Today I want to share my itinerary for 2 days in Sonoma with you. This county in Northern California has everything from rolling hills to beautiful coastline and pretty towns. It’s best known for its vineyards, which blanket the landscape and produce some of the highest quality wines in the United States. If you’re curious, read on for my Sonoma itinerary for 2 days in wine country.
2 Days in Sonoma
I’m home in San Francisco, and one of my favorite things to do while I’m here is drive up to Sonoma for a couple days. This area ranks among the most beloved local places in California, and it’s so close to the City by the Bay it’s impossible to resist a trip.
I’m spending 2 days in Sonoma with a friend to celebrate my birthday, and we’re excited to see what the county has in store for us. If the trip is anywhere near as good as the 3 days in Sonoma I spent a while back, it’s going to be an unforgettable experience.
Day 1
We drive up to Sonoma at noon, leaving San Francisco after the morning rush hour to avoid traffic. We’re staying in Healdsburg, which is just an hour’s drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Olompali State Historic Park
On the way up to Sonoma Valley, we can’t help stopping off for a quick hike. The area north of the city is rife with trails, and we’re itching to get some exercise ahead of eating and drinking our way through wine country.
We pull off at Olompali State Historic Park, a 700-acre area to the south of Sonoma in Marin County. This place not only has hiking trails, but also fascinating history.
Olompali has been continuously inhabited since around 500 A.D., and the historic buildings on the property have been owned and rented by everyone from Native Americans to the Grateful Dead.
We spend a couple hours climbing up the lower hillside of Mt. Burdell on the 2.4-mile (3.9-kilometer) Miwok Loop Trail. On the way we pass a recreated Coast Miwok village and an abundance of wildflowers.
At the top we’re rewarded with beautiful views of San Pablo Bay and the local area. It’s a great start to our trip.
Healdsburg
Hike completed, we continue the first of our 2 days in Sonoma County by driving the rest of the way up to Healdsburg.
When we arrive, we check into our hotel in Healdsburg, SingleThread, which is just off the main square. It’s housed in a former post office building, and our spacious guest room has high ceilings and beautiful decor.
After getting settled in, we take a walk around town. Healdsburg is known for its tasting rooms, high-end boutiques, award-winning restaurants, upscale hotels, and leafy central plaza.
It’s been one of my favorite places in wine country since I visited once while spending 48 hours in Sonoma.
We spend an hour popping in and out of clothing stores, bookshops, treasure troves full of antiques, and cellar doors. We pick up delicious slices of carrot cake loaf at a coffee shop called Black Oak Coffee Roasters as we go.
In the evening we’re booked in for a birthday dinner at our hotel. The restaurant at SingleThread has 3 Michelin stars, and we can’t wait to experience its renowned Japanese-influenced cuisine.
Led by husband-and-wife team Kyle and Katina Connaughton, the restaurant serves food cooked by him and farmed locally by her.
Our 10-course tasting menu at SingleThread starts with one of the most beautiful arrangements I’ve ever seen. Tiny ceramic bowls cover a multi-level wooden board adorned with foliage and flowers.
From shiso-leaf sushi to tiny Japanese squid, each one offers a bite of pure heaven (and a teaser of what’s to come).
From there the meal moves on to kaiseki-style dining, including dishes of Siberian caviar with lotus root and hamaguri clam with silken tofu. My favorite of the night is steamed black cod with peas, morels, and yuba tofu skin.
Afterwards my friend and I float up to our room and dream of nori seaweed pesto and rhubarb-and-chamomile sweets.
Day 2
The next morning our 2 days in Sonoma continue with another culinary treat: a Japanese-style breakfast in our room.
The SingleThread breakfast is as legendary as its dinner, and the table in our kitchenette quickly fills with everything from pesto rice to bone dashi broth and Japanese omelet. It all goes down a treat with a pot of oolong tea.
Wine Tasting in Sonoma County
Fueled for the day, we check out of the hotel and start wine tasting. Our first stop is Montagne Russe, a winery just down the road at Bacchus Landing. This space is home to a number of tasting rooms situated around a central courtyard.
We stop by to try some of their Pinot Noirs and Syrahs, my favorite of which is the 2020 “Quatre Cinq Un”. It’s a cool-climate Pinot sourced from a vineyard in Santa Barbara’s Santa Rita Hills. I can’t help getting some to take home with me.
From Montagne Russe we continue down Westside Road to go wine tasting in Russian River at a small family-owned winery called Porter Creek Vineyards. The outdoor tables sit right next to the vines, and we feel lucky to get to sip right at the source.
With sunshine overhead, lush plants and flowers around us, and two adorable dogs to keep us company, we let the laid-back feel of the place wash over us.
The wines are to our liking, too. We try a range of them, from Chardonnay to Viognier, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel. We buy two bottles before heading off to continue our 2 days in Sonoma with a final tasting.
This one is at Boheme Wines, which has a cellar door in a small town called Occidental in western Sonoma County. This place focuses on producing fine wines from the Coast Range of Occidental, and they farm all their vines by hand.
We’re lucky enough to do a tasting with the owner-winemaker himself. Kurt Beitler is from a line of California winemakers going all the way back to his great-great-grandfather.
Kurt founded Boheme in 2004 and has been impressing both aficionados and enthusiasts ever since. We’re no exception.
We enjoy every wine from his rose to his Pinot Noirs as he walks us through his winemaking process and answers our questions about everything from whole-cluster pressing to how he chose the name Boheme.
Afterwards we buy a few bottles before heading outside to take in the historic buildings in Occidental.
Sonoma Coast
Our itinerary for 2 days in Sonoma continues as we drive up Coleman Valley Road to get to the Pacific Ocean. Once there, we head down the famous Highway 1, passing stunning beaches on the way to Bodega Bay.
When we arrive, we can’t help stopping for a snack at Spud Point Crab Company. This place is known for its seafood, and we tuck into the award-winning clam chowder and a bowl of crab cocktail.
We enjoy it all at a picnic table overlooking the harbor, soaking up the California sunshine as we remark on how good it tastes.
Back in the car, we continue down the Sonoma Coast towards San Francisco. As Sonoma County becomes Marin County, we drive along Tomales Bay and stop to photograph the famous Point Reyes Shipwreck and the town of Point Reyes Station.
Farther south, we stop for dinner at the Pelican Inn in Muir Beach. It feels like a classic British pub that’s been transported to Northern California.
We tuck into pub fare at a wooden table by the fireplace, then continue our drive through the winding hills and over the Golden Gate Bridge to get back to San Francisco.
2 Days in Sonoma
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our Sonoma itinerary for the 2 days we spent in wine country. From the excellent food and drinks to the natural landscapes and picturesque towns, it’s given us a great overview of what the county has to offer.
But as always, it’s left me wanting to go back and see more. From the towns we drove through to the wineries we passed by, I could have spent far more time exploring. Which is why I’m sure I’ll be back again soon. I’ll tell you all about it when I go.
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