From ancient redwoods and rugged coastline to world-class performance venues and beloved local landmarks, there's a lot to discover beyond the tasting room.
Most lists of things to do in Santa Rosa open with wine, and then stop. That undersells the place. Santa Rosa is the largest city in Sonoma County, California, and it carries the museums, parks and civic history that come with being the county's center of gravity rather than one of its weekend destinations.
Two names anchor the city's reputation, and neither is a winery. Charles M. Schulz drew Peanuts here for decades, and Luther Burbank ran his plant breeding work from a garden on Santa Rosa Avenue. Around those sit an old-growth redwood reserve, a wildlife preserve, two large parks on the eastern edge of town, and a downtown compact enough to cover on foot between Old Courthouse Square and the Railroad Square historic district.
Browse the full attractions list →Winter and the shoulder seasons are when the indoor half of the city earns its place. The Schulz Museum, the Museum of Sonoma County and the downtown tasting rooms are all under a roof, and the walk between them is short enough to do in weather. Quieter months also mean easier tables and more attention wherever you go.
Neither of the names that anchor this city is a winery. Both left institutions behind that are still open, and the county museum sits downtown between them.
Browse the full attractions list →Built around the work of the Peanuts creator, who lived and drew in Santa Rosa for decades. It treats the strip as a body of work rather than as nostalgia, and it holds children's attention properly.
On the list →The horticulturist's house and the experimental garden he worked in. If you have ever eaten a plum or a potato variety he developed, the garden is a stranger and better visit than it sounds.
On the list →Art exhibitions and the county's own history under one roof, a few streets from the square. It slots easily into a morning that ends with lunch nearby.
On the list →Trione-Annadel State Park, reached from Channel Drive, gives you miles of trail rising straight off the eastern edge of town, on foot or by bike. Spring Lake Park on Newanga Avenue sits alongside it and is the gentler option. The two connect, so you can start soft and go as far as you feel like.
Further out, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve at Guerneville holds old-growth coast redwoods, and it pairs naturally with a Russian River day. Safari West on Porter Creek Road is the outlier, a wildlife preserve running guided tours across open country.
The city's real advantage is what it is close to. Three directions take you somewhere completely different, and each works as a day out with a return to the same room.
Each can be done without an early start. The wineries near Santa Rosa page covers what to add on the way.
Wine country, but also two figures who worked here. Charles M. Schulz drew Peanuts in Santa Rosa for decades and is remembered at the Schulz Museum on Hardies Lane, and Luther Burbank ran his plant breeding work from the home and gardens on Santa Rosa Avenue. It is also the largest city in Sonoma County.
Yes, particularly as a base. Four wine appellations meet around the city, the coast and the Russian River are both a day trip away, and the downtown holds museums, restaurants and tasting rooms inside a walkable few blocks.
The Charles M. Schulz Museum is the strongest draw for families. Safari West runs guided tours across a wildlife preserve and has tent cabins on site, and Spring Lake Park on Newanga Avenue gives you easy paths and a lake for the quieter part of the day.
The Sonoma Coast lies west of the city and Bodega Bay is the usual destination, comfortably reachable as a day trip and back. Armstrong Redwoods at Guerneville sits along the same general route if you want to combine redwoods with the coast.
The downtown core around Old Courthouse Square holds restaurants, bars and tasting rooms within a few blocks of each other, with Railroad Square a short walk west. The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts on Mark West Springs Road programs touring theater and music.