Camping, Good Eats, and Ice Cream

This past weekend, we took Caleb and Sadie camping to Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park in Sonoma County. For me, a huge fan of comfortable hotels or “glamping” at the very least, the highlight of our trip was stopping in at Michoacana Natural Ice Cream in Sonoma on our way home.

Now, I love s’mores, the smell of campfire, star gazing, and snuggling with my family in a tent (even though my fourty-something body vehemently resents the funky earth mattress we slept on all night), but nothing tops off a camping trip in hot weather like ice cream!

At lunch (we dined at my sister and brother-in-law’s restaurant, Creekside Café, which is fabulous), we asked our lovely waitress for a good ice cream tip and she pointed us to Michoacana, just down the road. What a discovery! This tiny, colorful, and brightly lit storefront, houses more ice cream flavors than I am accustomed to seeing under one roof (in both their ice cream options and paletas - Latin American fruit laden popsicles). It was clear that this was a local favorite, as evidenced by the crowd of happy ice cream consumers hanging around outside.

It was hot outside, but cool inside and we were eager to sit down with a refreshing frozen treat. Caleb ordered the lime ice cream, Sadie the strawberry, Mateo a combo of chocolate and Mexican vanilla, and I had the rum raisin paleta. Caleb isn’t much of a sharer when he’s really enjoying something and his fingers couldn’t be pried away from his ice cream cone. I did manage to get a lick in and his was lime-o-licious! Mateo, Sadie, and I, however, shared our delicious treats freely and emitted sounds of pure enjoyment in the process.

So, three recommendations I would make for your next family trip to Sonoma:

Camping at Sugar Loaf Ridge (a very family friendly campground, just 20 minutes from the town of Sonoma – our kiddos couldn’t get enough of wading around in the creek and catching tadpoles in their little hands): 2605 Adobe Canyon Rd, Kenwood, CA 95452

Breakfast or lunch at Creekside Café (their benedicts and pancakes are the tops or for lunch, try the Mayacamas burger or other savory treats named after my family members): 239 Boyes Blvd, Sonoma, CA 95476

And, ice cream bliss at Michoacana (you’ll be amazed by all of the flavors to choose from): 18495 Hwy 12, Sonoma, CA 95476