Travel Times & Tips

Beautiful field with old fashion wooden fence with forest in the distance

Adventure Insights

  • Mendocino County is approximately the size of Napa, Sonoma, Alameda, and Marin counties combined … it’s a big place!

  • Take your time on the curvy country roads and pull over for faster traffic.

  • The adventure starts when you get in your car. Relax and enjoy the ride!

  • Drive times:

    • 3.45 from Sacramento.

    • 3.30 hours from San Francisco,

    • 4.15 from San Jose

Where to Stop Along the Way

If you’re coming from the Bay Area you’ll travel through Healdsburg, Geyserville, and Anderson Valley. All have good spots to stop, grab a bite, and stretch your legs. Our top food spots for this season include:

in healdsburg

Barn Diva - (707) 771-9481
Modern country cuisine with beautiful patio dining

Chalkboard - (707) 473-8030
Small plates showcasing ingredients sourced from local purveyors and farms—just-picked salads, handmade pastas, roasted and grilled meats

Campofina - (707) 395-4640
California farm to table meets northern Italian rustic… we love their food over a game of bocce ball.

Bravas Bar de Tapas - (707) 433-7700
Traditional Spanish and modern tapas-style dining by James Beard finalists - Mark and Terri Stark.


In Geyserville (10 miles north of healdsburg)

Diavola Pizzeria (707) 814-0111
We love this place for their incredible pizza, salads and house cured meats.


About an hour further north you’ll hit Boonville and Philo. Think apple orchards, grazing sheep, vineyards, historic fairground, it’s upscale, rural and welcoming. Our favorite haunts include:

in boonville and philo (anderson valley, 1 hour north of healdsburg)

The Boonville Hotel & Restaurant (707) 895-2210 www.boonvillehotel.com
In Boonville. The restaurant in the Boonville hotel serves family style prix fixe meals that our campers are screaming about. Lunch is only served on Sundays but dinner is Thursday through Monday evenings during the summer months.

Boonville General Store (707) 895-9477 www.boonvillegeneralstore.com
In Boonville. We love this place for a late breakfast or lunch. Soups, Salads, Sandwiches and lots of tempting sides. It’s all homemade and extremely good.

Mosswood Market (707) 895-3635
In Boonville. Great place to stop for coffee and baked goods.

The Boonville Distillery (707) 895-3869 www.boonvilledistillery.com
In Boonville. Two restaurants in one space: Bistro (classics with a California twist) and Fiesta (Mexican by local culinary icon, Libby). Also the only full bar in the area.


Shops

Farmhouse Mercantile (707) 895-3996 (adjacent to Mosswood Market) farmhouse128.com
Offering a beautifully retrained collection of homewares, clothing, and jewelry. Well worth the stop,


Ice cream & Cheese

Paysanne (707) 895-2210, Fri-Mo 11-6pm sweetpaysanne.com
Yummmm is all we can say about this French inspired ice cream shop featuring organic ice cream, freshly baked treats, natural candies & confections

Pennyroyal Farm (707) 895-2410 pennyroyalfarm.com
Their yummy goat and sheep’s milk cheeses are a good addition to any camp provisions. They also offer a lovely lunch. Call ahead for availability.


Beer

Anderson Valley Brewing Co. (707) 895-2337 avbc.com

We love their Gose styled beers, Whiskey Barrel Aged Stout and frisbee golf. It’s a bonus that they’re super dog friendly, especially at this stage of the journey.


Farm Stand

The Apple Farm (707) 895-2333 philoapplefarm.com

At the Hendy Woods turnoff in Philo (bit farther north). Truly worth a stop if traveling through during apple season from late August - October.


Anderson Valley Wineries


The Home stretch

From Boonville you have another 45 minutes. Prepare for more winding roads as you enter the redwoods where you’ll follow the Navarro River to the mouth of the Pacific Ocean, then continue for a few miles north on Highway 1 to arrive at the end of your journey.