Where to picnic in Napa and Sonoma in winter or rain

Pick places with a roof, and check the season first. In the rain, V. Sattui sets its tables inside its underground barrel room, Old Faithful Geyser near Calistoga opens every day of the year with covered lounges and welcomes your own food and wine, and Wilson Winery in Dry Creek Valley has covered, heated sections on its deck. Parks with roofed shelters, such as Lake Sonoma and Napa's Kennedy Park, take reservations. Several famous picnic lawns only run from spring to fall, so a winter picnic starts with checking the listing's season line. Details here are as of September 2026.

Covered and heated spots at wineries

Where you can bring your own food:

• Wilson Winery, Dry Creek Valley. The deck and patio have covered, heated sections for cool days, and picnicking is encouraged. A $25 tasting is waived with one bottle.
• Old Faithful Geyser of California, Calistoga. Not a winery, but it invites you to bring food and a bottle of wine, and it lends wine glasses, utensils and napkins at a picnic station. It's open 365 days a year, rain or shine, with covered lounges facing the geyser. Admission is $18 for adults.
• West Wines, Healdsburg. A covered outdoor pavilion next to the vineyard patio; picnics follow a seated tasting ($30 or $45, one fee waived per bottle bought). Open Friday to Monday.
• Amista Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley. You picnic at your tasting table ($40 and up) on a patio under a solar-panel canopy, and there are seats in a renovated barn too.
• Pestoni Family Estate, St. Helena. An outdoor pavilion on the picnic lawn, free for guests enjoying the wines.
• Hamilton Family Wines, Kenwood. Outside food is welcome, and there are cabanas in the olive grove plus a small indoor room; ask where you can eat on a wet day.

Where you buy the food there:

• V. Sattui, St. Helena. On rainy days, tables go up inside the underground barrel room. Outside food and wine aren't allowed; the deli stocks the picnic.
• Russian River Vineyards, Forestville. A heated outdoor tasting area where you order boards, sandwiches and wine at your table.
• Timber Cove Resort, north of Jenner. Pick up a basket in the gift shop, order food at the bar, and eat with a Pacific view; there's an oceanside fire pit.
• Sam's General Store, Calistoga. A patio with a fire pit and a large pergola, and picnic baskets packed to order.
• Oxbow Public Market, Napa. About 20 food vendors with indoor dining areas, open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's the easiest rain plan in Napa: buy from Fatted Calf or The Model Bakery and eat inside.

Park shelters you can use or reserve

Most park picnic tables sit in the open, but some parks have roofed shelters, pavilions or gazebos.

Kennedy Park's built-in grills at the pavilions stay locked unless the site is reserved, and renters must use charcoal. For every reservable site, see how to reserve a park picnic area.

Picnics that pause for the winter

Some of wine country's best-known picnic setups are seasonal, as of September 2026:

• Benziger: terrace picnic tables March to October.
• Kendall-Jackson: picnic tables April to October, weather permitting.
• Rochioli: the patio where picnics are allowed, May 1 to September 30.
• Dry Creek Vineyard: the picnic lunch package and bocce, April to September (the grounds stay open all year).
• Michel-Schlumberger: the Estate Picnic, March to October.
• Nichelini: picnics during its outdoor tasting season, May to October.
• Limerick Lane: the picnic experience, May 1 to November 30.
• Gloria Ferrer: the walk-in Al Fresco service, roughly spring to October.
• Cline: garden cabanas May to October; the pondside picnic runs all year, but rain cancels it.
• Seghesio's Grove and Elizabeth Spencer's lawn pavilions: seasonal and weather-dependent.

On the river, Johnson's Beach's season ends on Labor Day. Many wineries also close on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Why a winter picnic is worth it

• Whales. Winter and spring are gray-whale season, and the cliffs at Bodega Head are a top place to watch.
• Waterfalls and wildflowers. At Armstrong Redwoods, Fife Creek and the seasonal waterfall run mainly in winter. North Sonoma Mountain has vernal pools and wildflowers in winter and spring, and Tolay Lake's seasonal lake fills in the wet months.
• Crab. Spud Point Crab Co. in Bodega Bay sells whole cooked crab from mid-November through June.
• Apple pie. Mom's Apple Pie in Sebastopol bakes with Gravenstein apples from August to November, then Granny Smiths.

Winter picnic checklist

1. Plan for short days. Sunset comes around 5 p.m. in December, and most county parks close at sunset. Oak Shores closes at 5 p.m. in winter, and Luther Burbank Home and Gardens at 5 p.m. from November to March.
2. Check for storm closures. Napa's Oxbow Commons closes with little notice when high water is expected, Tomodachi Park's low areas flood most winters, and Foothill Regional Park may close in high winds or storms.
3. Respect the surf. Winter storms bring sleeper waves and rip currents at Doran, and rangers sometimes close the Goat Rock road to cars in dangerous surf.
4. Expect mud. Trails at Jenner Headlands can be muddy and some close in the rainy season, and Ragle Ranch's wetland trails close seasonally for flooding.
5. Buy food where it's still sold. Some seasonal stops close for winter, Addendum at Ad Hoc in Yountville among them. The Napa Farmers Market runs Saturdays all year, and so does the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market.
6. Pack for the cold. Blankets with a waterproof back, a thermos, and layers you can add as the afternoon cools.

For the rest of the kit, see what to bring to a winery picnic. For the other end of the year, see spring wildflower picnics and harvest-season picnics.