Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SONOMA VALLEY
We have a soft spot for Sonoma's folksy ways. Unlike in fancy Napa, nobody cares if you
drive a clunker and vote Green. Locals call it 'Slow-noma.' Anchoring the bucolic
17-mile-long Sonoma Valley, the town of Sonoma makes a great jumping-off point for ex-
ploring Wine Country - it's an hour from San Francisco - and has a marvelous sense of
place, with storied 19th-century historical sights surrounding the state's largest town
square. Halfway up-valley, tiny Glen Ellen is straight from a Norman Rockwell painting -
in stark contrast to the valley's northernmost town, Santa Rosa, the workaday urban center
best known for traffic. If you have more than a day, explore Sonoma's quiet, rustic western
side, along the Russian River Valley, and continue to the sea.
Sonoma Hwy/Hwy 12 is lined with wineries, and runs from Sonoma to Santa Rosa, then
to western Sonoma County; Arnold Dr has less traffic (but few wineries) and runs parallel,
up the valley's western side, to Glen Ellen.
