Sonoma Family Adventures

Adventure by the Ocean: A Wonderful Day Trip to Jenner, CA

By: LuckyBendLookout
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From Stillwater Cove in the north to Wright’s Beach in the south, the area surrounding the hamlet of Jenner where the Russian River meets the sea is full of fun and sometimes quirky adventures for the whole family. Check out our choose your own adventure guide to a day trip in Jenner.

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Best Challenging Family Hikes in West Sonoma

By: LuckyBendLookout
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In this series we are highlighting our top 3 easy, moderate, and strenuous hikes in West Sonoma County. A few of our favorite trails in Armstrong Woods and Austin Creek were burned in the recent fires and remain closed. When they reopen we’ll post an update to these posts. We hope these other equally amazing trails inspire you to get out and enjoy the fresh air and natural beauty of Sonoma County.

These strenuous hikes have steep uphill components and range from 4-15 miles, and great for adults and big kids. The shortest one may also be considered moderate.

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Best Moderate Family Hikes in West Sonoma

By: LuckyBendLookout
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Now that our kids have graduated from fairy wands while hiking (though certainly not from berry bushes), we have moved on to geocaching as great way to motivate slightly older kids on down the trail. Geocaching is a free IRL treasure hunting game played with the GPS on your phone. Someday we will do a…

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Best Easy Family Hikes in West Sonoma

By: LuckyBendLookout
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Kids always whine about hiking but in the end have a really good time once they get their minds on something fun. When I was a kid, my parents would overcome the resistance by coaxing me from berry bush to berry bush down the trail. By the time I finally got full of berries we had…

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Sonoma County Pumpkin Patch Adventures in 2020

By: LuckyBendLookout
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It’s time for the annual family outing to the Pumpkin patch! Even with COVID-19, there is an abundance of options for families in the SF Bay Area. Sonoma County is my favorite place to go get pumpkins, gourds, and Autumn treats so here is a summary of just a portion of the pumpkin patches available for visitors.

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French Themed Day Trip in Beautiful Sonoma County

By: LuckyBendLookout
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I wouldn’t consider myself a francophile so much as a wineaux. Growing up in California and having travelled to all the major wine regions in in France and Spain, I have always been struck by how Sonoma and France are kindred spirits in wine and food culture, even sharing similar Mediterranean climate and similar ecology.…

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Sonoma Apple Picking Adventures in 2020

By: LuckyBendLookout
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There is something that satisfies the soul about picking a harvest and turning it into delicious treats for the family. In the spring we take our family out to Brentwood to u-pick cherries, apricots, and peaches. Most of our spring harvest gets chomped for snack time or converted to jam to take us through the…

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Sonoma County is Welcoming Visitors!

By: LuckyBendLookout
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It’s so exciting! The time has finally come! Effective 12:01am in June 19, 2020. Sonoma County is welcoming staycationers from nearby to stay and play! Beaches are open, you can rent a canoe, restaurants are seating patrons indoors, you can go inside a store, wineries are open, and campgrounds, vacation rentals, and hotels are allowed…

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Whales, Hiking, and Chowder; Day Trip to Bodega Bay

By: LuckyBendLookout
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Where can you go on a day trip from the SF Bay area that’s less than two hours from the city, has breathtaking ocean views, amazing local food, an easy hike, and wildlife viewing?  Bodega Bay, of course! We usually visit Bodega Bay when we stay at our vacation home Lucky Bend Lookout because it’s…

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I’m Ready for Post Lockdown Travel! Now What?

By: LuckyBendLookout
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On a scale from 1-10, how ready are you for a vacation? If you asked me, I would say I am a 11! I will go ANYWHERE as long as it’s not home and as long as it is safe. But what does a safe vacation look like? At the time of the update of…

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