Santa Rosa

Understand

History

Santa Rosa's history is rich in culture and many different groups have called the area their home. Pomo, Miwok, and Wappo Indians first settled the area followed by the Spanish in the early 1800s. The first deeded land was held as the Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa and was given to Senora Maria Ignacia Lopez de Carrillo by Spanish authorities.

In 1867, the county recognized Santa Rosa as an incorporated city and in 1868 the state confirmed the incorporation, making it the third incorporated city in Sonoma County, after Petaluma, incorporated in 1858, and Healdsburg, incorporated in 1867.

The city continued to grow when other early population centers declined or stagnated, but by 1900 it had been, or was being, overtaken by many other newer population centers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. According to a 1905 article in the Press Democrat newspaper reporting on the Battle of the Trains, the city had just over 10,000 people at the time.

The April 18, 1906 San Francisco Earthquake essentially destroyed the entire downtown, but the city's population did not greatly suffer. However, after that period the population growth of Santa Rosa, as with most of the area, was very slow.

In 1943, Alfred Hitchcock filmed his thriller, Shadow of Doubt in Santa Rosa. He would continue to use Santa Rosa, and later Bodega Bay in many of his films. Thanks to this, Santa Rosa became, and continues to be a major hub in the Bay Area for numerous movies.

Visitor information

• visitsantarosa.com

Get in

By car

• Santa Rosa is 55 mi north of San Francisco via Highway 101 (through the famous Golden Gate Bridge). Depending on traffic conditions, this drive can be done in less than an hour; during commute hours, the trip may be as long as two hours. It is best to avoid highways during weekday rush hours, and on the weekend after sporting events. Beautiful and alternative routes exist on Highway 1, and through Sonoma Valley.

By plane

* Alaska Airlines (Burbank, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Portland (Oregon) and Seattle-Tacoma) * American Airlines/American Eagle (Dallas/Ft Worth and Phoenix Sky Harbor) * Avelo (Burbank, Las Vegas and Palm Springs) Sonoma County Transit (SCT) #62 bus connects passengers from the airport into town (downtown Santa Rosa), Mendocino Transit #65 & 95 for going up north to Mendocino County, and Groome Transportation for going to Santa Rosa P&R (1350 Maple Ave), Petaluma, Rohnert Park and San Rafael. Click here for a list of car rental companies at the airport and other ground transport options. SMART Connect is an on-demand shuttle for going to the nearby SMART Railway Station for the train into town (see below on under 'By train').

• San Francisco International Airport is the next nearest airport 70 mi south with flights from destinations all over the US, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Europe, East/Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Hourly shuttle service is provided by Groome Transportation. For a cheaper option, take BART or SamTran #292 to the downtown Salesforce Transit Center, a few blocks from the Embacardo Station. Transfer to Golden Gate Transit #101 bus or Greyhound to downtown Santa Rosa (see "By bus" in the below).

By bus

The central bus station for the following is the Santa Rosa Transit Mall on 2nd St between Santa Rosa Ave and B St:

• Golden Gate Transit, +1-415-455-2000, operates express buses from San Francisco and between other cities in Sonoma and Marin counties:

* Route 101 goes down to San Francisco via Rohnert Park, Novato, Petaluma, San Rafael and the Golden Gate Bridge Plaza. Connections to Greyhound/Flixbus, Amtrak Thruway Rt 99 to Emeryville, BART, and other S.F. Bay transit operators are in Downtown San Francisco. * Route 172 goes down to San Francisco via Rohnert Park, Petaluma and the Golden Gate Bridge Plaza. Both the 172 and 101 buses travel on the same route, only the #101 bus makes more stops than the 172.

• Nearest Greyhound, +1-800-231-2222, bus stops/stations are in Oakland or San Francisco to reach additional destinations. They no longer serve Santa Rosa, although their website may sell tickets other bus companies that do serve Santa Rosa.
• Mendocino Transit, bus service from Mendocino County with the following routes:

* Route 65 goes up to Fort Bragg via Hopland, Ukiah, and Willits * Route 95 goes to Point Arena through Bodega Bay and Gualala.

• Sonoma County Transit (SCT) goes further out to other parts of Sonoma County, outside the Santa Rosa city limits and local shuttles in the other surrounding towns of Sonoma County with the following serving Santa Rosa Transit Mall:

* Route 20 Coddingtwon Mall, Santa Rosa Transit Mall, Sebastopol, Forestville, Russian River area * Route 30/30x Coddingtwon Mall, Santa Rosa Transit Mall, Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Petaluma, Sonoma State University). Route 30x does not continue from Sonoma (town) to Sonoma State University via Petaluma. * Route 34 Santa Rosa Transit Mall to Sonoma Plaza in Sonoma via CA-Hwy 12. * Route 42 Local route from Santa Rosa Transit Mall to Industrial West Business Park south of town. * Route 60 Santa Rosa Transit Mall, Windsor, Healdsburg, Cloverdale. * Route 62 Santa Rosa Transit Mall, Charles M Schultz Airport, Windsor (Windsor Rd & Windsor Depot).

• Santa Rosa City Bus operates local bus connections in and around Santa Rosa
• Groome Transportation operates regularly scheduled buses to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Oakland International Airport (OAK) and the San Francisco Cruise Terminals (Pier 27) from Sonoma County Airport via Santa Rosa P&R (1350 Maple Ave), Petaluma, Rohnert Park and San Rafael. They do not stop into the Santa Rosa Transit Mall. Ask if they offer door to door pick-up and drop off.

By train

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, or SMART, connects Santa Rosa with Windsor, Sonoma County Airport, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma, Novato, and San Rafael. Plans are underway to extend this route further up to Cloverdale and Healdsburg. The train and bike path connects to the Golden Gate Ferry in Larkspur, with connecting service from San Francisco; it provides commuter mass transit between some of the most major cities in the Wine Country with local stops in:

• Santa Rosa North Station
• Sonoma County Airport Station

By thumb

Hitchhiking in the North Bay is an accepted practice, but as always have your wits about you. Travelers will find more luck along the coastal highway, which are teaming with tourist, rather than near Highway 101. If you are looking to escape San Francisco, walking across the Golden Gate to Vista Point, where all traffic will be heading north bound after leaving the scenic spot. Ask nicely, and many of the friendly Bay Area residents will be happy to give you a ride north toward Sonoma County and Santa Rosa.

Get around

Being largely suburban, a personal vehicle remains the most common method of getting around Santa Rosa and the surrounding area. There is the Santa Rosa CityBus, but frequency, operating hours, and coverage leave much to be desired. Sonoma County Transit and Golden Gate Transit also provide service in Santa Rosa, but focus mainly on inter-city travel.

Bicycling in Santa Rosa is a reasonable option. Most destinations are reachable via not-too-busy roads, and notable car-free pathways exist from downtown to and beyond the western city limit. The primary off-street bicycle and pedestrian path system is the Prince Memorial Greenway, extending along the banks of Santa Rosa Creek from City Hall in the heart of downtown, out beyond the city to the west. On the western edge of downtown, near the Marriott Hotel in Railroad Square, this connects to the Joe Rodota Trail, a paved off-street path going to Sebastopol paralleling CA highway 12. Much of the city is relatively flat.

The downtown core is easily walkable, and if one were staying downtown they could conceivably while away a day on foot.