Windsor, CA Road Trips

Windsor was a small Sonoma County community which experienced noticeable development after it was incorporated in 1992. Visitors will find a mixture of revival architectural styles, built to create a new small town center, near the new Town Green. This development demonstrates aspects of new urbanism and the growth supported by expanding interest in tourism in California's wine country. Most of the town's population, however, lives in subdivisions of detached homes. Windsor Historical Society & Museum, 9225 Foxwood Dr, ☏ +1 707-838-4563. F-Su 9:30AM-4:30PM. A charming, small museum. A pleasant walking path along Windsor Creek is nearby (cross the bridge located to the northeast of the museum). Free. (updated Jun 2017) 1 Pacific Coast Air Museum, One Air Museum Way, Santa Rosa, ☏ +1 707-575-7900. Tu Th Sa Su 10AM-4PM, closed major holidays. It's near the airport, so it is not in Windsor, but it's close. PCAM is definitely worth a visit for those interested in airplanes, or those with children old enough to be interested in the wide variety of (mostly) military planes, helicopters, and aircraft-related displays. (updated Apr 2022)

Windsor's "do" activities primarily relate to "buy" and "eat", but strolling around the downtown, investigating the small shops and restaurants, and enjoying activities on the town green may also be experienced without buying or eating anything. Most notable are the summer music concerts on Thursday nights (June through September) and kids movies on Saturdays (June and July), on the town green. See website. Both are free, though a donation is requested. Options for activities include: Billiards at Racks-N-Cues Billiards and Brews, open Su-Th 11:30AM-11:30PM, and until 1:30AM on weekend nights. Bowling at the Windsor Bowling Center, which also has an escape room and several indoor miniature golf holes. Renting a bike from Ace It! Bike Tours, two blocks from the Town Green, at 367 Windsor River Road. (You can also book a brewery and/or winery tour through Ace It!) Golf at the Windsor Golf Club, a beautiful 18-hole course (not really a "club"; no membership required); there is also a driving range, and, near the pro shop, three greens to practice on (two putting, one chipping) Hiking in a regional park. There are three in or near Windsor (before hiking, best to print a map), which are open from dawn to dusk: Riverfront Regional Park. The easiest (flat), but lacking in longer hiking opportunities. The complete trail around the lake, which takes less than an hour to walk, is problematical in the months during and immediately after heavy rains. (updated Jun 2017) Foothill Regional Park. Relatively easy trails, and some great views.

Visitors have their pick of several dozen restaurants, mostly not chain restaurants, ranging from pub fare to higher-end dining. Many are found just south or east of the town square, on McClelland Drive or on Windsor River Road. The Windsor Farmers Market takes place Sundays, April through December (10AM-1PM), just off the town square. From June through August, it is also held Thursday evenings from 5-8PM; the Thursday version is oriented toward those listening to evening music on the town green (selling food to be eaten out) rather than toward those looking to buy produce. The best restaurants in the town, listed alphabetically, are: Ana’s Cafe and Espresso, 10333 Old Redwood Hwy, ☏ +1 707-837-0680. M-F 5AM-3PM; Sa 5AM-2PM. It's small; it's in a strip mall; the decor is nothing to write home about. But the breakfast burrito gets near-universal raves, as does the Mexican mocha. And Ana herself. (updated Jul 2019) Barley & Bine Beer Cafe, 7765 Bell Rd, ☏ +1 707-657-7774. M W Th 11AM-10PM, F Sa 11AM-midnight, Su 11AM-9PM. Tucked away in the beverage district about a mile south of downtown, the cafe offers simple but creative food, plus 38 taps with a rotating section of craft beer, cider, and wine (four options). For families, there is a "Kids Corner " for the young ones. (updated Jul 2019) Grata Italian Eatery, 186 Windsor River Rd, ☏ +1 707-620-0508. Th-M noon-9PM. You pretty much can't go wrong with any food choice. Plenty of outdoor seating. Himalayan Restaurant, 810 McClelland Dr, ☏ +1 707-838-6746. Tu-Su 11:30AM-2:30PM, 5-9PM.

Quite a few wineries with tasting rooms are located five to ten minutes drive outside Windsor's town limits, primarily to the north (along Old Redwood Highway) and south (on River Road or nearby) - too many to list. Below are wine, beer, and other tasting opportunities within town limits, or just outside them. In the downtown Windsor area, you'll find these drinking opportunities within a block of the Town Green: Wines: on Windsor Road, near the train station, at #9050, is Mutt Lynch Winery, a dog friendly hound lounge, tasting room, and gift shop; at #9058 is The Tasting Lounge for Baldassari Wines; at #9071 is Bellacana Vineyards; at #9086 is Tasting Notes - Wine Lounge Collective (which provides tastings from Tonti Family Wines, J.Cage Cellars, and Oak Tree Winery). Around the corner, closer to the Town Green, at 834 McClelland Dr., is a tasting room for Mengler Family Wines. The Rough Draft, 1001-1007 McClelland Dr (Around the corner from KC's Downtown Grill), ☏ +1 707-620-0626. 11AM-9PM daily. Opened in September 2025, this replaced Flagstaff Taproom's Windsor location. Twenty or so rotating selections of beers, ciders, cand kombuchas and seltzers on tap, plus pizza, sandwiches, and snacks. Lots of outdoor seating. (updated Aug 2022) In Oliver's Market, at 9230 Old Redwood Highway, the Tavern Off The Green, with local beers on tap and an affordable tavern-style menu. Anything in the adjacent grocery store can be brought into the pub space. Open daily 11AM-8PM, with happy hour all day Sunday and 4-6PM on other days.

There are three regular hotels in Windsor: Hampton Inn and Suites, 8937 Brooks Road South, ☏ +1 707-837-9355. If you're staying here, avoid the Applebee's restaurant nextdoor, unless you really like eating at that chain. There are four much better restaurants within two blocks. (updated Jul 2019) Holiday Inn Express, 8865 Conde Ln, ☏ +1 707-837-0808. For those who want to walk around downtown Windsor, the closest hotel, five or so blocks to the Town Green. It features an indoor heated pool, and the bowling alley is next door. (updated Jul 2019) Holiday Inn, 8755 Old Redwood Hwy (just east of highway 101, off the central exit to Windsor), ☏ +1 707-838-8800. Opened September 2017; most parking is in the underground garage. (updated Oct 2017) Besides the usual options for renting a private properties (via Airbnb or similar), there is also a timeshare complex where units can be rented: WorldMark Windsor, 1251 Shiloh Rd, ☏ +1 707-836-2420. A Wyndham property, almost next to the Windsor Golf Club's 18-hole golf course. If you're disinclined to drive, Charlie's Restaurant - an easy walk - isn't bad. (updated Jul 2019)

Windsor is primarily accessible by car, although it is also a destination for those bicycling through California's wine country. California Route 101, a restricted-access highway, runs through the middle of the town, and Old Redwood Highway (formerly Route 101) runs roughly parallel to the highway. The main commercial district is just south of the town square, just west of the central Windsor exit for Highway 101. Just south of Windsor is the Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport (STS IATA), which has direct daily commercial flights from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Denver, and Phoenix; daily summer flights from Dallas-Fort Worth; and weekly flights (seasonally) from Minneapolis and Las Vegas. There are several rental car options at the airport, and a bus (line 62N/62S) to and from Santa Rosa, a much larger city about five miles south of Windsor. The Sonoma County Airport Express has multiple daily buses between the Sonoma County Airport and the Oakland and San Francisco airports. Locally, Sonoma County Transit (SCT) provides two connecting bus lines: Route 60, between Santa Rosa, Windsor, and (to the north) Healdsburg and Cloverdale; and Route 62, between Windsor, the Sonoma County Airport, and Santa Rosa. (SCT's "NextBus" system provides real-time bus arrival information via shelter LED signs, PCs, and smartphones.) Mendocino Transit Authority also serves Windsor.

The town of Windsor is almost completely flat, and almost all streets have sidewalks, so walking is feasible to most places within town limits. The town has been modifying streets to add bike lanes, and plans to continue to add to them. The town is actually one of the best in California for getting around by bike, though not many locals do so. Sonoma County Transit has one bus line, Route 66, that provides service within Windsor; that service is free, as of Apr 2022, as it is subsidized by the town. There is one local taxi company, Windsor Express Taxi, but Santa Rosa and Healdsburg are close enough for their taxi companies to provide service to addresses within Windsor. Windsor is also fully served by Uber (more than 600 drivers in Sonoma County) and Lyft. If you're driving, note that the traffic lights will change quickly, for example if there is no traffic coming toward a green light - the traffic system is designed to be very responsive. And blinking, yellow left-turn arrows (left turn permitted if no oncoming traffic) are common.