street in Downtown Santa Rosa. Cayllahua has created a wine list with an extensive selection of Champagne and other bubbly drinks from around the world, along with wine and beer to pair with Peruvian and Japanese small bites meant for sharing. Fresh oysters, seared scallops with passion fruit leche de tigre, crab cakes, ceviches, lomo saltado empanadas, octopus causa, charcuterie platters and a “very adult mac and cheese” with huancaina (a mild yellow chili and cheese sauce) are featured on the menu.

 

 

Chasing Spirits in Sonoma

Elk Fence Distillery, Santa Rosa

After years of patience and determination, Santa Rosa’s first craft distillery, Elk Fence Distillery, and its tasting room are now open. Elk Fence produces three core spirits, including whiskey, gin, and vodka. Briny Deep, an American single malt whiskey, is made with local barley sourced from Admiral Malts in Alameda and Grizzly Malts in Rohnert Park. Aged for two years in new American white oak from Minnesota, it’s delightfully drinkable for such a young expression.  White Elk is a barley-based vodka that could stand on its own with just ice and a twist of lemon. Distilled only twice, the spirit retains a subtle sweetness with a hint of malt. Fir Top is a botanical gin made of juniper, coriander, tangerine, and grapefruit from San Francisco Herb Co. It’s fresh, citrusy, and destined for a gin and tonic with Fever-Tree tonic.

Sonoma: Getting there: Aha! 

aha! Airlines to Sonoma County

aha! Airlines (an acronym for “air-hotel-adventure”), a leisure carrier operated by ExpressJet, launches daily nonstop service beginning July 14 between its hub at Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport (STS). aha! Airlines will provide service to STS using the Embraer ERJ145 regional jet aircraft which comfortably holds 50 passengers. 

aha! Airlines also features a program that allows passengers to check wine at no extra cost. Guests flying to RNO from what the airline describes as “amazing wine destinations” in California (think Sonoma County) may participate. Passengers aged 21 and older are allowed to check one case of wine weighing up to 50 pounds. Wine bottles must be unopened and packaged in a shipper box with protective padding, inserts and labels. The program runs through Nov. 30.

Sonoma Events and Festivals

From the return of dozens of festivals to culinary exploration to live entertainment, there are plenty of reasons to escape to Sonoma County to relax, refresh, recharge, and enjoy this summer.

Epicurean-focused events like the Bodega Bay Seafood, Art and Wine Festival (Aug. 27-28), and the Sonoma County Wine Auction (Sept. 15-16) highlight the rich and diverse bounty of Sonoma County.

Sonoma County welcomes back live music after a 2-year hiatus, featuring the Rodney Strong Summer Concert Series (through September), Summer Nights on the Green in Windsor (through September), and the Summer on the Square music series (through August) in Downtown Santa Rosa. Those looking for a more avant-garde experience can check out the Cotati Accordion Festival, a multi-generational accordion extravaganza (August 20-21), and not forgetting Art in the Redwoods Festival (August 18-21).