North california staycation

Russian river – Staycation in Northern California

This post is written in  part of California Staycation blog hop 2014 -places to visit with kids in California.

We enjoy going to Russian river that it has become a family tradition on every summer. Russian river is surrounded by tall redwood trees.

Bay area beaches are known for cold water and windy weather even in hot summer days. We feel that Russian river water is pretty warm when compared to cold beach water. My daughters love playing in the water. So our preference is Russian river over the beaches.

Russian river is 75 miles north of San Francisco and 20 miles from Santa Rosa. In US-101, we avoid going through Santa Rosa and take route through Sebastopol and Forestville. Those eclectic towns provide view about small town life and also beautiful scenic drive. But the speed limit is always around 45 miles which may increase your travel time.

The beach we access to get into Russian river is Johnson’s beach. It is located on Guerneville. It offers canoes, single and double kayaks and pedal boats for rent ($30 day or $10 hour) as well as umbrellas ($6 day), low beach chairs ($5 day) and inner tubes ($5 day).  Since the water is not very deep near the beach, even kids go alone in the boats.

A popular spot is the roped off kiddies’ pool. We could see a lot of kiddos playing alone in their own designated area. This year we felt that the water was little dirty. A local told that the dam was not opened because of drought condition making the water stagnant and dirty. But we were happy to see water in the river even in this drought condition.

Russian river allows kids to play, kayak, pedal in the water. There are few campgrounds and cabin rooms available near which we have not used.  Over all it is a beautiful place with a lot of activities for kids and adults. Since it is in Sonoma county, the adults can plan for wine tasting too.

The following information will help you to reach Russian river

GPS address : 16209 First Street, Guerneville, CA 95446

Hours : 10 am to 6 pm everyday from May to October

Parking : Free

Entry to the beach : Free

Avoid bringing to the beach :  Alcohol, pets and BBQ 

More activities to do in Russian river : https://www.russianriver.com/site/cms/pages/activities.php

Again, this post is written in part of California Staycation Blog hop 2014. Check out what other great bloggers are visiting with their kids.

sunshine kids blog hop 2014

Places to Visit with Kids in California:

Sunshine Kids Blog Hop 2014

Summer is a great time to explore with your kids – and you don’t have to travel far to do it! California has so much to offer to families. Take a great staycation this summer by visiting your local treasures! In our second annual Sunshine Kids Blog Hop, we are focusing on our favorite places to visit with kids in California. Enjoy! And be sure to add your own family-friendly California posts in our linky at the bottom. You can also check out even more California posts on our collaborative Kid Friendly California Pinterest board!

Participating Blogs:

Alldonemonkey.com Sparkling Buds baykidsplaybutton
A Mom With a Lesson Plan Little Hiccups EHM Grab Button 250x250
Capri+3 Savvy Every Day MeMeTales
Happily Ever Mom

So Cal Pocket

Memories

Made

with Happy

365ishdaysofpinterest 2KuriousKids
Adventure Bee

And now it’s time to see what everyone has been up to:

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4 thoughts on “Russian river – Staycation in Northern California”

  1. This looks like a great place to visit! You are so right about how cold the Bay area beaches are in comparison. It’s amazing to me that we live so close but have never visited here. We’ll have to give it a try! Thanks for participating in the blog hop.

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