Secret Season – Healdsburg to Home – pt 4

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We’ve been traveling three days, and the road has been kind. From Forestville, it’s 19 minutes east for Secret Season – Healdsburg to Home. Nestled in the heart of Sonoma County’s wine country, Healdsburg blends small town charm with world-class culinary. We arrive early to hike Fitch Mountain. A popular 3.0-mile loop with 787 feet elevation gain which takes about 2 hours to complete. Good views, except at the top strangely enough – a bit anti climactic with the peak blocked by trees.

It’s Harmon Guest House by happy hour, a burnished, LEED certified hotel filled with local art and fun gathering spaces. Sunny rooms with window seating and furnished balconies. Sparkling water bars on each floor. Catch sunset and a craft cocktail next to the fire pit at Rooftop Terrace or take a dip in the solar heated pool. It’s cozy, homey, modern and in the middle of everything.

Situated one block off Healdsburg’s historic square, you can walk everywhere. I shower off Fitch Mountain in time to cross the street for happy hour at The Matheson.

Stop by this multi-level Healdsburg hotspot for a swig from their famed Wine Wall. Dispensing 88 selections, choose a sip, taste or glass of local favorites and rare specialties. Chef Dustin Valette entertains the Main Dining Room with seasonal, local fare. A couple flights up is Roof 106 for creative cocktails, shareable plates, wood fire seasonal pizzas and Sunday Brunch. “This is the place I bring visiting guests,” comments our server. “It’s unique and feels like home.” Check out upcoming events like Taste of Pigs and Pinot, March 16th.

For dinner, walk back across the street to Harmon’s sister stay – h2hotel. We settle in to Spoonbar for the best drink of the night – The New Eastside – gin, lime juice, mint and yuzu with a frothy cucumber-elderflower foam ($14). Offering a modern take on California Mediterranean cooking….

the restaurant is named after a front door sculpture of 3,500 dripping espresso spoons.

In the morning, borrow a bike from Harmon Guest House and take off on Foss Creek Pathway, a hike/bike trail along the railroad tracks. When completed, this 4-mile jaunt will connect to an existing bike lane heading south to the Town of Windsor (a 29 minute bike ride).

Try the locals tour, first to Quail and Condor, a neighborhood bakery scoring high marks in the San Francisco Chronicle. We enjoyed their Buckwheat Cocoa Cookies, but still award the Food Party! YahOOO to Café Bakery in Mendocino as winner of this trips Cookie Wars. Pass Elephant In The Room and check out upcoming shows at this IT spot for pub food and live music.

Roads were made for journeys, not destinations.
Confucius

These days I try to search out places I’ve driven past all my life but never took the time to stop. Driving back from Secret Season – Healdsburg to Home, I get in one more. A quick search of nearby hikes on All-Trails reveals the Lake Benoist Loop Trail on the way to Windsor. This easy 2.3-mile loop takes a charming stroll around two lakes. It’s a wide, mostly flat, gravel trail ringed by redwoods, willows, and cottonwoods.  Riverfront Regional Park features a picnic area and accessible parking. You can fish, kayak, and SUP the lakes.