Windsor

See

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.

See Pacific Coast Air Museum

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.

📍 One Air Museum Way, Santa Rosa🕒 Tue Thu Sat Sun 10AM-4PM, closed major holidays☎ +1 707-575-7900Checked Apr 2022

MapsWebsite☆ Want to go

Do

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:

For more ideas, check out the town's Visitor's Center, operated by the Windsor Chamber of Commerce, at 9001 Windsor Road. Their hours are M-F 8:30AM to 4:30PM, and Sa Su 10AM to 3PM.

Buy

Windsor offers a variety of local shops, plus the usual chain stores.

Downtown Windsor features many small shops with offerings ranging from apparel to candy to a lifestyle general store. Oliver's Market, just north of the Town Green, is an upscale supermarket.

One large cluster of retail locations within Windsor is two adjacent shopping complexes (Lakewood Shopping Center and Lakewood Village Shopping Center) just east of Highway 101, close to the central Windsor highway exit. Another large shopping center, just east of the Shiloh Road exit off 101, is anchored by Walmart, Home Depot, and Grocery Outlet. [Grocery Outlet is a West Coast chain — if you've never been to one, it's definitely worth a visit to at least browse.]

Almost all other retail businesses within Windsor are on Old Redwood Highway, which is roughly parallel to Highway 101, or on Conde Lane, also along Highway 101, south of downtown.

Eat

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:

For dessert, consider these places:

Drink

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.

• 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.

Clustered together, about 1.5 miles south of downtown, is a small beverage district. On weekends, there is a free shuttle service from the Airport station of the SMART train system.

• Four producers, at Artisan Alley, are open to the public on Saturdays, 11AM to 4PM: Colagrossi Wines, at 7755 Bell Road; Sonoma Brothers Distilling, 7759 Bell Road; Tilted Shed Ciderworks, at 7761 Bell Road; and Two Shepherds Winery, at 7763 Bell Road. (Other days are by appointment only.)
• Part of Artisan Alley, at 7765 Bell Rd, is Barley & Bine Beer Cafe, with 38 taps offering mostly craft beer, but also cider and wine. The cafe's food includes grilled sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, a cheese plate, and nachos. Open M 3-9PM, W Th noon-10PM, F Sa noon-11PM, and Su noon-9PM.
• Zouzounis Wines (formerly Deux Amis), at 7680 Bell Rood, is open for tastings Sa and Su 1-4 PM.

Continuing south, you'll find a huge brewpub and brewing facility just off Conde Lane, completed in late 2018:

Just a short distance further south, around the corner from the Russian River Brewing Company, is another production facility opened in 2018:

In a commercial area off Shiloh Road, east of Highway 101, is a tasting room (plus production facilities) for a local brewery:

Just south of town:

Sleep

There are three regular hotels in Windsor:

Besides the usual options for renting a private properties (via Airbnb or similar), there is also a timeshare complex where units can be rented: