Town Guide · Sonoma County · Modern Love Living
The valley's quietest mile, with a state park behind it.
A wide-shouldered stretch of Highway 12, three serious wineries, and Sugarloaf Ridge in the hills above. Kenwood is the part of Sonoma Valley that still feels like ranchland.
The brief
Kenwood is what you drive through to get from Glen Ellen to Santa Rosa, and the trip everyone regrets not stopping for. Chateau St. Jean has gardens. Kunde has caves. Sugarloaf Ridge State Park has the only dark-sky observatory in the valley. The food is small — Salt & Stone, Café Citti — and the wineries are the kind that pour you a glass and leave you alone with it. Kenwood is a half-day add-on to a Sonoma weekend that quietly becomes the favorite half-day.
What to do
Experience 01
A jeep up to the mountaintop estate, then down into 32,000 sq ft of caves.
Experience 02
The Robert Ferguson Observatory runs Saturday-night programs you should plan around.
Experience 03
Two miles, 250 feet of climb, the whole valley laid out at the top.
Experience 04
The garden is built for it. Bring the cheese plate from Sonoma Cheese on the way in.
Experience 05
A sloped-roof barn at the side of the highway. Steaks, a list, the long table.
Where to stay
The inn
Tuscan-styled small inn, garden hot pool, an honest spa.
The private rental
Most overnight stays are private homes or use Glen Ellen / Sonoma as a base.
Where to eat
Café Citti
Roadside Italian deli. The pastries, the coffee, the regulars at the counter.
The Kenwood Restaurant
White-tablecloth lunch in a vineyard. A glass of the Kenwood pinot.
Salt & Stone
Sloped-roof barn at the side of the highway. The steak, the list.
VJB Cellars
Italian-villa courtyard, market, pizza, easy long lunch.
The tasting list
Sonoma Valley
Famous gardens. Picnic-allowed. The Cinq Cépages cab is the answer.
Sonoma Valley
The mountaintop tasting and the cave tour are both worth doing.
Sonoma Valley
Five-course pairing lunch. One of the great wine-country experiences and underbooked.
From the magazine
Weekend Guide · Sonoma
The weekend that remembers why you picked each other.
Read · 8 min →The honest answers
Day trip from Sonoma or Glen Ellen. Kenwood Inn is excellent for a quiet two-night, but most travelers base elsewhere and visit.
St. Francis pairing lunch, then Sugarloaf Ridge for sunset. Two appointments, an entire afternoon.
No. Kenwood is a stretch of Highway 12 with serious vineyards on both sides. That is the appeal.
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