Wine Country Tour, Day 1: Sebastopol to Cloverdale

Wine Country Tour, Day 1: Sebastopol to Cloverdale

This seven-day wine country tour kicks off with 40 flat miles touring the apple orchards, vineyards, and rails-to-trails paths of Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley.

Author:	Bicycling Magazine
Date:	6 Jul 2008 12:05:52 PM
Activity:	Bicycling ActivitySearchBicycling
State:	California (CA)
Distance:	41.18 mi (Change units)
Elevation:	Total Gain: 8556 ft Total Loss: 8346 ft Net Change: 210 ft
Difficulty:	6 / 10
Tags:	Forestville, Sebastopol, CA Wine Country, Cloverdale, Sonoma County, California
Rating:	Unrated Rate it

Starting from Sebastopol, the last American stalwart producer of Gravenstein apples, head north passing through picturesque orchards en route to the West County Trail (at mile 2), a rails-to-trails path with short sections of rideable dirt. After leaving the trail in Forestville, the route rolls by classic sloped vineyards on Martinelli Road. Bring a picnic lunch for a stop at Steelhead Beach Park, or treat yourself to a sit-down stop at one of the many wineries along Westside Road (such as the historic Hop Kiln). The post-lunch ride to Cloverdale is a mellow, rolling route across the Russian River along the foothills of nearby canyons. Downtown Cloverdale has several hotel options, and Western Sonoma County has a plethora of private and public campgrounds. This 7-day ride tours Northern California's wine country. Call ahead to reserve lodging at each day's final destination: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7

-Mapped by Russ Stevens

Position Format:	Datum:

Tracks

Wine Country Tour, Day 1: Sebastopol to Cloverdale

Dist: 41.18 mi	Points: 864	Calories: none
Time: none	Speed: 0.0 mph	Pace: 0:00 / mi

Distance	Instruction		Distance to next
0.00 mi	Start	Sebastopol UCC Church at Gravenstein Hwy and Danmar Drive	Then go 0.04 mi
0.04 mi	Turn Left	Danmar Drive	Then go 0.25 mi
0.29 mi	Straight	Dirt path	Then go 0.04 mi
0.34 mi	Turn Right	Ragle Rd	Then go 0.15 mi
0.48 mi	Turn Left	Mill Station Rd	Then go 0.42 mi
0.90 mi	Turn Right	Barlow Lane	Then go 1.05 mi
1.95 mi	Turn Left	Occidental Rd	Then go 0.33 mi
2.28 mi	Turn Right	West County Trail	Then go 0.70 mi
2.98 mi	Turn Right	Grey Street	Then go 0.03 mi
3.01 mi	Turn Left	Bowen St	Then go 0.30 mi
3.31 mi	Turn Left	West County Trail	Then go 0.56 mi
3.87 mi	Turn Left	Green Valley Rd	Then go 0.24 mi
4.11 mi	Turn Right	West County Trail	Then go 1.23 mi
5.34 mi	Turn Right	Ross Station Rd	Then go 0.07 mi
5.41 mi	Turn Left	Ross Branch Rd	Then go 0.03 mi
5.44 mi	Turn Right	West County Trail	Then go 1.11 mi
6.55 mi	Straight	contiunue on dirt trail (past end of trail sign)	Then go 0.04 mi
6.59 mi	Turn Left	Front Street (Hwy 116)	Then go 0.74 mi
7.33 mi	Turn Right	Martinelli	Then go 2.74 mi
10.08 mi	Turn Right	Old River Rd (parallel to River Rd)	Then go 0.31 mi
10.39 mi	Straight	merge onto River Rd	Then go 0.48 mi
10.87 mi	Turn Left	optional stop at Steelhead Beach Park	Then go 0.14 mi
11.01 mi	U-Turn	back to River Road	Then go 0.14 mi
11.15 mi	Turn Left	River Road	Then go 0.99 mi
12.15 mi	Turn Left	Wohler	Then go 1.75 mi
13.90 mi	Turn Right	Westside Rd	Then go 8.64 mi
22.55 mi	Turn Left	West Dry Creek	Then go 8.87 mi
31.41 mi	Turn Right	Yoakim Bridge	Then go 0.74 mi
32.15 mi	Turn Left	Dry Creek	Then go 1.38 mi
33.53 mi	Turn Right	Dutcher Creek	Then go 5.50 mi
39.03 mi	Straight	Cloverdale Blvd	Then go 1.68 mi
40.71 mi	Point Of Interest	Downtown Cloverdale	Then go 0.47 mi
41.18 mi	Stop	United Church of Cloverdale

Points of Interest

Sebastopol

Location: 38.417553°, -122.855644°
Gravenstein Apple Orchard. Used for cooking, cider, and dehydrated apples, Red Gravensteins are on Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste list. They are endangered in the U.S., largely because Sonoma County growers found wine grapes to be a more profitable fruit.

Start riding Sonoma County's rails-to-trails

Location: 38.423605°, -122.865772°
West County Trailhead. Formally the railway between Forestville and Petaluma, the West County Trail is flat, paved in some places, dirt in others. It will be 13 miles long once completed.

West County Trail

Location: 38.457890°, -122.888947°
Right next to this sign, you'll find a fruit stand--great for a quick snack!

Riding the West County Trail

Location: 38.470928°, -122.893238°

End of West County Trail

Location: 38.473280°, -122.893024°

Martinelli Road

Location: 38.481814°, -122.910061°
Vineyards. One of the most famous winery byways in California, Martinelli features high-quality places to stop, drink, and eat.

Steelhead Beach Park

Location: 38.498743°, -122.899761°
Near the shore of the Russian River, Steelhead is the perfect lunch spot.

Crossing the Russian River

Location: 38.508012°, -122.884140°

Grapes! You can't get produce this fresh from the store!

Location: 38.583063°, -122.877960°

Pass the wineries on Westside Road

Location: 38.536082°, -122.867832°
The historic Hop Kiln is known for its Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and winner of the 2008 San Francisco Wine Competition, Rushin' River Red, a blend of Syrah and Grenache.