Santa Ynez wine country

The move locals make is a loop: take the 101 out so the towns unfold in order, spend the afternoon on foot in Los Olivos, and come home over the 154 at golden hour with a stop at Cold Spring Tavern. Three tasting rooms is the sweet spot, four is the ceiling. Book the popular rooms on Tock a week ahead — earlier in September–October harvest.

When it shines: Spring or fall weekday — summer weekends bring heat and Solvang traffic

1. 1

   Los Alamos food pilgrimage

   Eat

   Detour to this one-block town first: Bob's Well Bread for pastries, or lunch at Bell's — the Per Se alums' one-Michelin-star French bistro, walk-in-friendly at lunch (dinner is email-only, they have no phone). Pico and Full of Life Flatbread are the dinner picks.

2. 2

   Downtown Los Olivos square

   Do

   Park once and wander Grand & Alamo Pintado — a dozen-plus tasting rooms on foot. Stolpman is the buzziest (book on Tock or you may not get in on a Saturday); Sunstone's $18 flight in a Provençal chateau is the best value-for-atmosphere.

3. 3

   Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe

   Eat

   The actual restaurant from the pivotal Sideways dinner scene — a working wine shop with a wall-of-wine dining room. Order off the retail shelf plus corkage for a deep, fairly-priced list.

4. 4

   Solvang — do it right, not touristy

   See

   Worth 3–5 hours for the Danish-village facades, not a full day — but do it well: kringle and butter rings at Olsen's (50+ years, the family apprenticed under Solvang's original baker), then a real meal at Mad & Vin in The Landsby or fine dining at First & Oak in the Mirabelle Inn. Weekday mornings dodge the summer weekend crawl.

5. 5

   Alisal Ranch — a ride outside Solvang

   Do

   A 10,000-acre working dude ranch on the edge of Solvang — horseback rides, a spring-fed lake, archery, and a day-visitor lunch. A lovely half-day for the family and a taste of the valley's ranch side beyond the tasting rooms.

6. 6

   S.Y. Kitchen, Santa Ynez

   Eat

   Santa Ynez town's top table — Italian by way of Central Coast produce, the valley's special-occasion Italian. Parties of five or more call rather than book online.

7. 7

   Cachuma Lake, off the 154

   Do

   Right on the way home — kayak and canoe rentals and easy trails tucked between the mountains. The winter naturalist-led Eagle Cruise is a genuinely different outing to bring a friend or your daughter on; reserve ahead.

8. 8

   The 154 over San Marcos Pass

   See

   The beautiful way home — oak woodland climbing to a 2,224-ft summit with ocean and Channel Islands views. Download offline maps; cell service drops in the canyon.

9. 9

   Cold Spring Tavern

   Eat

   An 1880s stagecoach relay station near the summit. The weekend afternoon outdoor BBQ — red-oak tri-tip sandwiches, live bluegrass, a real local crowd — is the move, not the sit-down room. Walk-up, no reservation.