The Russian River rises in the coastal mountain ranges of Mendocino County in Northern California, flows through valleys in Mendocino County and Sonoma County, and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Jenner-by-the-Sea, about 60 miles north of the San Francisco Bay's Golden Gate.
The river takes its name from Russian trappers who explored the river in the early 19th century, when Russia maintained trade colonies along the Northern California coasts. In the late 19th century, loggers were drawn to the river for the redwoods that line its coast. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Russian River Valley became a popular summer resort destination for vacationers from San Francisco and Napa. The main resort town on the river is Guerneville, which since the 1970s has been a popular gay resort. On Johnson Beach, Guerneville hosts a weekend-long Blues Festival in June and a Jazz Festival in September. The river provides drinking water to some towns and cities in Sonoma County, and also acts as a drainage channel for much of the basin. Its banks are lined with vineyards throughout much of Sonoma County.
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