The Ultimate Russian River Travel Guide, from Guerneville to Jenner and everything in-between

When it’s time to get away from day-to-day life, the Russian River is where to go to enjoy wine, dining, kayaking, redwoods, beaches, and more. The moment you take your first breath as you roll into town of Guerneville, the biggest town along the river greets you with the fresh scent of Redwood trees. It’s…

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Russian River Girls Getaway Weekend

You know what? Being a supermom is exhausting! For me, life is a whirlwind of shuttling kids around, packing and unpacking for weekend adventures, oh, and trying to work too. My annual girl’s weekend is the beacon of tranquility that gets me through when it all seems too hectic. A few moments reminiscing about my…

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Best Easy Family Hikes in West Sonoma County

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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Christmas Tree Harvest, Ice Skating, & A Festive Dinner; Day Trip to Sonoma County

this year I decided to put on my ugly Christmas sweater and bring the family to a tree farm in Sebastopol. And while we were in the area, why not go ice skating in Santa Rosa? And then to kid friendly dinner in Petaluma? We had such a great time on our day trip from San Francisco that we decided to share this itinerary with you so you can be inspired to get outdoors and have fun too!

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Patricia’s Day of Family Biking & Wine Tasting in Graton

Today we have our first guest post! Written by a Mom and trust & estate attorney from San Francisco, Patricia DeFonte shares her unique experience of visiting the Russian River with her family. She describes her favorite activity of her trip (also one of our favorites), which was biking along the West County Trail in Forestville and Graton. She started in downtown Forestville, then biked and wine tasted her way to Graton and back.

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Sonoma is Cider Country

In this article we feature our favorite West Sonoma ciders, all of which have a tap room with outdoor space. There is so much to do in the area, that we were able to come up with suggestions on how to turn the cider tasting into an adventure for the whole family!

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

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 Moderate Family Hikes in West Sonoma

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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French Themed Day Trip in Beautiful Sonoma County

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

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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