Sonoma Family Adventures

Winter Warm-up with Russian River Wine

By: LuckyBendLookout January 20, 2020January 6, 2023

Family AdventuresCabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Russian River, Sonoma, Sonoma County, wine tasting, Winter, ZinfandelLeave a Comment

After the holiday travel rush, visiting family in all the different cities, lugging present-hyped children from one sugar-rush to the next, it is time for the parents to take a well-deserved break from the kiddos and relax with a glass of wine. One of the benefits of hosting the Lucky Bend Lookout vacation rental is…

Wine Events at the Heart of Russian River Winters

By: LuckyBendLookout January 10, 2020March 16, 2022

Family Adventures, Local Advicebarrel tasting, events, Holidays, Russian River, Sonoma County, taste 116, wine tasting, winter wineland6 Comments

Before we were blessed with children, we identified as wineauxs. Our domestic and international travel generally revolved around tasting wine in some exciting new wine region. Then kids. Over the years we have developed a few strategies keep the children entertained while we wine taste and we have found some great kid-friendly wineries. But alas,…

Six Best Winter Activities Along the Russian River with Kids

By: LuckyBendLookout January 6, 2020June 2, 2023

Family Adventures, Family Travel, Local Adviceevents, Hiking, Holidays, museums, Russian River, Sonoma County, wine tasting, Winter7 Comments

The Russian River area can be enjoyed by kids and adults all year round, even in the wintertime. You just have to know what to look for and that is why we decided to come up with a list of the six best kid friendly winter activities along the Russian River. The winter around here…

Fresh Dungeness Crab in Bodega Bay, A Holiday Meal to Remember

By: LuckyBendLookout December 24, 2018June 2, 2023

Local Advice, LocalvoreBodega Bay, crab, Day trip from San Francisco, Day trip San Francisco, Day trip Sonoma, dungeness crab, Fall, Fresh & Local, Holidays, recipes, San Francisco Day Trip, Winter3 Comments

Turkey, ham, and prime rib may be the meal that comes to mind around the holidays but San Franciscan’s and Northern California chefs know that the easiest way to have an amazingly memorable holiday feast is with dungeness crabs fresh off the boat. Dungeness crab season varies each year but generally runs from November to…

Russian River Valley Wine Tasting by Bike Path, Take the Kids too!

By: LuckyBendLookout October 11, 2018March 16, 2022

Family Adventures, Itineraries, Localvoreberry picking, bicycling, butterflies, cider, farmer's market, foodie, ice cream, kids, Russian River, Sonoma County, wine tasting4 Comments

Before kids, our favorite wine tasting adventure was to rent a tandem bike at Spoke Folk Cyclery (201 Center St, Healdsburg) in Healdsburg and ride out on West Dry Creek Road and return by East Dry Creek Road. We always started with the west side because the narrow road with no shoulder didn’t leave much…

Gravenstein Apple Picking Adventure for the Whole Family

By: LuckyBendLookout October 4, 2018March 16, 2022

Family Adventures, Itineraries, Localvoreapple hill, apples, cider, gravenstein, recipes, Sebastopol, Sonoma County, U-pick5 Comments

After you get inspired by this post, check our special update for 2020 called Sonoma Apple Picking Adventures in 2020. What if you could enjoy all the apple goodness of Apple Hill without all the people, traffic, and that drive up I-80? Only an hour from San Francisco and 20 minutes from Guerneville and the…

Jenner Headlands Preserve Kids Loop

By: LuckyBendLookout October 1, 2018June 2, 2023

Family Adventures, Local Advicebirding, Hiking, jenner headlands, kids, Russian River, Sonoma County5 Comments

Thanks to very active nonprofits like The Wildlands Conservancy and the Sonoma Land Trust, Sonoma County is constantly opening new public open space with robust trail systems and fantastic recreational opportunities. The newest park in the county can also lay claim to the best views. Overlooking the Rusaian River estuary and the rugged Sonoma Coast…

Relive the Lazy Life Floating the Russian River with Kids, a Complete Guide

By: LuckyBendLookout August 27, 2018March 16, 2022

Family Adventures, Local AdviceFloating, kids, Russian River, Sunset Beach, Swimming, Tubing4 Comments

Remember those carefree days when you could spend a whole day lazily floating on the water with your friends, drinking beer, and debating the topics of the day. It seems like ages ago that our kids came along and ended that kind of carefee tranquility. But finally, at ages 5 and 7, we have regained…

3 Summer Cocktails for the Whole Family, Even the Kids

By: LuckyBendLookout April 7, 2018March 16, 2022

Grown Ups (Mostly), Localvorechampagne, cocktails, gin, happy hour, Iron Horse, Korbel, mocktail, Spirit Works4 Comments

When our family heads up to our home on the Russian River, Lucky Bend Lookout, our summer time rhythm is pretty active but we always make time to enjoy happy hour on the deck overlooking the river. A typical day starts with the kids “helping” grandpa make a fancy breakfast. After a morning activity like…

Fishing with Kids on the Russian River

By: LuckyBendLookout March 1, 2018March 16, 2022

Family Adventures, Local AdviceFishing, Guerneville, kids, Russian River, Sonoma County, steelhead5 Comments

We recently took the kids on a coho salmon hike organized by the Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) at Samuel P Taylor State Park. Seeing those huge red and white fish in such a small creek got us that got us thinking about the steelhead run in the Russian River right now. Our vacation rental,…