Guides
Area Guides
Practical notes on the towns we manage — what to do, where to eat, and what to know before you go — written by the local team based in Gualala.
Trails, tides, and trips
Guide
Sea Ranch Beaches and Tide Pools — A Local Team's Guide
Shell Beach is where we send people for tide pools. Black Point and Pebble still drop to open sand. Stengel and the Walk-On beach stairs are closed in 2026. Read the Arena Cove tide table before you go, and treat the Pacific as cold water you watch from dry rock, not a swimming coast.
Guide
Sea Ranch and Gualala Trails — Bluff Top, Gualala Point, Salt Point
Pay the day fee at Gualala Point for the easy estuary loop. Take the Bluff Top when you want three miles of headland, and turn around before the closed Walk-On beach stairs. Salt Point is the long trail day south. Stay back from bluff edges, and bring layers for fog and wind.
Guide
Bodega Head — The Trail, Whale Season, and Sonoma Coast Beaches
Walk the 1.9-mile Bodega Head Nature Trail for the harbor mouth, the open Pacific, and the gray whale run. Southbound whales pass from November into mid-February. The northbound return, with mothers and calves, runs mid-February through May. The Sonoma Coast State Park beaches nearby are for walking, not swimming.
Guide
Russian River Beaches — Johnson's, Monte Rio, Steelhead, and Floats
Summer is when the Russian River turns into a swim day under the redwoods. Johnson's Beach anchors Guerneville, Monte Rio holds the big public beach, and Steelhead to Sunset is the float we send people on. Check the USGS gauge and the county beach hotline before you get in, and put a life jacket on every child.
Guide
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend — Russian River, Dry Creek, Sonoma Valley
Shape a Sonoma wine weekend around one valley per day. Russian River Valley pours cool-climate Pinot and Chardonnay under fog and redwood edges. Dry Creek is Zin and picnic lawns. Sonoma Valley runs Highway 12 from the Plaza through Glen Ellen and Kenwood. Book tastings by Wednesday, and put a designated driver in the plan before the first glass.
The Sea Ranch
Gualala
Russian River
Guerneville
Things to Do in Guerneville, California — A Local Team's Guide
Guerneville is the river town under the redwoods, about 90 minutes north of San Francisco on River Road. Swim at Johnson's Beach in summer, walk Armstrong Redwoods any month, and eat on Main Street. The Russian River is the point of the trip, and it's in charge.
Monte Rio
Things to Do in Monte Rio, California — A Local Team's Guide
Monte Rio is the quieter river town five minutes west of Guerneville, about 95 minutes north of San Francisco. The public beach is the reason to stay. Swim in summer, play nine holes at Northwood, and eat on River Boulevard. Guerneville is next door when you want Armstrong or a longer dinner list.
Forestville
Things to Do in Forestville, California — A Local Team's Guide
Forestville is the put-in town for the Russian River canoe day, about 80 minutes north of San Francisco on Highway 116. Paddle from Burke's in summer, swim at Steelhead Beach, and eat on Front Street or River Road. Guerneville is ten minutes west when you want Armstrong.
Cazadero
Things to Do in Cazadero, California — A Local Team's Guide
Cazadero is a redwood canyon up Cazadero Highway, about 105 minutes north of San Francisco. The house is the stay. Friday pizza at Raymond's in season, a sandwich at the store, and Duncans Mills when you want a village. Guerneville is fifteen minutes down for a supermarket or Armstrong.
Wine Country
Healdsburg
Things to Do in Healdsburg, California — A Local Team's Guide
Healdsburg is a Sonoma County wine town built around a walkable plaza, about 80 minutes north of San Francisco on Highway 101. Taste in Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, and the Russian River Valley without changing lodging, shop the farmers market at the new pavilion, and swim at Veterans Memorial Beach when the summer dam is up. The homes we manage sit a short drive from the square.
Napa
Things to Do in Napa, California — A Local Team's Guide
Napa is the city at the south end of Napa Valley, about 75 minutes north of San Francisco. Eat at Oxbow, walk the downtown tasting rooms, and reserve a Stags Leap tasting on the Silverado Trail. The 19 homes we manage are condos at Silverado Resort on Atlas Peak Road. Downtown is a 10-to-15-minute drive, not a stroll.
Sebastopol
Things to Do in Sebastopol, California — A Local Team's Guide
Sebastopol is a Sonoma County apple town west of Santa Rosa, about 75 minutes north of San Francisco. Spend the day at The Barlow, walk Florence Avenue for the junk-art sculptures, and shop the Sunday farmers market on the plaza. The four homes we manage sit on farm roads outside town. Downtown is a short drive, not a walk.
Santa Rosa
Things to Do in Santa Rosa, California — A Local Team's Guide
Santa Rosa is Sonoma County's largest city, about 60 minutes north of San Francisco on Highway 101. Start in Railroad Square, spend an afternoon at the Schulz Museum or Spring Lake, and eat on Fourth Street. The four homes we manage sit north and east of downtown. Fourth Street is a drive, not a walk.
Sonoma
Things to Do in Sonoma, California — A Local Team's Guide
Sonoma the town sits at the south end of Sonoma Valley, about an hour north of San Francisco. Walk the eight-acre Plaza, step into the Mission and Barracks, and take the Overlook Trail before it gets hot. The three homes we manage are a short drive from Spain Street. Park once downtown and spend the day on foot.