Hello All,
We have limited time for a day trip from San Francisco.
We aren't wine drinkers, so the goals are to see beautiful wine country and relax and not spend more than 3 hours drive time (total out and back)
Any recommendations for towns/regions would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Can’t be done if you want total trip time of 3 hours.
Once you arrive, you’ll need to turn around and drive back. You have an hour or more drive time each way … PLUS additional drive time for one or another traffic tie-up.
If it’s a full day trip, Sonoma would be my choice including any of the following…
Plot all of the above on a map and look at drive times and see how some of that works for you. Can’t do it all, but you can pick and choose
Hi, synapse. My preference is Sonoma County. It's about 1 1/2 hr. drive on Hsy 101 from San Francisco up to the charming town of Healdsburg. It's full of shops and restaurants and wine tasting rooms if you decide to indulge. If you want to see scenic hills and vineyards drive about 15 min north and exit on Dry Creek Road and go west. Beautiful country. Stop at Dry Creek General Store for delicious sandwiches, picnic food, etc. Enjoy!
Fred, yes we do have terrible traffic on 101. Commute traffic usually is southbound in the AM and northbound starting around 2:30PM. Poster will be going against the commute on weekdays. However on weekends there can be traffic northbound starting mid-morning with people heading to wine country.
I think Fred is interpreting OP asking for a total trip time of 3 hours, but I think OP
may be asking for an all day trip with drive time of no more than 3 hours, in which
case Healdsburg is doable and makes sense.
Not sure how flexible OP is on destination, but driving around in wine country and
not stopping in at vineyards (which I assume is of marginal interest if they're not
wine drinkers) seems to be missing the point a bit. Another option could be
heading west from Mill Valley towards the coast and then coming back down
the coast and turning east back towards the bridge.
As said on one suggestion is to go thru Mill Valley towards Stinson Beach have lunch and enjoy the beautiful drive and the lovely tiny village.
Thank you for the replies. On this particular day of travel, Mill Valley is actually our departure location, and a hotel near the airport is our final stop (SFO)
We have never been to Northern CA and after hearing so much about Sonoma and Napa Valleys we are interested in them. However, we have heard great things about the Russian River Valley too. We wish we had a few more days, but have to make the best of this day. Any additional insight on this region and how we may enjoy it the most would be appreciated.
I’d drive from Mill Valley NORTH to Healdsburg. Once there follow Mill street heading WEST till it becomes Westside Road. Follow Westside out to Andrew’s Vineyards and keep following Westside as it starts heading South.
IMHO just as nice as Napa or Sonoma.
Claudia,
Thank you for the detailed suggestion.
Looking at the map, Westside Road turns into River Road and follows the Russian River out to the coast. This would be a great drive, but it will be approximately 2.5 hrs which may be more than we're up for.
Would you recommend turning south sooner than the coast, and if so where?
Thank you
If you have a full day, consider the alternative of
Healdsburg is worth time for art galleries. Guerneville and Sebastopol too, briefly for galleries and/or artist studios. Dinner in Sausalito and walk around and enjoy the town and views.
Alternative if the ocean calls to you
Mill Valley to Pt Reyes Station via Larkspur, Samuel P Taylor Park, Olema - and then from Pt. Reyes Station out to Pt Reyes National Seashore, if you’re good on time but that trip to the National Seashore will add some time. … From there, back to Pt. Reyes Station and then down Highway 1 through Stinson Beach and across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Or, what I originally suggested … Sonoma, Valley of the Moon and perhaps Jack London state park, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, then south down 101 to Sausalito and finally south across the GG bridge to SF. I failed to mention in my first post that the town of Sonoma around the Square is a great place to visit for 30 to 60 minutes.
On any of these, see what locally made cheese shops/farms/producers are along your way (and open).
Either way, to get to the Airport hotel area avoid continuing on 101 south from the GG Bridge. (101 in SF means city streets and lots of traffic; whoever suggested SF to Sonoma County was 30 minutes left out that consideration; it’s at least an hour.)
Instead, follow Highway 1 down through the Presidio, GG Park, and 19th Ave to Interstate 280 and then follow I-280 to Interstate 380 to SFO.
Love the area. Grew up in the Bay Area. Moved to Seattle 50 years ago, yet still visit the Sonoma area a fair bit with my wife and sometimes with our son who lives in Mt View.
BTW, if you’re a beer drinker, the Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma is a great stop for a sandwich or a burger and a flight of brews, if the timing is right for you, perhaps a dinner alternative to Sausalito on the way south from either Healdsburg or Sebastopol.
One of my favorite Sunday drives. Go up to Healdsburg, and from there take Dry Creek Rd up to Lake Sonoma. The take Stewarts Point Rd to the coast. Then take HWY 1 south vis Ft Ross, Jenner, and Bodega Bay. Ft Ross is an excellent picnic spot.
You have already received some great suggestions. Here are a few more for consideration.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and regularly visit the wine country (Sonoma and Napa). While I love the Russian River Area, Healdsburg, and the Sonoma Coast wineries, depending upon the time of day you are traveling, you may exceed your 3 hour total drive time. If you want to visit those areas, just look at Waze to estimate time of day traffic.
I am going to propose a couple of alternatives with shorter driving distances and hopefully less traffic.
Sonoma: from Mill Valley, it ~50 minutes to an hour, to SFO, ~ 1 hour 30 minutes.
Napa: 1 hour from Mill Valley, ~ 1:30 minutes to SFO
Oxbow Market: is a lovely food market in downtown Napa. You can taste Olive Oil at the Olive Press Store here, eat fresh oysters from Hog Island Oyster company and shop for foodie gifts. You can then walk across the Napa River into downtown to shop. Depending upon the time of year, you can also Kayak the River.
Copia: The Culinary Institute of America's Napa location with a large demonstration garden, cooking museum, store, and special events, including cooking classes.
Rent a bike and bike on trails through wine country on the Napa Valley Vine Trail. The Yountville section is a nice area because you will bike by vineyards on a paved path and you will be close to the town of Yountville for lunch/shopping.
Spa Day (this one is a bit tricky as most of the spas are limited to visitors during the weekdays only and can be pricey). For us, we love the Silverado Resort Spa. They typically have week day specials and have wine-oriented treatments.
Lots of Amazing Food, so if you visit and need recommendations, let me know.
Finally, since you are staying in Mill Valley, you are just a short hop from BuckEye Roadhouse, opened since 1937. We have been going there for over 30 years for delicious rustic California cuisine. It is only 12 minute drive from Mill Valley. Reservations are required. If it is a chilly day, see if you can be seated next to the huge stone fireplace.
Wow, based on this incredible support, I think we will try Sonoma. If time and ambition allow, we will try to for the Russian River Valley.
Sandy, Can you recommend any seafood restaurants in Sonoma?
Thanks again!
I don’t know of a seafood specific restaurant in Sonoma proper, however, there are some restaurants with excellent seafood.
Fred, Thank you for the suggestions, especially regarding getting to the airport! We will look at all of the possibilities you mentioned!
Sandy, Thank you for information and various restaurant options!
It sounds like an incredible region!
Reporting back on our one day trip to Sonoma:
Woke up to sunrise through the fog at the Mountain Home Inn at Mill Valley, Marin County. The inn was the closest to a 1970's vintage ski lodge without the ski resort we've experienced. Cozy. It borders Muir Woods and we took a brief hike after in-house breakfast.
Drove north on 101 to Healdsburg. Walked around town. This was a great recommendation from a forum member. A very nice little town with a good selection of restaurants, wine and olive oil tasting, and a pleasant green grass town square.
We contacted DaVero Vineyard and Olive Grove and asked if we could come by for some olive oil tasting. They had just finished a tour and said we could stop by for an informal visit. It was only 3 minutes drive from town center. Their host was very pleasant and informative as she offered two of their olive oils for tasting. We are not aficionados and can't comment on the taste. She let us know that we were welcome to walk the grounds which we did. It is a very nice property with a small vineyard and olive grove and an area planted with ornamental trees, shrubs, and smaller plants with a few tables scattered throughout. We are not olive oil aficionados, but olive oil may become a bigger part of the sonoma county economy as apparantly tons of grapes went unharvested this year due to a drop in demand for the wine.
Returned to town for lunch and had the best meal of our five day Central Coast trip at Bravas Bar De Tapas. We ordered 5 different tapas dishes and enjoyed all of them.
Drove on West Side Road to Guernville, and stopped at a Russian River access point. A very pleasant spot and the river was very inviting, but we opted to stay out after much discussion due to the algae warning signs. There was not much visible algae but we chose to avoid the potential problems. West Side Road was another excellent recommendation from a forum member. Thank you!
Went to Armstrong Woods and did a 2.5 mile hike into the Redwoods and back to parking area on a service road. The woods were great.
Left Armstrong Woods and began our drive to San Francisco. Back through Guernville and its collection of homeless/semi-homed residents. Took the River Road due East to 101 and headed South. River Road was a nice drive.
Drove into San Francisco and spent an hour or two exploring the city by car (at night). Surprised by the number of driverless Waymo vehicles and was even passed by one that pulled in front of us (safely) after passing.
Drove to the airport hotel a bit worn out! We made a very full day of great memories and are very pleased we chose to do it.
Thanks to the forum members who contributed their ideas, suggestions, and motivation for the journey!
synapse,
Thank you for reporting on your day trip in Sonoma county. It is heartening to know that suggestions from the forum contributors have been helpful. (I didn't contribute to your post, but followed it.) I have been on all those roads,more than once, tasted olive oil at Da Vero (still get their emails) and bought some for home, strolled around Guerneville and Healdsburg, and waded in the Russian River (some years ago).
Glad you had an enjoyable journey!
Thanks for getting back to us, synapse. Sounds like you had a lovely day.
Glad you had a lovely time.
