Santa Rosa and Sonoma County are home to a variety of
attractions, museums and outdoor activities. This is a hub for
wine country of course but the Santa Rosa area has much more to offer in
addition to wine.
The following is an alphabetized list of local towns, activities and attractions
in Sonoma County.
Additional information about the world famous Napa Valley
including its area attractions is
available here
Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce Building
with flowers and waterfall statue in front
Bodega Bay
is located about 45 to 50 minutes west of Santa Rosa on the Sonoma County
Coast. There are many beaches in this area. Swimming in the ocean in this part of
California is strongly discouraged. Every year there are those who try to go swimming and
they don't realize how strong the undercurrent can be. Sleeper waves are large waves that
crash much higher on the beach then most. One sensible piece of advice is to never turn
your back to the ocean.
The Tides at the Wharf is a good restaurant overlooking Bodega Bay. There is also a fish
market here and some small shops.
The Bodega Marine Laboratory is located on a reserve at Bodega Head and
is run by UC Davis. Tours are given by docents for free on certain days
of the month. Tours start in a classroom and then wind through the
laboratories - information is given about the research done here and the
local marine life. Highlight includes visiting the abalone growing area.
For more information visit: www.bml.ucdavis.edu
The
California Museum of Art
is located at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in
northern Santa Rosa. The center is located at 50 Mark West Springs Road between the Old
Redwood Highway and Highway 101. Exhibits focus mostly on California artists. They are
open Wednesday through Friday from 1:00pm until 4:00pm. They are open Saturday and Sunday
from 11:00am until 4:00pm. This museum is fairly small. Phone Number is (707) 527-0297.
TheCharles Schulz Museum
located in Santa Rosa is 27,384 Square feet of exhibits
and displays devoted to Charles Schulz and his comic strip PeanutsTM.TheMuseum is on the
corner of West Steele Lane & Hardies Lane, just past the Ice Arena.
Highlights of this museum include several thousand tiles on a wall each
containing a unique readable Peanut's comic strip. If you stand back you
will see that all the tiles form the outline of one of Peanut's more
famous happenings. An additional highlight is a re-creation of Schulz's
private office.
Redwood
Empire Ice Arena (part of the Museum complex)is well
worth visiting and is located directly across the street from
the Charles Schulz Museum (described in above paragraph). The
outside of the ice arena looks like a Bavarian chalet. This is
the "real" home of snoopy. His red doghouse sits right next to
the ice arena. Great ice skating in here - you can tell your
friends you skated in the original home of the Peanuts gang.
Note that there is an excellent gift shop next to the Ice Arena.
The Ice Arena gift shop has a much better selection of items
than the Schulz Museum itself and the prices are cheaper as well. You've
never seen so much Peanuts "shwag" in your life! If you are
at the main museum and are interested in purchasing souvenirs, I
would walk across the street and buy them in the gift shop next
to the Ice Arena.
Also note there is a simple free museum upstairs from the gift shop
(this used to be the main museum before the new one was built - as a
result most of the highlights of this old museum are now housed in the
new one). For more information about the Ice Arena and skate times
visit:
www.snoopyshomeice.com
TheChurch of One Tree/Ripley's Memorial Museum is located at Julliard Park at 492 Sonoma
Avenue in Santa Rosa. This museum was built in 1873 from a single redwood tree. Robert
Ripley was born in Santa Rosa and this museum exhibits some of his cartoons and items
collected from around the world. The museum is open from April through October, Wednesday
through Sunday from 10:00am until 4:00pm. Phone Number is (707) 524-5233.
Healdsburg is a small town located just 11 miles north of Santa Rosa
off of the 101 freeway. Like Sonoma, there
is a small central park/plaza in the downtown. This park is surrounded by four large city
blocks of which there is excellent shopping at small quaint boutique and
other art type stores. Sophisticated pricey shops line three sides of this
square. Healdsburg is a very popular weekend destination for the Bay Area
especially those who live in San Francisco. For a small town, there are
some very good restaurants located here.
The Raven Theatre is located near the plaza. This is a large historic theatre for
showing popular movies. The Raven also has several other small theatres.
If you enjoy wine tasting Healdsburg has a number of wine tasting rooms
located on and around the main plaza. Look for the easy to find tasting
bar signs on each corner directing you to the actual tasting rooms. Or
if you prefer to visit area wineries, Healdsburg is the jumping off
point for both the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. Website:
www.healdsburg.org
TheJesse Peter Native American Art Museum is located on the beautiful campus of Santa
Rosa Junior College at 1501 Mendocino Avenue. The museum features the work of Native
American artists. It includes photographs, basketry, beadwork, pottery, sculptures, and
replicas of a pueblo and roundhouse. The museum is open weekdays from noon until 4:00pm.
They are closed in the summer. Phone Number (707) 527-4479.
The
Wells Fargo
Center for the Arts (formerly
known as the Luther Burbank Center) - yes even corporate ties have hit
the Santa Rosa art scene. This is primarily an event center, often holding concerts and
speeches by well known personalities. The acoustics leave something to be desired but it
is the only place in Santa Rosa where famous performers regularly perform. A
new performing arts center is currently being constructed at Sonoma
State University - the price tags has climbed significantly but is now
supposed to open by the end of 2008. The acoustics here will be
fantastic - but this should have been built in the city of Santa Rosa as
Santa Rosa is the hub city for Sonoma County - rather than out at Sonoma
State. Visit the Green Music Center:
http://gmc.sonoma.edu
TheLuther Burbank Home and Gardens is located at the corner of Santa Rosa and Sonoma
Avenues, just a few blocks south of downtown across from the large Juliard
Park. Luther Burbank was a famous horticulturist who
lived in Santa Rosa. He moved here in 1875 and fell in love with the climate. During his
53 year stay in Santa Rosa he developed, improved, and hybridized more then 800 plant
varieties. Some of his more famous success were the development of the Burbank russet
potato, the Shasta Daisy, and the Santa Rosa Plum. Luther Burbank also planted the now
stately oak trees which grace the SRJC campus. As a result, at graduation, each graduate
of SRJC receives a small oak seedling. There is a greenhouse here where he began his
experiments. Docents lead tours of his lovely garden and home. The tours are given
Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00am until 3:30pm, April through October.
For more
information call Phone Number (707) 524-5445. For more information visit this website:
www.lutherburbank.org
Nightlife
- Santa Rosa is the hub of most nightlife in Sonoma County and the peak
of this is on 4th Street in and around the the Cantina Restaurant on the
block of 4th Street across from Santa Rosa Plaza.
There are several bars in this area and the cantina has dancing
into the late hours of the night. Try Friday's during warm
evenings for the maximum nightlife effect.
Rapture is the best night club and lounge that Santa Rosa offers;
this club is found on 7th Street, just a few blocks from the central
part of downtown.
It is only open Fridays and Saturdays and a strict
dress code is enforced.
Visit:
www.rapturenights.com
Old Railroad Square is located just west of Highway 101 across from the
Santa Rosa Convention center. This square (which is actually several
blocks) contains historic
turn of the century buildings. Antiques, gifts, clothing, dining, and lodging are
available at Old Railroad Square. In addition the Santa Rosa Convention and
Visitor's Bureau/California Welcome Center is located here. For more information call
Phone Number (707) 578-8478
Photos: Snoopy & Charlie Brown, California Welcome Center, Main
Block - Railroad Square
The
Petrified Forest is well worth the visit. It is located on
4100 Petrified Forest Road, on the way to Calistoga and the Napa
Valley, from Santa Rosa. It is about a 15-25 minute drive from Santa
Rosa on a windy road. There are many petrified trees and parts of
trees here. Short trail walks are included with your paid admission
including views of excavated petrified entire trees. You can't miss the
small gift shop which greets you at the entrance - some nice specimens
are for sale here, petrified wood as well as other rocks and minerals.
Sometimes on the weekends there will be sales at the shop. For more information call
Phone Number (707) 942-6667 Website:
www.petrifiedforest.org
The Russian
River is an extremely popular vacation spot in the summer months.
Typically rafting, canoe or kayak trips are found between Geyserville
and where the Russian River empties into the ocean. This is a long
distance and you will want to choose a spot along this stretch of the
river where you raft say 3-6 miles - typically taking 2-5 hours. As you
get closer to the ocean the weather will become colder due to the
ocean's influences.
Photos by staff photographer, JMT
If you decide to raft the Russian River yourself you will need two cars
- drop one car off at your "pull out location" and then bring the other
car back to your starting point. Here are a few do it yourself rafting
options for consideration.
Geyserville Area
- Geysers road to Kelly road - 5 miles
- Washington school bridge to Geyserville bridge - 6 miles
- Geyserville bridge to campground - 5.6 miles
Rio Nido Area
Steelhead Beach to Nit's Thai Restaurant in Rio Nido - 4-5 miles (takes
4-5 hours)
A nice general swimming beach is Healdsburg's Memorial Beach - this is very
popular in the summer and first opens typically the first or 2nd week
in July. Once the beach opens the river backs up for several miles.
Before the dam is put in at the beach you can easily wade across the
river in the late spring - once the dam goes up the river becomes
significantly deeper and there are parts of the river too deep to walk
across. Lifeguards are on duty here. Families often have their family
picnics at this park.
There are several companies that rent canoes to those who want to
float down the river. These companies usually provide shuttle pickup
service from where you pull your floating device out of the river.
Burke's Canoe Trips is located on River Road at the intersection of
Mirabel Road about 1 mile from the small town of Forestville. You can
get here by taking the 101 freeway to the River Road Exit - west and
then drive about 10-15 minutes. Burke's is located on the right side of
the road as you drive west.
www.burkescanoetrips.com
Guerneville Sport located on main street in Guerneville also offers
Kayak trips -
www.guernevillesport.com
River's Edge (formerly known as
Trowbridge W.C. Bob Canoe) is located next to the town of Healdsburg
next to Memorial Beach. They can be reached at Phone Number (707)
433-7247 and are located at 20 Healdsburg Avenue.
www.riversedgekayakandcanoe.com
Note: There are many "private beach" signs along gravel bar
benches right next to the Russian River especially in the area in all
directions around Rio Nido and Guerneville. There are parts of the river
in this area where you have to really search to find a gravel bar
without a sign on it. We have researched this and legally these
homeowners cannot make the gravel benches right next to the river
"private". Some owners have even coned off or roped off "their" gravel
bars. This is not right and its not legal. The
public has right of use of land on a navigable waterway up to the
"ordinary high water mark."
Do some research on this - ordinary high water mark is defined by law
using a variety of methods. Some of the homeowners will tell you that
this gives you the right to walk right up to their house. That is not
what this is saying - from our personal observations all the homes we've
seen along the Russian River are well above the "ordinary" high water
mark. It wouldn't make sense to build below the "ordinary high water
mark" as each year you would be flooded.
"The Russian River is a navigable river and by federal law everything
below the high watermark is public access. This means that if people can
reach a beach without trespassing through private property, e.g. by boat
or public easement, they can use that beach even though it is
technically on private property."
Santa Rosa High School (SRHS)is a landmark historic
campus in the city of Santa Rosa. It is Santa Rosa's oldest high school
by a long shot and is located on Mendocino Avenue
right next to the Junior College.
The current main building was finished
in 1925 and has appeared in several movies, including When Peggy Sue Got
Married. The front of the main campus building makes for some real nice
photos. Additional photos and information is available here:
www.srhsf.org
Photo: SRHS front of main building
Parts of
Santa Rosa Junior College look like an Ivy League
college. Several movies have been partially filmed here,
among them Phenomenon staring John Travolta. There are over 30,000
plus students
who attend this school
during any given school year. About half of these are full time while the
other half attend part time. SRJC also has another campus in Petaluma
(recently underwent a major expansion & construction), about 15 miles
south of Santa Rosa off of Highway 101. SRJC will be opening a new
campus at some point, in Healdsburg. The Santa Rosa campus has a brand
new very spacious library and now boasts a much needed large parking
garage in front of Bailey Field on the Mendocino side of the campus.
SRJC also has a planetarium and has scheduled shows from the Fall
through the Spring. The shows occur on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Call Phone Number (707) 527-4371 for more information. SRJC was
given NASA equipment to be able to communicate with
astronauts when they are conducting space missions. SRJC is only one
of 5 or 6 sites in the United States to have this capability, the main
site being ground control in Houston.
Sonoma is a small quaint town located 18 miles from Santa Rosa on Highway 12. Your drive
along Highway 12 will take you through the heart of the Sonoma Valley Vineyards. You will
pass through Kenwood a few miles from Santa Rosa. Take note of the Smother Brothers Winery
and store next to the highway. Website:
www.sonomavalley.com
The Shona Gardens (also mentioned in the section
about Napa Valley) are located right next to Highway
12 on the west side of the road. These are gardens were created for the
spiritual in all of us. The gardens consist of large and small Shona statues placed around
the property. Stone fences built without concrete encircle the property. There is a pond
and several animals. There is also a large shed where uncrating parties are held. At
certain times of the year many statues are brought from Africa to the US by boat, and
people who have previously bought Shona statues are invited to these parties to help open
and uncrate statues. These parties give people a chance to socialize with other Shona
collectors, share their love of the statues with each other, and to buy more statues. To
see the gardens you need to make an appointment. You can call Phone Number 938-2200 for
more information. There is also a very nice Shona Gallery in Sonoma in the main plaza area
at 452 1st Street East.
For more information about these unique, impressive and wonderful art
pieces please visit:
www.spiritsinstone.com
- this site contains lots of photos of particular pieces of art.
Just before you arrive in Sonoma you will pass the
Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa. This is an
extremely fancy resort (part of the Fairmont hotel group) located at 18140 Sonoma Highway. In and near Sonoma are several
attractions worth mentioning. You can see the remains of the famous author Jack London's
old cabin. General Vallejo had a house in Sonoma. His home is now a museum and open to the
public. The most northerly of the California missions is in Sonoma. The Sonoma Mission is
where the first California Bear Flag was raised. This flag was first used to signify the
independent Republic of California. This Mission is not as large or impressive as say
Mission Santa Barbara, but it is beautiful in its own right. The remains of
many native Americans were discovered to be buried in front of the Mission and under one of the main
streets.
Sonoma used to be the most northerly town of the Spanish state of Mexico. The Blue Wing
Inn is an adobe hotel visited by legends such as Kit Carson, General Ulysses S. Grant
(Also known as the president of the US), and the famed bandit Joaquin
Murieta.
The central plaza is more developed and larger then Healdsburg's plaza. There are many
quaint shops, galleries, and antique stores. In the western block of the plaza is the
hotel where Maya Angelou lived for several months and wrote one of her books. There are
several good cheese factories located in the plaza. A fixture in Sonoma County, Mary's
Pizza Shack, is also located in the plaza. Just before you reach the town of Sonoma you
can see her original restaurant along Highway 12.
The Sonoma County
Museum is located at 425 7th Street near B
Street across the street from the Santa Rosa Plaza Parking garage. The
building believe it or not, was moved to its current location. It was
built in 1909 and was originally the city's main post office. This museum focuses on cultural history and art of the North
Bay with rotating International exhibits also featured. They are open
Tuesday
through Sunday from 11:00am until 5:00pm. They are located across from
the Santa Rosa Plaza Mall. For more information call Phone
(707) 579-1500.
Eventually this museum may move to the old ATT
building, also downtown.
Sonoma State University is located about 15 miles south of town
in the town of Rohnert Park. The University features a wide selection
of sports and cultural events which are open to the general public.
The University Art Gallery displays contemporary art and photography.
A fairly new library contains a state of the art computer controlled
filing system - also good local history information contained within
this library. A new performing center is slated to finally open by the end of
2012. Campus tours are available by reservation. For more information call
Phone Number (707) 664-2880.
www.sonoma.edu
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