Coastal Retreats,Wineries, New Restaurants: Where To Go In Sonoma Now

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Bodega Bay on the Sonoma Coast at sunset. The cliffside meandering of California’s Highway 1 is well known in its route south of San Francisco around the Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur. But if you go north to the Sonoma Coast through the towns of Bodega Bay and Jenner to Sea Ranch, it’s a less traveled road but one that offers similarly dramatic scenic rewards: Pacific waves crashing against boulders surrounded by those jagged cliffs. Watching the waves from a cliff on the Bodega Head Trail in Bodega Bay. The road itself, of course, might play a role in keeping this coastal region something of a secret—it’s the ultimate winding road, often skirting the edges of cliffs without guardrails. So it’s beneficial to make stops along the way. A stop in Bodega Bay where the Highway 1 stretch begins following a 67 mile stretch on Highway 101 from San Francisco, affords the opportunity for a short hike around the peninsula, the 1.6 mile Bodega Head loop that extends along the coast and some clam chowder and oysters at the fish market/café Fishetarian . Ten miles north, the town of Jenner, where the Russian River meets the Pacific, is a spot for kayaking on the river or strolling Goat Rock Beach which might also be hosting river otters, elephant seals, harbor seals and sea lions and from January-May, be a vantage point for migrating whales. The Sea Ranch Lodge which was constructed to blend into the environment. 28 miles and nearly an hour north, is the development of Sea Ranch, a community of 7000 acres of craggy coastline on which over 2000 homes are clustered around redwood and Douglas fir forests, cypress hedgerows and hiking trails. But there is no real town which is the reason that when you enter the 53 acre grounds of the hotel, The Sea Ranch Lodge , you see a sign that says Post Office because it is that, containing mailboxes for the local residents. Because the area is so remote, this lodge also functions as a community center: the night I arrived, the voices of a chorus punctured the prevailing silence since it was May’s monthly concert by CoastSing, an amateur group of locals. Other activities listed on the bulletin board include art shows, writing workshops, astronomy discussions and guided walks among the wildflowers. NSA Warns iPhone And Android Users To Turn It Off And On Again A 3-Point Cheat Sheet For Creating Romantic Chemistry—By A Psychologist Goldman Sachs Issues Astonishing Bitcoin And Ethereum ETF Prediction After Price Turning Point A selection of dishes at The Sea Ranch Lodge Dining Room. Since it is such a gathering place, lodge guests will also invariably meet other locals at the lodge’s bar, the café featuring bakery items that evolve during the day and the restaurant featuring local fish and vegetables grown on and meat from the lodge’s farm down the road. Extremely colorful, artistically plated dishes include Housemade White Nettle Mafaldine with Oyster Mushrooms grown at the Farm, Fiddlehead Ferns, Pecorino and a Pesto of Nettles and Pine Nuts and Grimaud Farms Duck Breast with Tokyo Turnips, Green Garlic Farro and Thyme Reduction. (Another excellent option for dinner is 14 miles south on a relatively easy stretch of Highway 1: the restaurant Coast Kitchen at the oceanfront resort Timber Cove .) A Lodge Deluxe Studio Room with the new design. What you mostly experience with a stay at this lodge, though, is utter harmony with nature. That was the founding principle when this community was created in 1964 and you get a sense of this when you walk out to the cliffs and look back: the natural wood architecture recedes so completely into the surroundings that it’s barely visible, fulfilling the aim of having a very soft footprint on the area. Last year, the completion of a multi year renovation created a new fresh design in the 17 rooms using custom woodwork headboards, closets and desks, midcentury chairs, artisan ceramics, tiles and woven pieces and simple but colorful lighting fixtures. And the view from the rooms’ large picture windows is of cliffs, rocks and crashing waves; some of the most striking scenery of the entire coast is right outside of the windows on the property. One of the waterfront holes of The Sea Ranch Golf Links To explore it, there are walking trails through the property leading to especially scenic spots such as Bihler Point and Black Point Beach. Golfers can take advantage of the nine hole Sea Ranch Golf Links just north of the lodge. Wellness activities range from yoga on the weekends, Forest Bathing at the Farm, guided hikes and intense in room massages. Guests renting one of the 11 similarly natural wood houses that comprise the Sea Ranch Living program also have access to facilities that are part of the Sea Ranch Association including an outdoor heated pool, tennis, pickleball and basketball courts. The setting of St. Francis Winery & Vineyards Elsewhere in the county, heading inland, it’s a two hour drive down Highway 1 to Jenner and across Route 116 to Santa Rosa and one of the most elevated food and wine pairings in the area. St Francis Winery & Vineyards offers several different tasting options but the most elaborate is the five course menu paired with their wines called, simply, Wine & Food Pairing with menus that change every few months. Dishes on a current menu include Tombo Tuna Crudo with rhubarb, asparagus, spring onion, cilantro and orange paired with their 2023 Sauvignon Blanc; Saffron Cavatelli with tomato fondue, wild mushrooms, fava beans and basil oil paired with their 2021 Pinot Noir and New York Steak and Peppercorn demi-glace with truffled toma and potato croquette paired with their 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Afterward, guests are free to order more wine while sitting in the garden overlooking the vineyards and meeting Sonoma locals who frequent this wine club as members. The Bucatini Amatriciana at Mplti Amici in Healdsburg. In Healdsburg, there is always a new entry in the active culinary scene and the latest is Molti Amici , a fusion of classic Italian dishes such as Bucatini Amatriciana with a California sensibility (pizzas in red, white and green versions, the latter featuring a mix of olive tapenade, sundried tomato pesto, fennel and orange) and close relationships with local farmers. Three of the four principals behind it are alumni of Single Thread, the artisan Michelin three star restaurant with a strong farm/ingredient pedigree so the ingredients here are impeccable and the cooking sophisticated and layered. But it’s so relaxed, with a large back patio popular with residents that the overall feel is never precious. Hotel Les Mars in Healdsburg. Nearby in the center of town, the longstanding seafood spot, Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar offers exactly that: fresh selections of assorted shellfish and crustaceans and well executed classics such as crab cakes, BBQ’d oysters and ceviche. Down the street, a new restaurant is in the works at the 16 room Hotel Les Mars , designed to replicate the style of a French chateau. But in a departure from that style, it’s going to be Mexican and is scheduled to open sometime in June. Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions