Looking for Holiday Cheer in Wine Country? Take a Free Carriage Ride around Railroad Square, Santa Rosa

Sonoma County is Northern California Wine Country, so there are plenty of attractions to keep the adults in holiday cheer.  But don’t think the kids get left out!  This past weekend we checked out a recent Santa Rosa tradition.  Every Saturday and Sunday in December, as well as the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, weather permitting, there are free carriage rides from 10am-4pm around Railroad Square.  Luckily, the day was bright and sunny and we headed down to check them out. 

The rides start in the parking lot of the Visitor Center, across from Chevy’s, where the owner of the carriage meets riders in period dress.  The carriage itself is from the late 1800s and was pulled by a beautiful white Arabian mare the day we were there.  Apparently there are several horses which take turns pulling the carriage.  We were offered a blanket, although quite honestly even northern California winter days are really not that cold.  The ride is quite short, as you might expect, and lasted maybe 10 minutes or so.  Still, you certainly can’t beat the price and our daughter was entranced by the whole experience.  So, if you’ll be visiting Wine Country this holiday season, particularly if you have baby / kids in tow, you might want to add a visit to Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square to your list of activities and take a little tour of this historic part of downtown Santa Rosa.