Park Place
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Urban Wild
Petaluma River Park For decades, a 35-acre industrial site on the McNear Peninsula in downtown Petaluma sat dormant. It was an abandoned peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Petaluma River. Today, that neglected spit of land is transforming into an ambitious public space: the Petaluma River Park. In 2020, a community-led grassroots effort raised…
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The Classic
Juilliard: The Grand Dame of Santa Rosa’s Urban Parks Photo: Ranch7 Creative Sometimes in a world of shiny new things, we forget to appreciate the old gems. The gem in this case is Santa Rosa’s Juilliard Park. Set on nine acres near downtown, Juilliard is one of Santa Rosa’s oldest parks and is steeped in…
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Panoramic Preserve
Enjoy the 5-mile stretch of trails available in the new Estero Americano Coast Preserve. New public spaces should always be celebrated. The Estero Americano Coast Preserve is a new and significant 547-acre conservation area near Bodega Bay that is now open to the public. It protects a critical stretch of coastal landscape, encompassing coastal prairie, grasslands,…
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Santa Rosa’s New Central Park
The Santa Rosa Southeast Greenway is finally moving from concept to reality. After more than 15 years of advocacy and planning, the City completed its purchase of the property for the Greenway in late 2024, setting the stage for development of a major new 49-acre public park and trail system in the heart of the…
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Take It Easy
The Regional Parks River Shuttle Keeps Summer Fun. Photos: Courtesy of Sonoma County Tourism Anyone rafting the Russian River on a summer weekend knows that the search for riverside parking or coordinating your second car for pickup can be the one stress point in the day. But now you can take it easy with the…
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Take Flight: Winged Wonders at Sonoma Botanical Gardens.
Created by Boston-based duo Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein, aka The Myth Makers, these huge avian sculptures—some soaring up to 20 feet tall—are crafted entirely from natural materials. Expect to spot an enormous Acorn Woodpecker among the oaks, a giant Anna’s Hummingbird, and a larger-than-life Western Meadowlark and California Quail keeping watch over the trails.…
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Park Place – Bartholomew Park
Those looking to impress out-of-town guests or a special date, or just want to enjoy the day in nature need look no further than Bartholomew Park in Sonoma. The expansive vineyards, gardens, and forests are a preserved space where visitors can hike, enjoy lunch and wine at Bartholomew Estate Winery—located within the historic park—and appreciate…
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Park Place – Coastal Saunter
Looking for a new park to explore? One of Sonoma County’s best open secrets is the coastal Jenner Headlands Preserve. Less than an hour north of Santa Rosa, it’s a beautiful place for a day hike with a friend or a seaside family outing right in our own backyard. And it’s open to the public…
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Park Place – Park in Peril
Petaluma’s Shollenberger Park is nestled within the largest intact high-elevation salt marsh in North America. It serves as a home for the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and is an integral stop for migrating birds along the Pacific flyway. But for over 150,000 human visitors of all ages and abilities annually, the park’s two-mile flat…
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Park Place – Wild About Jack London Park
Some call him a literary hero; contemporary reevaluations call him “problematic,” but author Jack London’s friends called him “Wolf.” And why not? He was obsessed with the canine—from book titles like Son of the Wolf and The Sea Wolf to his famously ill-fated 15,000-square-foot manse dubbed “The Wolf House”—London had a lupine sensibility. Fortunately, the…