Russian River and Sonoma Coast Weekend Guide

Take US-101 north past Santa Rosa to River Road, then west to Guerneville. Highway 116 through Sebastopol is an alternative.

• Day 1: Armstrong Redwoods, an afternoon paddle or river beach, dinner in Guerneville
• Day 2: Highway 116 to Jenner and Goat Rock, then Highway 1 south to Bodega Bay
• Extra half day: Fort Ross and Timber Cove, north of Jenner

The Pioneer Nature Trail passes the Parson Jones Tree, the tallest in the reserve at over 310 feet, and the Colonel Armstrong Tree, about 1,400 years old.

Most people walk a 1.5 to 2 mile loop on the Pioneer and East Ridge connector trails. Allow an hour.

There’s a day-use fee per vehicle at the kiosk. Parking at the visitor center lot outside the gate and walking in is free.

Summer weekends fill the inner lots by late morning. Arrive before 10 a.m. or in the last two hours of daylight.

The East Ridge and Pool Ridge trails climb steeply into Austin Creek State Recreation Area. The Bullfrog Pond road is not for trailers or large RVs.

Burke’s Canoe Trips in Forestville runs a self-guided float of about 10 miles toward Guerneville, with a shuttle back to your car. Plan on 3 to 5 hours.

Reserve ahead for summer weekends.

Johnson’s Beach, below the Guerneville bridge, rents kayaks, canoes and inner tubes in summer.

Monte Rio Beach is 4 miles downstream under the “Vacation Wonderland” sign. Steelhead Beach Regional Park near Forestville is quieter.

Goat Rock Road, just south of Jenner, drops to the river mouth; the north lot faces the seal colony.

Blind Beach, off the same road, is a steeper walk to a wilder cove.

Pups are born on the sandbar in spring and early summer. A pup alone is usually not abandoned; the mother is feeding nearby.

River’s End in Jenner has oceanfront cottages and a restaurant with a sunset view, which I featured. It was serving dinner only, a few nights a week, when I posted, so check Resy.

North of Jenner, Highway 1 climbs tight switchbacks with few guardrails. Fort Ross State Historic Park, a Russian fort built in 1812, is about 12 miles up, and Timber Cove is a few miles beyond. For farther north, see my Mendocino weekend guide.

Timber Cove Resort sits on a cliff over the ocean. Its restaurant, Coast Kitchen, serves three meals to non-guests too.

Westshore Road leads to Bodega Head, with bluff trails and gray whale views in winter and spring.

Spud Point Crab Company, across from the marina, serves clam chowder and crab sandwiches. Go before noon on weekends.

Doran Regional Park has a calmer bay-side beach. Hitchcock filmed The Birds here and in Bodega in the early 1960s, and the old schoolhouse still stands.