Things to Do in Santa Rosa, California
In short
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.
Written by the Casago Sonoma team — we manage 4 homes in Santa Rosa and answer guest texts about downtown and dinner seven days a week.
Last updated August 18, 2026 · Last checked on the ground August 18, 2026
Know before you go
- This is the county seat
- Santa Rosa is a real city with a hospital and more than one dinner neighborhood. It is not a plaza tasting town. Save the square of reservations for Healdsburg. Come here for Railroad Square, Fourth Street, and a lake you can walk in the same day.
- Our houses are a drive from Fourth Street
- Delamere, Jewell, James, and Leslie sit north and east of downtown, not in Railroad Square. Fourth Street is a short drive from each of them. If you need dinner without a car, read the listing before you book.
- Summer afternoons run hot
- July and August inland often sit in the nineties. The museum and the taproom are the cool rooms. Courthouse Square after five is when you want the lighter shirt. Walk the lake in the morning if that is the outdoor hour.
- Late summer is fire season
- Dry grass around town goes gold by August. Cook on the grill that came with the house, stay beside it, and make sure it is cold before you walk away.
- Wednesday night is market night
- The Wednesday Night Market takes Courthouse Square from May 13 through August 12, 2026, starting at 5. Food stalls, a kids zone, and a live band. If you want downtown at its loudest, come Wednesday.
- Milk is on Fourth Street
- Santa Rosa has a real supermarket. Buy groceries in the city on the way to the house.
Things to Do in Santa Rosa, California
Railroad Square
Start in the old warehouse blocks west of 101. The district is on the National Register, the SMART train stops here, and the streets are short enough to park once. Walk the brick, get a coffee, and decide if the afternoon is the museum or the lake. This is the downtown most guests ask us how to spend first.
Around Fourth Street and Wilson, west of Highway 101. Ten to twenty minutes from the homes we manage.
Official siteCharles M. Schulz Museum
The Peanuts museum sits at 2301 Hardies Lane, next to the ice rink where Schulz skated. You get original strips, a recreation of his studio, and a theater that still runs the specials. Closed Tuesday every week of the year. Adults are $15 at the door. Tickets are not sold online. If anyone in the car grew up on the Sunday page, this is the afternoon. Budget two hours, plus the snack next door if the kids still have energy.
2301 Hardies Lane, north Santa Rosa, near the airport road.
Official siteLuther Burbank Home & Gardens
The gardens open every day at 204 Santa Rosa Avenue, across from City Hall. Entry is free. The rose beds are why people linger. Cottage tours run April through October.
204 Santa Rosa Avenue, downtown, at Sonoma Avenue.
Official siteSpring Lake Regional Park
A 2.3-mile paved loop circles the reservoir, with dirt connectors into Howarth Park and Trione-Annadel. The swimming lagoon and the inflatable water park run Memorial Day through Labor Day. Swimming in the lagoon is free. Dogs stay leashed on the trails and out of the lagoon.
North entrance 393 Violetti Road. South entrance 5585 Newanga Avenue.
Official siteSafari West
A 400-acre wildlife preserve on the north side of town. You climb into an open-air vehicle and ride past giraffe, zebra, rhino, cape buffalo, and wildebeest, then walk the aviary and the cheetah habitat. The classic tour is about two hours in the truck plus a 45-minute walk. Kids need to be four for the drive. It is a full afternoon, and it is a drive from Fourth Street.
3115 Porter Creek Road, north Santa Rosa.
Official siteEat & drink
Bird & The Bottle
A Fourth Street tavern with a wood-fired grill. Come for the fried chicken, a pastrami bun, or the San Francisco-style garlic noodles. Cocktails by the shaker if you are sharing the table. Open every day. Book a weekend night.
1055 Fourth Street, between College and Brookwood.
Official siteRussian River Brewing Company
Come for Pliny the Elder and a pizza. The kitchen runs until 9. They have a second pub in Windsor — if the map sent you north, you wanted this Fourth Street room instead.
725 Fourth Street, downtown Santa Rosa.
Official siteThe Spinster Sisters
SOFA district dinner and a garden patio. Weekend brunch starts at 9:30 with no reservation. Burger night shows up when the tomatoes are in. Dinner runs Wednesday through Sunday. Monday and Tuesday, eat at Bird or the brewpub.
401 South A Street, in the SOFA arts district.
Official siteGroceries & essentials
Safeway Fourth Street
The Fourth Street Safeway at Farmers Lane is the store we send people to. Full aisles, a pharmacy, and a deli. Pull in on the drive from 101 if you are coming up from the south.
2751 Fourth Street, at Farmers Lane.
Official siteSutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Emergency Department
Santa Rosa has a hospital ER in the city. Sutter at 30 Mark West Springs Road is staffed around the clock. Dial 911 first.
30 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa.
Official siteA lake in town, and a hot afternoon
Spring Lake is the outdoor plan that does not require a west-county drive. Walk the paved loop in the morning, before the parking fee lot fills on summer weekends. Howarth Park is the playground connector if you have kids who still have legs after the museum.
Trione-Annadel starts at the back of the same park system if you want dirt and oaks instead of pavement. Carry water. The shade thins out by early afternoon.
The river and Highway 1 are day trips west. Keep the swim in the lagoon if you want water without leaving town.
Fourth Street before the heat sets up
We park in Railroad Square while the brick is still in shade. Coffee, a look at the depot, then a decision. Schulz if anyone in the car grew up on Peanuts. The lake if they brought shoes. Fourth Street for lunch either way, because the brewpub is open and the pizza comes out before the afternoon spike.
Wednesday in summer we skip the museum line and walk Courthouse Square at 5 instead. The band is the point. The kids zone holds the rest of the hour. We eat at the stalls and drive home before the lot on Hardies fills for the next morning.
From our team
- The ice rink next to the Schulz Museum is Snoopy's Home Ice. The Warm Puppy Cafe is the snack if the museum morning runs long.
- Pliny the Younger is February. If that is why you came, plan the line and a backup lunch. Elder is on tap the rest of the year.
- Raccoons still work the east-side decks. Bring the trash in. The payoff is a quiet backyard after the freeway noise drops.
- Safari West wants a reservation. Do not drive to Porter Creek and hope for a walk-up tour.
Santa Rosa questions
What is there to do in Santa Rosa?
Walk Railroad Square, visit the Schulz Museum, and circle Spring Lake. Luther Burbank's gardens are free downtown. Safari West is a booked wildlife tour on Porter Creek Road. Eat on Fourth Street at Bird & The Bottle or Russian River Brewing. Wednesday nights in summer, Courthouse Square holds the night market.
How far is Santa Rosa from San Francisco?
Santa Rosa is about 55 miles north of San Francisco, roughly 60 minutes on Highway 101, longer on Friday evenings. Healdsburg is about 20 minutes farther north. Sebastopol is about 15 minutes west. The city is in Sonoma County, not Napa.
What's the difference between Santa Rosa and Healdsburg?
Healdsburg is a walkable plaza wine town. Santa Rosa is the county seat, with a hospital, a larger dinner list, and attractions that are not tasting rooms. Stay in Santa Rosa if you want Schulz, Spring Lake, and Fourth Street. Drive north when you want the square and the three valleys.
Is Santa Rosa in wine country?
Yes. The city sits at the edge of the Russian River Valley, with Dry Creek and Alexander Valley to the north and Sonoma Valley to the south. Estate tasting rooms are a short drive. Downtown itself is Railroad Square and Fourth Street, not a plaza of walk-up rooms.
Is Santa Rosa good for kids?
The Schulz Museum and Spring Lake are the two stops families ask us about first. Howarth Park connects to the lake trails. The Wednesday Night Market has a kids zone in summer. Safari West works if you booked the tour. The homes we manage are houses, not downtown hotels.
Do you need a car in Santa Rosa?
Yes for the four homes we manage, for Spring Lake, and for Safari West. Downtown and Railroad Square work on foot after you park. SMART stops at the square if you are coming up from the south without a car for the day. Rideshare exists and gets thinner on the east-side streets after dinner.
