Blind Beach (Sonoma Coast State Park)

It’s just 10 miles long, but oh, what a sweet 10 miles. The Bohemian Highway, named for the artists and other alternative-lifestyle folks who settled the area after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (and kept coming, especially in the 1960s), is a scenic and pastoral two-lane byway anchored by artist-filled communities, organic farms and wineries, one-of-a-kind shops, innovative restaurants and lots of scenic food for the soul.

The charming Creekside Inn & Resort in Guerneville, at the north end of the drive, is on our Russian River A-list. If multiple rooms and a kitchen are among your requirements, check out the dozens of dog–friendly rentals available through Russian River Getaways. more »

The redwood-hugged Russian River is the best-known stream rolling through Sonoma County, but it’s not the only one. Up north, the Gualala River, on the border with Mendocino County, enters the Pacific near the town of Gualala, which makes a peaceful, fresh-air base for a low-key getaway.

Late fall through early spring is when gray whales and humpbacks migrate along the Sonoma coast, and what better place to observe them than the Whale Watch Inn, four miles north of Gualala on Anchor Bay? more »

You’ll forget all about work, worries and traffic woes once you get within sight and sound of the sea. And in Sonoma County, there are dozens of places where you and your pup can splash to your hearts’ content and then bed down to the ceaseless whooshing of the restless Pacific. more »