Why You Should Bring Your Kids to Wine Country

Planning your travel and vacations for this year? Here’s why you should bring your kids to Wine Country.

You may remember our trip to California back in July. We did a three week road trip which was AMAZING. If you missed it, you can read all the places we stopped here.

BUT life and the holidays got so busy that I didn’t share our final (and favorite) stop with you!

The wait is over! This post is picture heavt. Hopefully that doesn’t put you off.

There’s something so special about Wine Country. The light is beautiful and golden, grapes are growing everywhere (the above photo was in Calistoga at an ice cream parlor), and the pace is much slower.

We took Conor to Universal in LA, thinking that would be his favorite. His absolute favorite was Wine Country! Who knew?!? Friends asked how our trip was and so many said, “Oh, I don’t think we could take our kids to wine country. I think we’d enjoy it more, just the two of us.” Well, our kids LOVED this part of California. There are some vineyards that are adults only, but most places welcome children, and there was so much to do with them at vineyards and beyond.

We had 6 days in Wine Country – we caught up with a bunch of friends but also had relaxed family time, too. Here’s what we did.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at The Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa in Calistoga.

It’s a an old motor lodge which has a fun retro vibe and was oh, so stylish. The grounds were breathtaking and relaxed.

We enjoyed playing bocce ball.

It was pretty hot when we visited. About 97 degrees. So we’d spend the evenings by the pool. They have a hot spring pool, hot spring soaking tub and a hot spring hot tub. All were absolutely lovely. We would go to the pool around 6 and bring wine and snacks. There are cabanas by the pool, as well as lounging chairs and bean bags.

Look at that sherbet sky! It’s like something out of a dream, right? We got that view every night. Then we would do s’mores or jiffy pop on the fire-pit with the kids. All of that was available from the front desk at a really reasonable price.

Before I show you more the area has to offer I want to share what our room looked like.

We booked a Camper King Suite because it had two rooms and a bathroom. This was our bedroom:

This was the other room:

The banquet converted to a bed at night, for the boys, but was awesome when they weren’t sleeping, because we could eat here, and lounge and watch movies. We brought our jiffy pop back 😉

Here’s a peek at the bathroom:

Isn’t the decor fun?!?

We had so much room to spread out and all feel comfy. So if you’re going as a family I’d recommend this type of room. The mini fridge is stocked with Snapple and snacks which are FREE. We were so used to telling the boys not to take stuff in other hotels but here they were allowed.

The motor lodge also had retro bikes you could take out. Breakfast was included – we got vouchers for coffee / bagels but the hotel is in the process of building it’s own restaurant – it was being built while we were there. They also have exercise classes and a beautiful spa.

Oh, and there’s a tasting room for Von Strasser and Lava Vine – just walk down a path from the hotel to get there:

Our good friends Chris and Jann (who used to be our neighbors in Scituate) met us at the hotel and we went to a tasting and then out for lunch.

Family Friendly Vineyards

Not all vineyards allow kids so it’s best to check ahead of time. We did three vineyards with the kids, which was plenty for us.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery

We had to go to Francis Ford Coppola’s Winery as we’re such big fans of his films! The vineyard is in Geyserville. It’s very family friendly. There’s also a pool here which they sell day passes for. Since our hotel already had lovely pools we decided to do the bottling tour, which gave us a sample of wine and a view of movie paraphernalia.

That’s Conor with the Godfather desk and the gold phone:

Look at all the Oscars!

The bottling room:

The bathroom:

I know it may be strange to take photos of bathrooms but I’m always thinking about design and one day we hope to tackle both bathrooms. I loved the mix of dark woodwork, subway tile, and the black and white floor. Timeless and elegant.

Instead of doing a wine tasting, we ended up getting two glasses of wine, drinks for the kids, and a cheese board. We enjoyed it out on a terrace and it felt like we had the whole vineyard to ourselves.

Such a relaxing way to spend an afternoon! The wine was delicious and so were the views!

Castella D’Amorosa

When we were in Spain with the kids we went to Tio Pepe and Conor & John had the most unbelievable grape juice. Conor was so excited to try grape juice in California. This was the only vineyard we could find that did grape juice for kids.

The founder also decided it was important to construct a 13th century Tuscan castle at his vineyard.

It was fun strolling the grounds and amazing if you’ve never been to a castle.

But Luke being English, we’ve visited a few castles in the UK and Europe.

Sterling Vineyards

Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga was my absolute favorite. We got a shuttle bus from the hotel.

It is a beautiful vineyard with trees lining the entry.

Sterling was founded in 1964 by a British writer and paper broker, Peter Newton. In 1971 work began on the winery building, which is done in a Greek style stucco. An aerial tram takes visitors up to the vineyard and our boys loved it!

The views on the aerial tram were stunning.

We opted for the Silver Experience which was a self-guided tour, and then a private tasting on an outdoor patio.

The wine was fabulous and it felt so relaxing being high up amongst the trees. The boys loved the charcuterie boards and also kept busy with a backpack they were given by Sterling. We had little birds visiting us on the patio, too.

We loved the wine so much we became members and I always get excited when a box from Sterling arrives! A taste of California.

There’s a wonderful gift shop at Sterling. Conor got a hat and sunglasses.

We also got to keep our crystal glasses from the tasting. This is a definite must visit. I can’t wait to go back!!!

More Food & Drink

Everywhere the food was phenomenal. Here’s a few places we enjoyed:

Sam’s Social Club

This was right next door to our hotel. We went for lunch with our friends, Chris and Jann. They have an outdoor patio, but it was super hot so we ate inside.

We enjoyed a bunch of tapas and flatbreads. The truffle oil deviled eggs were amazing.

Gott’s Roadside

We enjoyed juicy burgers and fries with my friend Ji. Unfortunately, I was so busy catching with her that I didn’t take any photos. Gott’s has a few locations.

Southside Carneros

This was a fabulous spot for breakfast, but I’m sure everything they make is amazing. We actually met my friend Sara, of Arrow Art Studio, and her husband here for breakfast, our last in Wine Country. EVERYTHING was delicious. I unfortunately didn’t get any photos here either as I was so busy catching up with Sara but you can read my interview with her here.

Lagunitas Brewing Company

My husband loves Lagunitas beer, and our friend Jann also works there, so it was a win-win. We went on a brewery tour which was more fun for grown-ups, but we ended up getting some awesome swag, and enjoying a lunch with live music. What could be better than that?!?

Other Things to Do in Wine Country with Kids

Petrified Wood Forest

Step back in time to over 3 million years to see ancient trees that have been petrified in the Petrified Forest. Located in Calistoga this is such a fun morning adventure with kids.

According to the website, “The petrified trees at this site remained buried for 3.4 million years until, in 1870, an intrepid Swedish homesteader by the name of Charles Evans (“Petrified Charley”), while raking his pasture, discovered the top of an old hollow log that was as hard as stone.” We loved learning about Petrified Charley.

It was amazing to see the lava flow as well (under Conor’s feet). You can pack a picnic and stay a while.

We really enjoyed the gift shop, which is full of great books, fossils, petrified wood, and other rocks.

Old Faithful Geyser

The Old Faithful Geyser in Calistoga may not be as grand as Yellowstone’s Old Faithful but it is a sight to be seen! This was the first geyser we’d ever seen in person.

It erupts every 15-30 minutes and we were excited to see the water bubbling. We were fascinated to see that there were fish in the incredibly hot water!

There’s a petting zoo and places to sit and enjoy the view. Great spot for a picnic.

The goats were pretty cute, too.

The Di Rosa Museum of Contemporary Art

We love contemporary art and the Di Rosa Museum was a fun spot to visit with my friend Ji. There’s beautiful galleries inside but we especially loved the outdoor spaces.

Conor loved this Spun Chair, he thought it would be neat by our pool 😉

I especially loved this:

Now you know what to do with all your old wine bottles! Ha! Ha!

Strolling Calistoga

We loved simply strolling the streets of Calistoga. It still looks like the wild west. There’s loads of great cafes, and a lovely ice cream parlor. The Calmart was a great spot to grab snacks and stuff to enjoy by the pool.

Calistoga was founded by Sam Brannan. He decided to build cottages there as he wanted to create something like Saratoga, NY due to the hot springs. Whilst he was a bit inebriated he said he planned on creating the the “Calistoga of Sarafornia” the name stuck. This was one of the first cottages he built.

Calistoga also had about 5 or 6 antique shops and they were all filled to the brim with treasures. It was so fun that we could walk from our hotel.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the last stop on our trip. It was a definitely our favorite in California! Of course, so wonderful to see so many friends, too. We really can’t wait to go back. There’s so much we didn’t get a chance to see. Where should we go next time we visit?

If you’d like to read another part of this series you can below:

Planning a California Family Road Trip

Things to do in Southern California With Kids

Things to do on the Central California Coast

Visiting Sausalito and San Francisco with Kids