Welcome to Valley Ford
A small, unincorporated community about 75-miles north of San Francisco, Valley Ford sits right off Highway 1, which gives residents easy access to the ocean and nearby towns, not to mention wineries. With a population of 147 people, Valley Ford is not a well-known town, but it certainly is well-located as the Pacific Ocean is a mere five miles to the west, which provides the area with great weather, including mild and comfortable winters.
Lay of the land
Located in wine country, Valley Ford is home to many antique stores and restaurants, which both residents and locals enjoy to the fullest. Due to its long and rich history, buildings are much older than in the rest of California, and that truly makes the landscape more interesting to look at and enjoy. If you like the outdoors, Valley Ford is a town for you as it is just down the street from the Estero Americano State Marine Recreational Management Area, where you can enjoy nature to the fullest.
All in all, Valley Ford is a sleepy town that has charm and great places to enjoy the outdoors, all while giving you access to larger cities and smaller towns in Sonoma County and the Bay Area. Combined with the Pacific Ocean being right down the street, and you can see why this town is special to some.
Transportation
By living in Valley Ford, you must accept that a car is necessary. Once you do that, you are going to be in for a treat as the town is located just off Highway 1. This means that you can get down to the beach in about 10-minutes, or you can get to downtown San Francisco in a little over an hour. There is a lot to check out in between as you can check out places like Stinson Beach or Mount Tamalpais, all within 45-minutes of Valley Ford.
Local Highlights
Without a doubt, if you live in Valley Ford, you will have ample opportunities to check out the ocean. It is only a few minutes east of Bodega Bay, where you can surf, kayak, check out the sand or simply have a picnic and relax. Or, residents also have the option to visit sparsely-populated Dillon Beach, where sunsets are beloved as it is usually nearly empty and a great place to relax. A bit further to the south, by taking Highway 1, you can get to Point Reyes National Seashore and enjoy the ocean and nearly unspoiled nature.
Don’t worry, if the beach isn’t your thing and you prefer to hike or enjoy the outdoors, you can have a good time at Mount Tamalpais. Here, you can hike, mountain bike, camp or just enjoy nature. Of course, if you are tempted, you are only a short distance from Baker Beach, which is a favorite among locals and visitors alike.
While not in the center of wine country, Valley Ford is still near many wineries, and you can reach most of them within an hour or so. If you want to check out world-class wineries, you can head to Sonoma or Petaluma, or you can head to many surrounding towns in the area. When taking Highway 1 and Highway 101 north, you can get to Santa Rosa, which is a town of around 175,000 people. You can do all your shopping here, and you can do other stuff that you can’t in a town the size of Valley Ford. It’s also not far from San Francisco, and you can get to downtown in about an hour. The drive is amazing, and it ends near the Golden Gate Bridge. Yes, this sleepy little town is so close to it all that you won’t miss out on anything.
