Things to Do in Healdsburg, California
In short
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.
Written by the Casago Sonoma team — we manage 6 homes in Healdsburg and answer guest texts about dinner reservations seven days a week.
Last updated August 18, 2026 · Last checked on the ground August 18, 2026
Know before you go
- Book the wineries and the dinner
- Most vineyard tasting rooms want a reservation. Downtown tasting rooms around the Plaza are the walk-up exception. SingleThread releases tables on the first of the month for the month that follows, and Valette fills weekend nights a week or two out. Don't count on a Saturday walk-in for either.
- The Plaza is walkable. Our homes are a drive.
- Downtown Healdsburg is a few blocks around the square, and you can park once and walk. The six homes we manage sit on Fitch Mountain, along the river, or out on vineyard roads. Plan on ten to twenty minutes in the car. Check the listing if you need to walk to dinner.
- This is fire country, and summer runs hot
- Use only the grill or fire feature that came with the house, and never leave it. Afternoons in town regularly climb past 90. Bring a layer for the air-conditioned tasting rooms and something lighter for the Plaza after dinner.
- The grocery is in town
- Safeway at 1115 Vine Street is a real supermarket a few minutes from the Plaza. The farmers market at the Foley Family Community Pavilion covers produce on Saturday mornings from April through December, and on Tuesdays in summer. You don't need a Santa Rosa grocery run.
- The river swim is a summer window
- Veterans Memorial Beach is a park year-round. The calm swim shows up when the seasonal dam goes in, from July through Labor Day. The rest of the year the Russian River is still there. It just isn't a marked swimming beach.
- Say it HEELDS-burg
- Named for Harmon Heald. HEELDS-burg. Not Hills-burg, and not Heed-less-burg.
Things to Do in Healdsburg, California
Healdsburg Plaza and the downtown tasting rooms
Start on the square. The Plaza is a few walkable blocks of tasting rooms, shops, and dinner, and it's the reason people call this a town instead of a resort. Park once. Walk the rest. The vineyard tasting rooms are a drive. These rooms are not. If you taste downtown, you can leave the car where it is.
Healdsburg Avenue and Center Street, the middle of town.
Official siteHealdsburg Farmers Market
The market left the parking lot and the Plaza lawn in 2026. Both days now live at the Foley Family Community Pavilion, 3 North Street, a short walk from the square. Saturdays run 8:30 to noon from April through December. Tuesdays run 9 to 1 from mid-May through September. North Street closes to cars on market mornings, so walk in from the Plaza.
3 North Street, Foley Family Community Pavilion.
Official siteTaste across three valleys
Healdsburg sits where Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, and the Russian River Valley meet. You can taste zinfandel, cabernet, and pinot in the same afternoon without changing towns. Reserve the vineyard rooms before you drive. Dry Creek starts at the west edge of town. Alexander Valley runs north and east. The Russian River Valley heads south and west toward Guerneville. Leave the car if you have already been tasting.
Valleys begin at the edge of town. Most vineyard rooms are 10–25 minutes from the Plaza.
Official siteHealdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach
The in-town river beach sits at 13839 Old Redwood Highway, just south of Memorial Bridge. The park opens at 7 AM and closes 30 minutes before sunset. A seasonal dam from July through Labor Day makes a marked swim, and lifeguards work Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Parking is $8 most of the year and $12 in summer. Dogs stay on the lawn and in the lot. They do not go on the sand or in the river. The lot fills by midday on summer weekends, so come early or have a second plan.
13839 Old Redwood Highway, a few minutes south of the Plaza.
Official siteRiverfront Regional Park
When the beach lot is full, drive to 7821 Eastside Road. The Lake Trail is about two miles around a pair of old gravel pits, and the Redwood Hill Trail is a half-mile through a grove by the picnic tables. You can fish or put a kayak on the lakes. Do not swim in them. Parking matches the other county river parks, $8 or $12 in summer. Leashed dogs are welcome. A stretch of the Lake Benoist Loop floods after rain, so check the park page before you count on a full loop.
7821 Eastside Road, between Healdsburg and Windsor.
Official siteHealdsburg Ridge Open Space
The public hike north of town covers about 150 acres of oak and grassland, with views back to Fitch Mountain and the river bend. Park on the neighborhood streets at the end of Parkland Farms Boulevard, then follow the signed trailhead. Bring water. There are no restrooms. Keep dogs leashed.
North of downtown via Healdsburg Avenue and Parkland Farms Boulevard.
Official siteEat & drink
SingleThread
SingleThread at 131 North Street is the 10-course room guests ask about first. It holds three Michelin stars. Bookings open on the first of the month for the month that follows. If dinner here is the point of the trip, set the reminder before you pack.
131 North Street, a block off the Plaza.
Official siteValette
Valette at 344 Center Street is the dinner you can actually get if you book a week or two ahead. The brothers grew up here, the kitchen runs on Sonoma farms, and the room serves dinner every night from 5. Weekend tables go first. Walk-ins happen on a quiet Tuesday, not a harvest Saturday.
344 Center Street, downtown Healdsburg.
Official siteJourneyman Meat Co.
Journeyman at 404 Center Street is the sandwich and salumi counter for a Plaza day. They don't take reservations, and they close Tuesday. Come for lunch or an early plate, then walk the square.
404 Center Street, downtown Healdsburg.
Official siteGroceries & essentials
Safeway Healdsburg
Safeway at 1115 Vine Street is the full supermarket, a few minutes from the Plaza. It has a pharmacy and a deli, and it keeps city hours. This is where you shop for the house.
1115 Vine Street, near Vine and North.
Official siteHealdsburg Hospital Emergency Department
For a medical emergency, call 911. Healdsburg Hospital at 1375 University Avenue has a 24-hour emergency room in town, the only fully equipped ER between Santa Rosa and Ukiah. That is a different fact from the river and coast towns, where the hospital run is half an hour.
1375 University Avenue, Healdsburg.
Official siteHeat, fire, and the river
Summer afternoons in Healdsburg run hotter than anything you packed for a coastal weekend. Drink water on the trails, and treat the Ridge hike as a morning walk in July.
This is fire country. Use only the grill or fire feature that came with the house, keep it attended, and put it out cold. One spark is the mistake this valley does not forgive.
The Russian River at Veterans Memorial Beach is a marked summer swim, not a pool. Life jackets on the kids. Stay out when the water is high or fast, and keep dogs off the sand and out of the river.
What a Saturday morning here actually looks like
We park once near the Plaza and walk to the pavilion while the market is still setting out peaches. Coffee in one hand, a bag of whatever looks best, then a slow loop of the square before the tasting rooms fill.
If it's July we drive the five minutes to Veterans Memorial Beach before the lot closes. If it isn't, we keep the car parked and spend the afternoon in Dry Creek, one reserved tasting, back in town before Valette's kitchen gets loud.
From our team
- One careless spark — use only the grill or fire feature that came with the house, and never leave it. Wine country does not forgive that mistake.
- Reserve the vineyard rooms. Downtown tasting rooms are the walk-up exception, not the rule for Dry Creek or Alexander Valley.
- Veterans Memorial Beach does not want your dog on the sand or in the river. Lawn and parking lot only.
- SingleThread drops tables on the first of the month. Set the reminder if that dinner is why you came.
- Deer and turkeys treat the yard like theirs. Enjoy them from the porch, don't feed them, and latch the trash.
Healdsburg questions
What is there to do in Healdsburg?
Walk the Plaza and the downtown tasting rooms, shop the farmers market at the Foley Family Community Pavilion, and reserve tastings in Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, or the Russian River Valley. In summer, swim at Veterans Memorial Beach when the dam is up. Riverfront Regional Park is the shady trail and picnic backup when the beach lot fills. Dinner on Center Street is the other half of the day. Book it.
How far is Healdsburg from San Francisco?
Healdsburg is about 70 miles north of San Francisco, roughly 75 to 90 minutes on Highway 101 depending on traffic. Santa Rosa is about 20 minutes south. Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport is about 15 minutes south. Guerneville is about 25 minutes west. The town is in Sonoma County, not Napa.
Is Healdsburg in Napa or Sonoma?
Sonoma County. Healdsburg sits at the north end of the county where Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, and the Russian River Valley meet. Napa Valley is a separate county to the east, about 45 minutes toward Calistoga or farther to downtown Napa. Guests mix them up because both are wine country. The Plaza, the hospital, and the farmers market are all Healdsburg, Sonoma.
Can you walk to downtown Healdsburg from the vacation homes?
Some rentals in town can. The six homes we manage cannot. They sit on Fitch Mountain, along the river, or on vineyard roads, ten to twenty minutes from the Plaza. Downtown itself is walkable once you park. Read the listing if walking to dinner is the plan.
Can you swim in Healdsburg?
Yes in summer, at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach. The park is open year-round. The marked swim appears when the seasonal dam goes in, from July through Labor Day, with lifeguards from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Parking is $8, or $12 in summer. Dogs stay off the sand and out of the river. Riverfront's lakes are for fishing and kayaks. Do not swim in them.
Do you need a car in Healdsburg, and does the SMART train stop here?
You need a car for vineyard tasting and for getting to the homes we manage. The Plaza and the downtown tasting rooms work on foot once you park. The SMART train does stop in Healdsburg. From the station you still need a ride to most houses and to the valleys. Rideshare exists and thins out after dinner, so don't count on a late pickup from Dry Creek.
