How to Get to Sonoma County

Sonoma County, located less than an hour from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, features more than 400 wineries and 50-plus miles of stunning Pacific coast.

While you can arrive in Sonoma County from the Bay Area via public transportation, it doesn’t lend itself to going from winery to winery. Here are several ways to travel to Sonoma County.

By Car:

• From Sacramento: I-80 West to CA-12/121 West
• From Seattle/Portland: I-5 or US-101 South
• From Los Angeles/San Francisco: US-101 North via the Golden Gate Bridge: The Golden Gate Bridge has instituted all-electronic tolling, a cashless payment system.
• Golden Gate Bridge: Tolls must be paid southbound on the Golden Gate Bridge, heading into San Francisco (the outbound direction is free). More info: www.goldengate.org/tolls

By Air: 

Sonoma County is reached via direct air service on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Avelo Airlines to the Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS), named after long-time Santa Rosa resident Charles M. Schulz (creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip).

Sonoma County Airport has flights from:

• Burbank, Los Angeles, Orange County, Portland, San Diego, and Seattle on Alaska Airlines
• Burbank, Las Vegas and Palm Springs on Avelo Airlines
• Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles, and Phoenix Sky Harbor on American Airlines (Sky West)

Wine Flies Free: Under the Alaska Airlines mileage plan, taking along a case of wine is included as part of your free luggage allowance on flights originating from Sonoma County Airport. See complete details on our Sonoma County "Wine Flies Free" page and on the Alaska Airlines website.

Other nearby airports:

• 75 miles, 1:33 hours north of San Francisco International (SFO)
• 76 miles, 1:30 hours north of Oakland International (OAK)
• 119 miles, 2:06 hours west of Sacramento International (SMF)

Shuttle from SFO and OAK to Sonoma County: Sonoma County Airport Express.

By Public and Private Transportation Companies:

• Groome Transportation: from the San Francisco and Oakland airports. There are four stops in Sonoma County: Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS), Santa Rosa Fairgrounds, Doubletree Hotel in Rohnert Park, and Petaluma Fairgrounds.
• Golden Gate Transit: operates buses 72, 74, 76, and 101 from San Francisco to Petaluma and Santa Rosa. Catch the bus at the San Francisco Bus Facility at 3rd and Perry streets. Check the website for specific routes as some routes operate only during commute hours and others change times because of holidays and weekends.
• Ferry from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Larkspur Ferry (goldengateferry.org/schedules/Larkspur.php). From there, catch Golden Gate Transit to Sonoma County, or ride a SMART train to Sonoma County.
• Greyhound Bus Services: operates from San Francisco to Santa Rosa. There are transfers for local buses.
• Sonoma County Transit: runs buses from Santa Rosa to Petaluma, Sonoma, and western Sonoma County, including the Russian River Valley towns.
• Sonoma-Marin Area Regional Trainsit (SMART) carries passengers in energy-efficient, clean diesel trains along 43 miles of track, from  downtown San Rafael in Marin County to the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport station at the north end of Santa Rosa. Buses connect the San Rafael train station to the Larkspur Ferry and San Francisco.
• Amtrak trains travel to Martinez, with connecting buses to Santa Rosa and Healdsburg.

Questions? Call Sonoma County Tourism at 800-576-6662 or 707-522-5800

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