It may be a hole-in-the-wall eatery down a remote country lane. A delightful surprise tucked into a routine destination. The best little (fill in the blank) nobody else seems to know about. Or a great place to visit, right there in plain sight, yet never before noticed. These hidden things give Sonoma its texture, its substance, its je ne sais quoi. They’re what you find if you stay awhile, allow yourself to sink below the surface. And they’re yours for the seeking.
This is part of a series. To see all 87 things to do, places to go, stuff to see, drinks to enjoy, and foods to find, CLICK HERE.
Johnson’s Beach Alternative
Guerneville’s Johnson’s Beach may have the history, yet Monte Rio Beach on the north side of the Russian River below the bridge in Monte Rio is a favorite spot for frolicking families and kayakers looking for a soft, shallow spot to put in for a paddle. The concession stand and boat-rental facility are located in the parking lot. In summer, when river levels drop, the Monte Rio Recreation and Park District installs a wood boardwalk that connects these facilities to the water’s edge.
Highway 116, Monte Rio, 707-865-0400, mrrpd.org/monteriobeach.html
Cut the Rug with Flamingos
Sunday nights are salsa (and bachata) nights in The Flamingo Lounge, the retro bar inside the Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa in Santa Rosa. Every week, local salsa bands take over the lounge and crank out live music for smartly dressed dancers. The party usually starts at 7 p.m., when dance pros offer an hour of salsa lessons ($10 a person). Open dancing ($8) begins at 9 p.m., and usually stretches late into the evening. Order food before 9 p.m. and get 10 percent off.
2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 707-545-8530, flamingoresort.com
Jungle Freeloading
Safari prices start at $72 at Safari West, the 400-acre wild animal park in the Mayacamas Mountains east of Santa Rosa. But access to some of the park’s best animal habitats is free. Just a short walk from the parking lot are a porcupine, two cheetahs, a number of monkeys and a flamboyance of flamingoes. From the Savannah Grill, which is open to the public, one can gaze upon the giraffe habitat while having lunch.
3115 Porter Creek Road, Santa Rosa, 707-579-2551, safariwest.com
A Man of Many Faces
Sonoma’s George Webber isn’t really a defrocked Mexican generalissimo, though he plays one. Webber has for years made appearances at Sonoma events as the famous Gen. Mariano Vallejo, and expanded his “George Webber experience” to the Gen. Vallejo Walking Tour of the Sonoma Plaza. Webber’s got more than a beloved 19th-century land baron up his sleeve. He also brings to life Mark Twain, enologist Professor Vine and Count Agoston Haraszthy.
georgewebber.com
Pick Your Own
The last Sunday of every month is U-Pick day at Bloomfield Organics, the Petaluma produce mecca formerly known as Bloomfield Farms. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., pay $40 and pick as much as you can fit into a box (or bags) you bring from home. Up for grabs: Everything from peppers to tomatoes, carrots to cucumbers. Strawberries, eggs and plant starts are available for an extra cost; there’s also a pay-what-you-can brunch prepared by chef Matt Elias.
12550 Valley Ford Road, Bloomfield, 707-876-3261, bloomfieldorganics.com
Beer and Burlesque
What pairs well with a Lagunitas Imperial Stout? How about a sword swallower? The Daytime IPA goes great with a contorting burlesque dancer on a trapeze. Every August, Lagunitas Brewing’s Beer Circus in Petaluma celebrates steampunk weirdness, vaudeville spectacle and, of course, beer. More than 200 artists and performers, food purveyors and dozens of regional microbrews make this a can’t-miss festival, on Aug. 15 this year. Tickets sell out fast.
Lagunitas Brewing Co., 1280 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, 707-284-1020, lagunitas.com/beercircus
Birds and Burros
Odd animals are the attraction at the Bird Exchange and Honkey Donkey Farm, a popular stop for families on Hall Road in Santa Rosa. The Bird Exchange, a bird store and supply shop, has one of the largest selections of exotic avians in Northern California, hundreds at any given time. Next door, the Honkey Donkey Farm is home to more than 100 miniature Sicilian donkeys, pint-sized beasts that grow to an average 30 to 32 inches tall, making them a favorite among young kids who are about the same size.
5355 Hall Road, Santa Rosa, 707-575-0433, birdexchange.com
Lawful Speeding
Wednesday night is a drag, we know. But this time it’s in a good way. The Wednesday Night Drags at Sonoma Raceway is a safe (and legal) opportunity for teenagers and seniors alike to channel their inner Jeff Gordon and drive their vehicles fast and furious down the raceway’s quarter-mile strip, supervised by Bay Area law enforcement officers. The season runs March through November, 4 to 10 p.m.
29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 800-870-7223, racesonoma.com
It’s You and Not the Sky That’s Falling
The beauty of the Sonoma landscape takes on an even more precious quality from above, when you’re falling from the sky toward the Alexander Valley at 120 mph. This is the experience with NorCal Skydiving, an outfitter whose planes take off from the Cloverdale Municipal Airport. Once you jump and your chute deploys, the experience is eerily quiet. On clear days, you can see Mount Shasta and the Pacific Ocean on the way down. Prices start at $179.
220 Airport Road, Cloverdale, 888-667-2259, norcalskydiving.com
THROWBACKS
Swimming Pools of Our Youth
Remember the public pools when you were a kid? A big lawn, shrieks and splashes, a wading pool for tots, picnic benches where you ate sandwiches you made yourself? That’s Morton’s Warm Springs, an endearing, old-fashioned swimming pool (actually, there are two) fed by mineral springs and set against a backdrop of forested hills. It’s been keeping people cool since 1946. There is also a baseball field, volleyball court and horseshoe pit.
1651 Warm Springs Road, Glen Ellen, 707-833-5511, mortonswarmsprings.com
Groovy Racing
Slot-car racing didn’t die with America’s innocence in the 1960s. It’s alive and well in Rohnert Park, where Slot Car Raceway welcomes hobbyists to race their miniature model cars on slotted tracks, steered by hand-held controllers. While most enthusiasts leaped to more sophisticated iRacing on computers, Slot Car Raceway does it old school with its in-shop track and cases full of parts and equipment for home hobbyists. If you fondly recall your 1967 orange Manta Ray and spring-loaded plunger, this place is for you.
305 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park, 707-795-4156 scrhobbies.com
Hear That Whistle Blowin’
TrainTown chugs along on the margins of Sonoma, well off the upscale tourist routes. The quarter-scale steam train and track were built by the late Stanley Frank in 1968. Generations of kids have since thrilled to the 20-minute journey through the trees, over bridges and into tunnels, including a short layover in a miniature town complete with petting zoo. Near the station are more kiddie rides, including a Ferris wheel, carousel and dragon coaster. It’s for the kid in all of us.
20264 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-938-3912, traintown.com
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