Town Guide · Sonoma County · Modern Love Living
Where wine country runs into the Pacific.
A working harbor, a cliffside inn, oysters at the wharf, and the Sonoma Coast AVA pulling cold-ocean character into pinot just over the ridge.
The brief
Bodega Bay is the wine-country trip that pretends to be a beach trip and ends up being both. The Sonoma Coast AVA, high-elevation and fog-cooled, produces some of the most distinct pinots in California. The Inn at the Tides has been the cliffside answer since 1962. Drakes Sonoma Coast pulls oysters out of the bay you can see from your table. Bodega Head is the headland walk. Hitchcock filmed The Birds at the schoolhouse up the road. This is the trip for people who want pinot and a horizon, the only wine-country weekend where you can taste in the morning and watch whales after lunch.
What to do
Experience 01
A dozen Kumamoto, a glass of Russian River chardonnay, the harbor view.
Experience 02
Two miles around the headland. The whole Pacific on your left.
Experience 03
Drive 20 minutes inland to Annapolis or Occidental for the cold-climate estates.
Experience 04
A bowl on the wharf. The line is the line. Worth it.
Experience 05
A blanket, the long crescent of sand, the cold Pacific behind it.
Experience 06
Birdwalk Coastal Access Trail: a flat loop over the marsh, herons, and the light going pink over the bay.
Where to stay
The legacy stay
Cliffside, fireplaces, the pool that overlooks the Pacific.
The boutique stay
Quiet, classic, the right answer for the second-anniversary trip.
The private rental
The Sea Ranch is its own destination — but rentable cabins make a base for the longer trip.
The inn
Simple rooms and cottages above the harbour. Unfussy, and the water is right there.
Where to eat
Gourmet Au Bay
Wine bar with morning espresso. The harbor side.
Spud Point Crab Company
The clam chowder, the crab roll, no chairs, no problem.
Drakes Sonoma Coast
In The Lodge. The seafood tower, the pinot list, the view at sunset.
Terrapin Creek Café
Slow Food, off the highway, the most considered dinner in town.
Patrick's Salt Water Taffy
Not dinner. Buy a bag for the drive home.
The tasting list
Sonoma Coast
Estate tasting at the Healdsburg house, but the fruit comes from these ridges. Order the cliff vineyard pinot.
Sonoma Coast
By appointment, deep into the coast hills. A pilgrimage tasting.
Sonoma Coast
The Russian-history-themed estate above the Pacific. Singular tasting.
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Experiences provided by Viator, a Tripadvisor company. Modern Love Living may earn a commission on bookings made through these links, at no extra cost to you.
The honest answers
Two-night Healdsburg or Sonoma, drive Bohemian Highway, two-night Bodega Bay. The drive itself is the connector.
Tasting rooms are limited in town, but Sonoma Coast AVA wineries are 20 to 60 minutes inland, and the ones that pour at the coast are some of the most prestigious in California.
Gray whales migrate December through April. January and March are the windows from Bodega Head.
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