Russian River Picnic Day: Wineries, Redwoods & River Beaches

A Russian River picnic day covers three kinds of scenery in a short loop: a vineyard picnic table in the morning, a river beach after lunch and old-growth redwoods in the late afternoon. Stock up in Sebastopol, reserve a hilltop table at Iron Horse for lunch, cool off at Sunset Beach near Forestville, and finish at Armstrong Redwoods, which stays open until an hour after sunset. The one thing to plan around is alcohol: several river beaches ban it, some only in summer and some all year.

Rules, hours and fees below are as of September 2026.

The route at a glance

• 9:30 a.m. Buy lunch at Andy's Produce Market in Sebastopol.
• 11 a.m. Picnic at Iron Horse Vineyards, about 10 minutes' drive.
• 1:30 p.m. Sunset Beach on the Russian River, about 10 minutes.
• 3:30 p.m. Armstrong Redwoods, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Drive times are estimates, so allow extra time, and plan on a designated driver.

Morning: stock up in Sebastopol

Andy's Produce Market on Gravenstein Highway North is where West County locals buy fruit, cheese and deli salads. It has a from-scratch deli counter, a cheese case, beer and wine, and it's open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.

For dessert, Mom's Apple Pie, a few minutes up the same highway, has been baking since 1983. Pick up a whole Gravenstein apple pie; it opens at 10 a.m.

Lunch: a hilltop table at Iron Horse

Iron Horse Vineyards is a celebrated sparkling-wine estate whose picnic tables look out over rolling Green Valley vineyards. It's about 10 minutes from Andy's.

The rules:

• Reserve a table on Tock ahead of time. Tables are booked between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. for one to six guests, with a two-hour limit.
• The table fee is $50 (Tock shows $55 with fees), plus a minimum of two bottles from the winery's list. The bottles don't count toward the fee.
• Bring your own food. No outside alcohol.

No reservation? Walk-in alternatives: Hook & Ladder, in an old-vine setting on Olivet Road, welcomes picnics with a tasting ($15 to $25), takes walk-ins daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and asks only that you take care with your trash. Woodenhead Vintners on River Road invites you to bring a picnic to its valley-view deck; it's open Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Afternoon: Sunset Beach, and the river's alcohol rules

About 10 minutes from Iron Horse, Sunset Beach River Park is a small county park west of Forestville. Picnic tables sit near the lot, and a short unpaved trail leads down to a rocky beach looking upstream to the Hacienda Bridge and redwood-covered hills. Parking is $8 outside summer ($12 in summer), there's no street parking and only a portable toilet, leashed dogs are allowed (even swimming), and there are no lifeguards. The park closes 30 minutes before sunset.

The river's alcohol rules change from beach to beach:

• Sunset Beach and Steelhead Beach: no alcohol or open containers from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Outside that window, county rules allow it unless a ban is posted.
• Guerneville River Park and Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach: banned year-round.
• Monte Rio Beach: the local park district prohibits alcohol.
• Johnson's Beach in Guerneville: privately owned, with no outside alcohol and no glass. Its 2026 season ran daily through Labor Day.

Want flush restrooms? Steelhead Beach, a few minutes upstream, has picnic areas and restrooms right by its parking lot.

Late afternoon: Armstrong Redwoods

Drive through Guerneville to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, about 10 to 15 minutes from the beach. About 70 first-come picnic tables with barbecue grills sit on the floor of an old-growth redwood grove, in deep shade that stays cool on hot days, and you can park right next to them.

• Fee: $10 per vehicle ($9 with a passenger 62 or older); free if you walk or cycle in.
• Hours: 8 a.m. to one hour after sunset.
• Walk: the flat, accessible Pioneer Nature Trail runs about 1.5 miles round-trip to the Colonel Armstrong Tree, roughly 1,400 years old.
• Dogs: leashed, and only on the paved road and in the developed picnic areas, never on the dirt trails.
• Alcohol: official pages don't say either way, so ask at the entrance or save the wine for dinner.

Short on time for lunch shopping? Korbel Champagne Cellars, on River Road just before Guerneville, doesn't allow outside food or picnicking on its grounds, but its deli sells sandwiches and salads to eat there or take away (10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).

What to book ahead

• Iron Horse picnic table: on Tock, before you go.
• Gary Farrell's "Picnic with a View": a reserved table for up to four on a hilltop terrace, $55, with a two-bottle minimum. Gary Farrell doesn't allow pets.
• Groups at Armstrong: the Smokey's Den group area holds up to 150 and needs a State Parks special-event permit.
• A river trip: Burke's Canoe Trips rents canoes ($95) and solo kayaks ($60) for a self-guided, roughly 10-mile paddle from Forestville to Guerneville with picnic beaches along the way, daily through mid-October 2026. Bring lunch but no alcohol or glass, and book by phone.

As of late September 2026, the Wohler Bridge is closed until mid-October, which affects Westside Road routes, including the drive to Rochioli.

Rainy day or no reservation

Without a booking, swap Iron Horse for Hook & Ladder or Woodenhead, and use the first-come tables at Steelhead Beach and Armstrong. On a wet day, Russian River Vineyards outside Forestville serves lunch and wine from its own kitchen at a heated outdoor tasting area (open from 11:30 a.m. daily), Korbel runs free cellar tours at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and Mom's Apple Pie has indoor seating.