PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA

CNN Names Petaluma in its “America’s Best Towns to Visit” for 2025

Recognizing Petaluma for its rich history, quirky vibe, historic downtown shopping, music, craft beers, wine tasting, and award-winning restaurants, CNN named Petaluma on it annual editor’s pick list of best towns in the nation to visit.

“You could spend two weeks in Petaluma and not nearly eat through all the delicious dining options in town. That’s another reason to start and end your days of regional exploration there.” (David G Allan, CNN)

GATEWAY TO SONOMA COUNTY

Easily accessible by air or car, Petaluma’s historic and happening downtown is bordered by the Petaluma River, surrounded by rolling farmland, and within easy reach of the Redwoods, Wine Country, San Francisco and the Sonoma Coast.

In the 1920s, Petaluma’s National Egg Day Parade was featured in newsreels, where floats with giant chickens boasted that Petaluma, home to six million hens laying 600 million eggs, was the “World’s Egg Basket.”

While the news coming out of Petaluma today is less egg-centric, there are always lots of interesting, fun, delicious, and sometimes quirky stories to share. While Petaluma proudly embraces its past, it’s an evolving community, constantly offering new lodging, dining, and recreational opportunities.

Travelers come to Petaluma for its boutiques, farm-to-table California cuisine, wineries, craft breweries, seasonal events, visual arts, maker events, bustling live music scene, and river recreation. Whether it’s a romantic getaway or a family vacation, Petaluma has a wealth of possibilities to choose from.

PETALUMA STATISTICS

• Population: 59,440
• Founded: 1858
• Sq. miles in area: 13.30
• Avg. rainfall 25 inches (summer rainfall is rare)
• Average daytime temperatures:
  • Spring to Fall: 65° to 85°
  • Winter: low 50’s to 65

FUN FACTS

• The Petaluma Gap is California’s newest American Viticultural Area (AVA), known for producing exceptional pinot noir.
• The first practical chicken incubator was invented in Petaluma in 1879 by Canadian-born inventor Lyman C. Byce, which led to a chicken farm boom in chicken farms. Petaluma also had the world’s first and only chicken pharmacy, and became the “World’s Egg Basket.”
• In 1911, adventurer and adrenaline junkie Fred Wiseman flew the first airmail flight, carrying two letters from the Petaluma postmaster to the Santa Rosa postmaster, a bundle of newspapers, and a sack of coffee.