Evelyn and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary this year by spending a weekend at Timber Cove Inn in Sonoma County. Timber Cove is located by Fort Ross, which is about a 30 minute drive North of the town of Jenner on Highway 1. Jenner is were the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean. We drove up on Friday (2/7) and drove home on Monday (2/11).
It takes about 2. 5 hours to get to Timber Cove from our house. After driving for 1. 5 hours, I was feeling a little peaked, so we decided to stop at Iron Horse Vineyards outside of Sebastopol. My next blog post will present the details of this vineyard. But suffice it to say that it was a great way to start our anniversary celebration.
A Room With A View
We booked an Ocean View room at Timber Cove Inn, which had a truly magnificent view. We had a propane fire place that was nice. The hot tub was decent. But the room needed a microwave and small fridge. But we love to fall at sleep at night to the sound of the waves hitting the sea shore. We took a number of books to read, but they somehow did not receive much attention. We spent a lot of time, kicked back, watching the surf.
In subsequent blog posts I will talk about the high lights of the trip. The restaurant at Timber Cove Inn called Alexander’s was a pleasant surprise for both breakfast and dinner. They even had a wine pairing. We enjoyed shopping in the town of Duncan’s Mills. Breakfasts at Cape Fear Café are always a treat. And the best restaurant on the Sonoma Coast is River’s End. Absolutely fantastic wine pairings.
So what are the sights around Timber Cove Inn?
As I already mentioned, Fort Ross is close by. This site contains the original buildings from the first Russian settlement in California in the early 1800s. A lot of work has gone into its preservation. so it is worth the visit.
The coast line around Timber Cove Inn is rocky and there is thus very limited beach access. This is part of the charm of the area, since you don’t see too many tourists running around, which is very, very nice.
If you do want to hit the beach, then head south on Highway 1 about 30 minutes to the town of Jenner. You will subsequently have access to the Russian River and a nice beach at the mouth of the river. There even is a small Harbor Seal colony to check out. The town of Bodega Bay is another 20 minutes further south on Highway 1. There are a number of nice beaches between Jenner and Bodega Bay. Lots of tide pools and wide, sandy beaches to enjoy.