Day Tripping: Solvang
Without a doubt, the amount of amazing places within a 3 hour drive is one of the best parts about living in Southern California. Whether you want the beach, the mountains, or the desert - you’ve got it. We started doing some of these quick road trips at the beginning of the COVID shutdown but have gotten away from it a bit as things opened back up and life got busy. A couple of weekends ago, we made a spontaneous decision to head north up to Solvang. It’s a tiny little Danish-style village nestled between vineyards and rolling hills and it truly looks like something out of a story book. We packed Cash up in the car and took off from LA - 2.5 hours later, we were in a whole different world!
We found a free parking lot (what?!) as soon as we entered town and were good to leave the car there for the day. Once you park, it’s steps to the main downtown streets. If you’re looking for wine, cheese, or baked goods - Solvang is the place to be. The streets are lined with these types of shops and TONS of local wines. We popped in and out of a few of them before making our way to my favorite part of any day - lunch.
We made this trip on a Saturday and were both surprised at how many people were there doing the very same thing as us. It was packed. I would recommend making lunch reservations ahead of time or at least looking places up so you have a game plan. We did neither so I was on the verge of hanger when we finally decided on Brekkies. It’s a breakfast-all-day and brunch spot and it was delish! Ryan got a protein bowl (so healthy), and I got an egg sandwich with tater tots. All were amazing. I also sipped on some Sauvignon Blanc! Be sure to ask for the local one.
Next we went and sat at the local popup of Carvintas Winery and did a wine tasting. We both agreed that none of the wines were our favorite, but it was a very low key, relaxed environment and was a perfect place to just sit, sip, & people watch.
We decided that we wanted to bring a bottle of wine home, but since we didn’t love the Carvintas options we popped into some of the wine cellars along the street. Overwhelmed with options and not really sure if they were overpriced, we decided to stop at a vineyard that we passed on the way there instead.
Gainey Vineyard is a dream. You head up the driveway surrounded by beautiful grapevines with the mountains in the background. We weren’t feeling like sitting for another full tasting, which was a good thing because this vineyard is actually not dog friendly. However, they let me try a glass of the bottle I wanted to buy which was very kind! We made our purchase and headed back to LA.
The drive is actually one of the best parts of this trip. If you’re coming from LA, it’s a little boring up until you hit Ventura but then it turns to cute beach towns and then windy, scenic roads. If you’re looking for a stop to stretch the legs or get gas - we stopped into a little town on the way back called Carpinteria and I’m pretty sure it was fake it was so cute.
Overall I highly recommend Solvang if you’re looking for a quick, dog friendly weekend day trip. Let me know what you find!
