Spring in Sonoma County – after winter rains, hills are velvety green, trees and flowers softly wave in the breeze, hello baby goats and lambs!
Come for a weekend, here’s our guide to picnics, hikes, bike rides, and best family events – Sonoma Farm Trails and Butter & Egg Days Parade.
Sonoma Farm Trails
Sonoma County is famous for its vineyards, but it’s also a fertile agricultural area, with family run farms that produce milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, honey, and cheese.
Farm Trails is a seasonal weekend event in spring (and fall), when farms are open to visit.
What a treat for kids, toddlers especially, to explore a working farm. See fluffy babydoll lambs and their moms romping through the fields, week old baby goats jumping around on hay bales, or curling up to rest after a long day (photo above). Take home fresh eggs in blue and green colors, honey, jams, juices and locally-made cheese.
One of our favorite farms is Redwood Hill Farm outside Sebastopol.
At the baby goat enclosure, children can pet and hold baby goats, fur is so soft! Buy goat milk cheese and yogurt, also honey from their hives.
Spring Farm Tour: Blossoms, Bees & Barnyard Babies is May 4 & 5, 2024. Check out website for info about farms on the tour.
Town of Sonoma
Just steps away from downtown Sonoma is Bartholomew Park, starting point for a fun hike in spring.
Bartholomew Park is a hidden gem, picnic tables under flowering trees, hills covered with oak and redwood trees, colorful wildflowers in spring.
Our favorite hike is a loop trail, that combines the Grape Stomp Trail going up, returning back down on the You-Walk Miwok Trail.
All the details, read our blog post: Sunday in Sonoma: Bartholomew picnic and hike
Our favorite bike ride is the Sonoma Valley Bike Trail.
Start at the downtown plaza, bike up to Bartholomew Park for a picnic, then bike out to Maxwell Farms Regional Park.
Starting at the plaza in downtown Sonoma, go east on Lovall Valley Rd. to Castle Rd. towards Bartholomew Park. At the fork in the road, turn left, you’ll see a parking lot, grass and picnic tables. Find a table under the trees, and spread out your picnic.
After lunch, bike back down to the Sonoma Valley Bike Trail, continue riding west, past Depot Park and Vallejo Home to Maxwell Farms Regional Park, return the way you came.
Tip: If you have time, stop off to see the 19th century Vallejo home.
Bikes (including kids bikes) are available for rent at Sonoma Valley Bike Tours on Broadway or Wine Country Cyclery on Napa Street.
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park near Kenwood is a family favorite in the Sonoma Valley. At the entrance to the park, pick up a map, and stop into the Visitor Center to learn more about the habitats, plants and animals of the area.
The park has twenty five miles of hiking trails, creeks and a seasonal waterfall, panoramic views (you can see San Francisco from Bald Mountain on a clear day), picnic tables in the shade, a comfy campground.
For best wildflower viewing, take the Meadow Trail – in season the meadows and hills are full of California poppies, lupine, buttercups, lilies and monkey flowers.
With younger kids, consider playing in little creeks surrounded with ferns and moss-covered rocks, look for fluttering butterflies or gray squirrels with fluffy tails bounding through the oak trees, watch ladybugs land your shirt, and listen to birds in the trees.
With older kids, take the Gray Pine Trail, and climb up the headwaters of Sonoma Creek, and the Bald Mountain Trail. Even if you don’t make it to the summit of Bald Mountain, there are stellar views of the entire San Francisco area.
Picnic tables are available at the parking lots, also along Meadow Trail, just before the bridge.
The turnoff to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is Adobe Canyon Rd., just past Kenwood on Rte 12.
Petaluma
Petaluma is famous for dairy and egg farms. Also, bounty of Sonoma at farm stands, and downtown farmers market in Walnut Park.
Tenfold Farm Stand is a favorite (5300 Redhill Road), open weekends year round. The farm stand has fabulous fruits and vegetables, soft pretzels, breads, cookies, eggs, honey. On Saturdays at 10:30am is Schoolhouse storytime and music for younger kids.
In downtown Petaluma, for locally-made ice cream try Angela’s Ice Cream.
Helen Putnam Regional Park
Grab picnic supplies at groceries in downtown Petaluma (Petaluma Market, Whole Foods Market, Jupiter Foods), head out to this regional park.
Trails in the park are good for kids of any age (one path is paved, easy for strollers), also grandparents. Picnic table, restrooms, and children’s play area are available. Main parking lot is located at 411 Chileno Valley Rd.
Here’s a fun loop hike. From the parking lot, go up Panorama Steps, then take the wide Pomo Trail, turns into Panorama Trail with stellar views, follow trail down to Cattail Pond, returning to parking lot on Ridge Trail.
For map and description of this hike, read our blog post: Green Hills and Panoramic Views in Sonoma
Butter & Egg Days Parade
A unique Petaluma event for over 40 years, theme of the parade is cows and chickens.
You’ll see kids dressed up as fluffy yellow chicks, dogs wearing bee and cow costumes, trucks decorated to look like a black and white cows, floats for local businesses such as dairy farmers, egg farmers, hay and grain stores. Participants in the parade include marching bands from local schools, riding and 4-H clubs, Dairy Princesses dressed up white gowns.
Booths with food, art and crafts are set up along the parade route, live music and dancing throughout the day.
Butter & Egg Days Parade is April 20, 2024, starting at noon.
For a weekend of fun in Sonoma County, you’ll need a fun place to stay – check out our list of Sonoma County family hotels.
Find lots more fun things to do with kids in Sonoma County on Travel for Kids.
