An afternoon around Sonoma Plaza

4 stops · about 5 hours · Sonoma

Sonoma is unusual for a wine-country town in that the best of it is walkable. Everything on this route sits within about a mile of the plaza, so you park once at the north end and cover the whole thing on foot. It is built to be shot in order, from early afternoon to sunset. The lawn at Depot Park is the warm-up while the light is still hard. The plaza comes next, once the sun is off the building faces and the four sides stop fighting each other. The Mission gets the last hour it is open, which is also the hour its adobe goes properly warm. Then you climb for twenty-five minutes and watch the sun go down over the valley you have just been standing in. All four are public land with no permit required. The only clock that matters is the Mission, which closes around 5pm — everything else is yours until dark.

  1. 1

    Depot Park

    Sonoma · north of the plaza

    Public park and lawn just north of the plaza, beside the old rail depot.

    Evening golden hour in September: 6:45 PM – 7:20 PM

    Next: Start here and leave the car for the rest of the afternoon — the lot beside the old rail depot is free and almost always has space, which is not true of the plaza two blocks south. Big open lawn, shade along the north edge if the sun is still high. Twenty minutes is plenty; it is the warm-up, not the destination.

  2. 2

    Sonoma Plaza

    Sonoma · the plaza

    The eight-acre public plaza at the centre of town, ringed by City Hall, shops and restaurants.

    Evening golden hour in September: 6:45 PM – 7:20 PM

    Next: Walk south down First Street West, about five minutes. Arrive after the sun is off the building faces, roughly 3pm in summer and earlier in autumn — before that the four sides of the square are lit so unevenly that nothing cuts together. City Hall from the north-east corner gets all four facades at once. The duck-pond end is quieter for anything posed. Skip Friday mornings entirely, the farmers market takes the east side.

  3. 3

    Mission San Francisco Solano

    Sonoma · north-east of the plaza

    The northernmost of the California missions, on the north-east corner of the plaza. Part of Sonoma State Historic Park.

    Evening golden hour in September: 6:45 PM – 7:20 PM

    Next: Two minutes on foot to the north-east corner of the plaza. Go while it is still open — usually 5pm, and a small entry fee covers the whole of Sonoma State Historic Park. The white chapel wall is the cleanest backdrop in town and the adobe warms up beautifully in the last hour of access. Interiors are dim and flash is not permitted, so plan on exteriors and do not lose time indoors.

  4. 4

    Sonoma Overlook Trail

    Sonoma · north of the plaza

    A public trail climbing from the edge of town to a view back over the valley. Roughly a mile up.

    Evening golden hour in September: 6:45 PM – 7:20 PM

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