Pleasing Petaluma

Comfortable RV parks are in the area. Choose your site, get in the towed vehicle, and enjoy the town. Don’t worry about where to park the towed car; convenient, free parking on the street and in parking lots is plentiful.

Over the years, Petaluma has been transformed from a sleepy farming town to a destination full of fascinating nooks. Inhabited by the Miwok Indians and then by the Spanish, the area has a long and proud history that it reveals through well-preserved buildings. A stroll through the compact town center leads to shops overflowing onto the street with antiques, art, clothing, quality consignment items, books, and more.

Many of the town’s historical buildings show off vintage architectural designs, which prompt lots of stopping to look up and around. Cameras almost aim themselves.

The A Street Historic District is a six-block area of well-preserved homes, churches, and offices that were constructed prior to 1925. The “A” must stand for artistic architecture. This area offers a mix of ornamental Victorian; smooth art deco; tile-roofed, white stuccoed Spanish Revival; whimsical Storybook; and other architectural styles. Julia Morgan, most famously known as the architect for the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, was among the designers of Petaluma’s buildings. But a native son, Brainerd Jones, is credited with designing the majority of the city’s historic portion.

A century ago, buildings boasted cast-iron facades and were decorated with blossoms, curlicues, and fans. They were the banks, department stores, and business centers. Today these beautiful structures are used differently, though they still wear their “dress-up” clothes. The former Sonoma County Bank is now the Petaluma Seed Bank and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. It’s a bank for seeds. Inside, shoppers gaze at the pressed-metal ceilings and through immense, arched windows. How wonderful to have buildings that are beautiful as well as functional.

Even former granaries, though not quite as comely as the downtown buildings, now house shops, restaurants, and individual businesses. The pretty architecture has made Petaluma a movie star, with the town playing a role in more than a dozen films. If you are a fan of American Graffiti, Peggy Sue Got Married, Lolita, Basic Instinct, or others (a full list appears on the town’s website), you will recognize buildings and locations. The town even celebrates its affiliation with American Graffiti with an annual festival and vintage car cruise (this year, May 19-21).

Art galleries abound in town. More art is housed in the Petaluma Arts Center, located next to the city’s visitors center, with rotating exhibits in a variety of media. The downtown area hosts Second Saturday Art Walks to showcase local and international artists.

Mrs. Grossman’s Sticker Factory, on Cypress Drive, is a crafter’s mecca. It offers tours (with free stickers) and has a small shop on the premises. Be sure to call ahead (707-765-8554, www.mrsgrossmans.com) for tour reservations. Tours are offered Monday through Thursday.

The Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, open Thursday through Sunday, is in the former 1904 neoclassical Carnegie Library. Its freestanding, leaded-glass dome towers over displays of the Miwok Indians who lived in the area long before European explorers arrived in the 16th century. The Miwok Indians’ story and that of European settlements are told in small exhibits.

Starting in the 1880s, Petaluma became known as “The Egg Basket of the World” and “the center of the Chicken Universe.” The egg industry filled local banks with vast sums of money, which led to the construction of the town’s architecturally rich buildings. The history of these industries is told in a featured exhibit at the museum. Speaking of eggs, parade lovers will want to know that Petaluma’s 35th annual Butter & Egg Days Parade & Festival is Saturday, April 23, 2016. It’s followed on Sunday, April 24, with the annual Spring Antique Faire, giving visitors another reason to stay for the entire weekend.

To learn more about the history of Petaluma, visit and tour Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park, at the edge of town. It features the home of Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, which was part of his 66,000-acre working ranch from 1836 to 1846. As a representative of Mexico, Vallejo was instrumental in the development of the area, but when Americans began to take over the territory, he was captured in the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. Later, after his release, Vallejo supported California statehood and was in the first group of men to form the California state senate.

Today a visit to the general’s Petaluma home details life in the Mexican territories in the mid-19th century. Self-guided and docent-led tours include the many rooms and outdoor spaces of the home. Well-written signage in the storerooms, living quarters, a weaving room, and rooms for entertainment bring alive those distant times. By the time of his death, Vallejo’s land holdings in the area had diminished, but many, in addition to Adobe State Park, are now open for tours.

Cattle eventually joined the chicken population of Petaluma, and by the 1950s, the egg industry was rivaled by dairy production. Today you can tour local farms such as McClelland’s Dairy, where visitors milk a cow on their private tour.

Cowgirl Creamery has a cheese production location in Petaluma, but its Friday tours take place in the nearby town of Point Reyes Station. Each tour includes samples and luscious items to purchase. Try Petaluma Creamery’s cheese, or drive out to the shop at Marin French Cheese. Tara Firma Farms, Green String Farm, and the weekly farmers market (open in season) all abound with fresh-picked produce and newly laid eggs. To go farther afield, pick up a map of the Sonoma County Farm Trails while you’re at the Petaluma visitors center.

The famous Sonoma wine country borders Petaluma, but this town has its own claims to wine fame and is especially renowned for its pinot noirs. Tours of many local wineries are available. Try sweet dessert wines at Sonoma Portworks, where rich-bodied ports are poured in the tasting room. Portworks also has samples of oils and vinegars from the region. A couple of tips: Be sure the tasting fee applies to the purchase, and order different beverages and share sips to add more variety to your tastings.

If beer is your preference, consider Lagunitas Brewing Company and Petaluma Hills Brewing Company. Both offer tours and tastes.

All this touring builds an appetite that will be well satisfied at the intimate cafes and elegant restaurants lining the streets in and around downtown Petaluma. Bakeries, ice cream parlors, and candy shops entice visitors with their seductive treats. Several cafes have live music in the evenings. “The Greatest Slough on Earth,” a.k.a. the Petaluma River, is popular with boaters and kayakers who like to dock at the entrances of some of the great restaurants.

The town is easy to tour on foot, thanks to its gentle hills. Many biking and walking trails extend through the town and beyond. Four highly rated golf courses are within a short drive. And shoppers will want to check out Petaluma Village Premium Outlets.

Finally, once you’ve explored Petaluma, consider that your motorhome is only an hour away from San Francisco, and even closer to Napa Valley. You may want to make it a base from which to continue exploring.

210 Lakeville St.

Petaluma, CA 94952

(707) 762-9348

6 Petaluma Blvd. N., Suite A-2

Petaluma, CA 94952

(707) 762-2785

210 Lakeville St.

Petaluma, CA 94952

(877) 273-8258

2140 Redwood Highway

Greenbrae, CA 94904

(888) 461-5199

(415) 461-5199

1530 Armstrong Ave.

Novato, CA 94945

(800) 733-6787

(415) 897-1271

20 Rainsville Road

Petaluma, CA 94952

(800) 562-1233

(707) 763-1492

7450 Cristobal Way

Rohnert Park, CA 94928

(707) 795-9333