Overview
Boonville is a town in Mendocino County, California, in the Anderson Valley. Boonville has a population of about a thousand people (2020). The small village of Philo, six miles to the west, is a secondary center of activity when visiting the valley. Navarro, further to the west, just outside the valley, is also a possible destination for those interested in the Anderson Valley (this Wikivoyage page covers the entire valley, not just Boonville).
1 sights · 3 things to do · 12 places to eat
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Boonville
John Hanes Fine Arts Studio
Contemporary fine art created by more than thirty renowned artists from western states
Hendy Woods State Park
Of the park's 852 acres, 100 acres have never been logged. The park includes 92 campsites, which can be reserved.
Mendocino County Fairgrounds
Hosts events throughout the year. In the past, these have included an Alsatian Varietals wine festival (February), the annual Legendary Boonville Beer Festival (April or May), a Pinot Noir Festival (May), the Sierra Neva…
Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Known for its microbrews. 30-acre dog and family friendly "beer park", with outdoor seating and a live music stage. Offers tours as well as disc golf.
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: Jun–Oct. Summer highs reach about 66°F; winter lows dip to about 40°F. Wettest: Jan and Dec. (climate data from nearby Mendocino)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- STS Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport, Santa Rosa — 46 mi away. Directions
- SMF Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento — 98 mi away (major hub). Directions
Boonville is on California Highway 128. By car, it's about a two-hour drive north from the Golden Gate Bridge. Most of the trip is on Route 101, a limited access highway, but the last section, on Route 128, does feature some twists and turns.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 1-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning John Hanes Fine Arts Studio, Hendy Woods State Park
- Lunch Anderson Valley Market & Deli
- Afternoon Mendocino County Fairgrounds, Anderson Valley Brewing Company
- Dinner Boont Berry Farm Store
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
Because of the small population in the area and the limited number of places for visitors to stay, restaurants are open on limited days and hours. But the food is generally good and the prices are reasonable.
These two restaurants offer the valley’s most upscale dining.
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Understand
Boonville is home to winery tasting rooms, shops, and galleries. With its location at one end of the Anderson Valley, it's also the main place to stay if exploring that part of California wine country. It's also on the main east-west route to the town of Mendocino, on the Pacific Coast.
The wine industry is the dominant contributor to the Anderson Valley economy; the valley has its own AVA. Its producers specialize in Alsatian varietals (primarily Riesling and Gewürztraminer), pinot noir, and sparkling wine. (Information about 40 or so wineries is available at avwines.com.)
Boonville is perhaps best known as the source of the Boontling folk language.
Get in
Boonville is on California Highway 128. By car, it's about a two-hour drive north from the Golden Gate Bridge. Most of the trip is on Route 101, a limited access highway, but the last section, on Route 128, does feature some twists and turns.
By bus, the Mendocino Transit Authority provides transportation between Santa Rosa, California, in Sonoma County, and Boonville, via Route 65 to Ukiah, and from there to Boonville via Route 75.
Get around
A car or other personal vehicle is pretty much required to get the most out of the Anderson Valley.
See
Do
- The Anderson Valley Brewing Company (see listing below) offers tours and has an 18-hole disc golf course.
Do Mendocino County Fairgrounds
Hosts events throughout the year. In the past, these have included an Alsatian Varietals wine festival (February), the annual Legendary Boonville Beer Festival (April or May), a Pinot Noir Festival (May), the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (June summer solstice), the Wool-growers' Barbecue and Sheepdog Trials (July), and the annual Mendocino County Fair (September).
Buy
Eat
Because of the small population in the area and the limited number of places for visitors to stay, restaurants are open on limited days and hours. But the food is generally good and the prices are reasonable.
Deli, take-out, and groceries
Eat Anderson Valley Market & Deli
A great selection of groceries, fruit and veggies. The deli is very good. Homemade fudge.
Eat Boont Berry Farm Store
Natural food store, including a deli (salads, entrees, desserts). A few tables inside, two outside next to the highway.
Eat Gowan's Oak Tree
Roadside stand featuring homegrown and local produce, plus items like jelly, jam, apple sauce, and hand salves. Try the fresh apple cider.
Eat Lemon's Philo Market
The nexus of “downtown Philo" is Lemon’s Market, a mainstay for more than 40 years. The sandwiches are generous in size.
Eat Mosswood Market Café & Bakery
The empanadas are so outstanding, and popular, that if you want to make sure you can get some, you should order a day ahead. The breakfast pastries and the sandwiches are good, if you want something besides empanadas. (Also, try the vanilla latte.)
Regular restaurants
Eat Boonville General Store
Breakfast, brunch, lunch; patio seating outside. Most of the food is organic.
Eat The Company Kitchen
A casual restaurant and bar offering burgers and Mexican fare.
Eat Lauren's at the Buckhorn
Great burgers (veggie, too) and fries; speciality pizza and pasta. Taco Tuesday. And sometimes live music (check their Facebook page).
Eat Offspring Pizza at the Farrer Building
run by the team at the Boonville Hotel, serves delicious wood-fired pizza. Lots of outdoor seating, limited indoor seating.
Upscale
These two restaurants offer the valley’s most upscale dining.
Eat Boonville Hotel & Restaurant
In warmer weather, prix fixe dinners are offered Thursday-Monday evenings in the courtyard. Comprehensive wine list.
Eat The Wickson
Seasonal, "plant-forward" menu. Reservations required. Comprehensive wine list. (Tip: order the bread, both for itself and for wiping plates clean.)
Dessert
Eat Paysanne
It's not clear that it's open, but if it is, it has tasty ice creams, cookies, brownies, coffee, interesting sodas, and sweets galore.
Drink
Wine
- Baxter Winery Tasting Room: Winemaker Phillip Baxter produces first rate single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, and his wife, Claire Baxter, oversees their small tasting room.
- Breggo Cellars Winery & Tasting Room: sit down, relax and enjoy some wine, take in the views. Time slows down here. Bring your pups and your picnic!
- Foursight Wines: produced using traditional techniques like wild yeast fermentation and unfiltered bottling
- Handley Cellars: the $15 per person tasting fee is relatively new. It’s also waived with a three-bottle purchase.) Well known for Pinot Noirs, Handley also produces appealing sparkling wines.
- Husch Vineyards: tastings are free. Offers wide range of well-priced wines at the rustic tasting room, including a terrific Chenin Blanc,
- Navarro Vineyards Tasting Room: the tastings are still free here, on the patio or in the garden. Known for Gewürztraminer, the winery produces a range of other wines, too, including Pinot Noir
- The Wickson has tasting rooms for Drew Family Cellars and Long Meadow Ranch winery, plus a stylish cannabis dispensary, the Bohemian Chemist. Drew Tasting Room: an exceptional Pinot Noir as well as Syrah, Chardonnay, Viognier and Albariño
Other
Sleep
Hotels
There are fewer than 100 hotel beds in the entire valley.
- Boonville Hotel
- Philo Apple Farm, still a working farm, kitchen and collection of tastefully rustic guest cottages in Philo.
- Indian Creek Inn: Three renovated lodges decorated with artwork by co-owner Elizabeth Ashiku-Orr sit high on a hill overlooking the Goldeneye Confluence Vineyard
- The Madrones and the Brambles: At this upscale enclave, guest rooms and cottages run $275-350. the valley’s luxury option. Owner Jim Roberts built the Italian-inspired group of buildings as a residence and design business, and in 2011 he turned it into a small inn and restaurant (The Wickson)
Other
RV camping at the Fairgrounds.
Nearby
Ukiah
City / town · 14 listings · 13 mi away
Point Arena
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Gualala
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Cloverdale
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Lakeport
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Albion
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My experience
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