Where You Can Tip a Canoe and a Wineglass, Too

HEALDSBURG, Calif. —  Although this quiet town on the Russian River was named for a trader in pioneer times, today its name is more likely to be associated with canoeing and wine tasting.

Those are the favorite activities of summertime visitors, who also are drawn to the area by its country inns and excellent restaurants.

At Trowbridge Recreation, near the river, rent a canoe to explore the rural and redwood scenery of Sonoma County. Then exchange your paddle for a stemmed glass to sample the region’s fine wines, including the champagnes of Korbel and Piper Sonoma. A seasonal highlight at the century-old Korbel Champagne Cellars is a tour of its re-created antique rose garden.

Also popular is a horse-drawn surrey ride through vineyards in Alexander Valley. You’ll end the outing with a barbecue lunch or dinner while sipping local vintages.

Wooded Estate

On a hill overlooking Healdsburg is the Madrona Manor, an eight-acre wooded estate that makes an elegant headquarters for your visit. Its focal point is an 1881 three-story Victorian mansion that Carol and John Muir and family renovated as a country inn seven years ago.

Now on the National Register of Historic Places, Madrona Manor has 20 spacious guest rooms in the mansion plus a separate carriage house, kitchen building and garden cottage. A team of gardeners tends the tree-shaded grounds, which features a swimming pool and sunbathing area.

All rooms have private bath and include bathrobes and slippers. Nightly rates are $93/$135 and include a bountiful breakfast.

The inn’s chefs also create prix fixe and a la carte menus for delicious dinners served nightly in the mansion’s dining rooms and on the terrace. Sunday brunch is offered to guests and the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Phone (707) 433-4231 for meal or room reservations.

B&Bs; Abound

Fourteen other bed and breakfast inns are in the area. They range from the nine-room Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza, in a turn-of-the-century Wells Fargo building, to four white cottages of the rural Belle de Jour Inn.

Begin your visit with a stop at the chamber of commerce, which is open daily. Call toll-free (800) 648-9922. While you are there, pick up a list of lodgings as well as a restaurant guide. To get there, take the Healdsburg Avenue exit off U.S. 101 and continue north to the office at No. 217.

On the way, you’ll see stacks of canoes and the office of W. C. (Bob) Trowbridge at 20 Healdsburg Ave. His family-run Trowbridge Recreation has been renting canoes and organizing trips on the Russian River and other waterways for more than 30 years.

Trowbridge offers a choice of eight one-day canoe trips. The shortest is a five-mile paddle through the redwoods that takes two to three hours and costs $22 per canoe. The others cost $32 per canoe, cover up to 16 miles and take as long as seven hours.

Trips also can be combined for canoe outings lasting two to five days. Register at the Trowbridge office the morning of the trip, then pick up paddles and life jackets before departing. A deposit is required to make a reservation; phone (707) 433-7247 for details.

Also make reservations for a leisurely horse-drawn tour through vineyards in Alexander Valley. Harnesses jingle on a pair of draft horses as they pull a surrey with fringe on the top past rows of grapevines to tasting rooms at two wineries.

The 2 1/2-hour tours get under way at Johnson’s Alexander Valley Winery, an unpretentious family-run winery off California 128, a few miles east of town. You’ll also return there for an outdoor barbecue lunch or dinner and more wine tasting.

Cost of the surrey ride with wines and a meal is $40 per person; no children permitted. Call (707) 433-2422 to reserve with the surrey drivers and tour guides, Sue and Greg Hannan of Five Oaks Farm.

You’ll find other wineries along Westside Road that runs southwest from Healdsburg to River Road and the Korbel Champagne Cellars. Guided tours and tastings are offered daily at this historic winery, which shipped its first bottle of bubbly in 1882.

Now open for the 10th season, the restored antique rose garden surrounds the old summer house of the Korbel family. Summer tour hours of the hillside garden are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily except Mondays.

South of Healdsburg, on Old Redwood Highway at Eastside Road, is Piper Sonoma Cellars, the California home of French champagne maker Piper Heidsieck since 1982. There are daily tours and tastings of traditionally made sparkling wines.

By calling (707) 433-8843 you can reserve a light lunch at Piper Sonoma Cellars, or go north of Healdsburg for a more extensive meal at Chateau Souverain. The winery and its remodeled restaurant are just off U.S. 101; exit west at Independence Lane.

Stylish lunches are served Tuesday through Saturday, dinners Thursday through Saturday. Make reservations as well for the winery’s Sunday buffet brunch that’s available from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Phone (707) 433-3141.

A popular place for picnics as well as water sports is Lake Sonoma, a reservoir created by Warm Springs Dam in 1983. You can rent ski boats, sailboats, paddle boats, windsurfers and canoes. Exit from U.S. 101 on Canyon Road to Dry Creek Road.

For a look at local history, visit the Healdsburg Museum at 132 Matheson St., just beyond the town plaza. Exhibits range from Pomo Indian baskets to vintage firearms and Victorian clothing. Hours are noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

Later this month the museum will be moved to 221 Matheson St. Free concerts are given in the plaza on summer Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m.

The shortest route to Healdsburg from Los Angeles is north on Interstate 5 and east on Interstate 580, which skirts San Francisco and joins U.S. 101 north at San Rafael. Round trip is 882 miles.