While You Are Here
We hope you’ll take the time to enjoy some of the things Northern California has to offer!
On Your Way Up
Healdsburg
Technically part of Sonoma County, this lovely town is where we’re having our rehearsal dinner, and where we’ve spent many a romantic getaway weekend. All the well-deserved fuss is centered around a charming square with lots of boutiques, wine bars, lunch spots and places to stay. If you have time, consider adding a day or night onto your trip and spending it in Healdsburg. One of our top recommendations is Spoonbar at the h2hotel, designed by San Francisco architect David Baker. The hotel loans guests gorgeous Public Bikes, which is a great way to see the town and countryside!
Other Healdsburg recommendations include Scopa and Ravenous (for both dinner and brunch).
Point Reyes Station and Tomales Bay
These gems require a detour from Highway 101, but at only 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s a quick trip! And so worth the views, the hiking, and did we mention the oysters?! Just don’t fill up too much to enjoy stops at Cowgirl Creamery and Osteria Stellina.
Good Local Food
Bluebird Cafe
Hopland – This cute diner is a favorite stop on our way home from annual camping trips. Burgers, fries, brunch, and pie.
Burger My Way
Hopland – A roadside burger stand tucked behind a gas station! Looks a little iffy, but it’s the real deal with gigantic double-stacked burgers, shakes and fries.
City of Ten Thousand Buddhas Jyun Kang Restaurant
Talmage – The vegan fare grown and prepared on-site by the Buddhist monks gets incredibly high marks from reviewers.
Mendocino Brewing Company Ale House
Ukiah – Relocated from Hopland (where a downy mildew drove out the hops-growing industry in t he ’50s), this local Ale House just re-opened in June up the road in Ukiah. Offering many locally brewed lagers and ales and possibly food too, all in a shady beer garden.
Oco Time
Ukiah – What, good sushi in Ukiah?? Apparently! We haven’t check out this one yet but it gets rave reviews.
Patrona
Ukiah – The “most happening place downtown” in Ukiah. Patrona is the town’s premier restaurant, and their bar is supposed to be fabulous.
Unique Sights
Solar Living Institute
Hopland – The town’s main attraction is a 12-acre, hands-on site devoted to the advancement of sustainable energy and environmental education. In addition to training in solar and workshops in sustainable living, they offer tours of the Solar Living Center, where you can learn about new solar and wind power technologies, organic gardening, and permaculture.
City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
Talmage – What was once a state asylum is now the hub of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association. Peacocks roam the grassy campus freely, and zen monks and nuns inhabit the now-serene space, where visitors are welcome daily from 8am to 6pm. The vegan restaurant is open every day but Tuesday.
Meyer Family Cellars Harvest Release Party
Yorkville – An annual harvest celebration for the release of the exclusive Bonny’s Vineyard Oakville Cabernet along with other wines including Yorkville Syrah and Petite Sirah, Oakville Cabernets, California Port, and Anderson Valley Chardonnay. Just a few minutes away in Yorkville, this event is free and happens around lunchtime just before the wedding festivities, from 11am til 3pm. Bring a picnic!
Philo Apple Farm
An hour northwest of Campovida, you can visit one of the Anderson Valley’s last apple orchards! They also run mid-week classes (one falls the Wednesday before our wedding), family farm activities and a little inn with adorable cottages. If you can’t make it that far, you can try their yummy jams and chutneys at San Francisco’s Ferry Building Farmer’s Market.
Spas and Hot Springs
Vichy Springs
Beautiful resort with famous “champagne” hot springs. There are also sweet cabins in which to stay.
Orr Hot Springs
A bit of a drive, but so worth it! This place has the baths, but it also has all the amenities including running water, cottages, and lush gardens. A real getaway.
Hiking and Outdoor Activity
Vichy Springs Trails
The hot springs resort offers over 700 acres of trails, including one to Chemisal Falls (above). The resort offers day use of their facilities which includes access to the baths, and recommend several of their trails at sunrise or sunset.
Lake Mendocino Recreation Area
The lake offers over 15 miles of trails along the coast plus tent and RV campgrounds and boating facilities. October is the beginning of the off-season, so this usually bustling playground will be a prime spot for peace and quiet when you’re up here!
Mendocino National Forest
The only one of California’s National Forests that’s uncrossed by paved roads, it’s a bastion of tranquility and solitude. An hour or two’s drive from Campovida will get you to numerous hikes and fishing at several lakes.
Wine Tasting and Tours
Magnanimus Wine Group Tasting Room
You won’t have to go far for your first sip! Magnanimus’s tasting room located right on site at Campovida. They’re open daily from Open daily 11am-5pm, and you can also taste beautiful olive oil and yummy honey harvested on the grounds.
Jeriko Estate Winery
Open every day for tours and tasting, 10:00am to 5:00pm, $10.
Owner Daniel Fetzer’s award-winning Brut Rose is America’s first and only Blanc de Noir created from 100% organically grown and certified Pinot Noir grapes.
Saracina Vineyards
John Fetzer’s small-production California certified organic winery boasts the first wine caves in Mendocino County. Ben and I spent last Valentine’s Day wandering the caves, sipping wine with chocolates and snacking on oysters. Our favorite wine of theirs, Atrea The Choir, has sold out, so if you see any available, snatch it up!
Nelson Family Vineyards
This passionate family is committed to organic farming, and produce only ultra-small batches using sustainable and organic practices in their vineyards. They are also part of the Fish Friendly Farming program in California. Open daily from 10am to 5pm for tastings.
Sip! Tasting Room
Try all the delicious Mendocino wines in one spot! Open every day from 11am til 6pm for tastings or full glasses on the patio. Also serving cold Mendo-brewed beers – this is Hopland after all.
A Little Further Out
Fort Bragg
This Mendocino attraction is further north along the coast, and highlights include the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and the totally unique Glass Beach.
Clear Lake
At the heart of the aptly-named Lake County, Clear Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in California and one of the most ancient lakes on the North American continent — possibly the world — with lakes existing at the site of Clear Lake for approximately 2.5 million years. More than 100 miles of shoreline, an average depth of 28 feet, constant water renewal due to tectonic plate activity below the lake bottom, geothermal hot springs, and nutrient-rich waters all are credited with Clear Lake’s legacy of having more fish per acre than any other lake in the country. It’s a watersport, fishing and nature lovers’ paradise!
