Road note: The Freeport Bridge is closed on weekdays from 8 AM to 6 PM through November 30, 2026. Source: Bogle Family Vineyards visit page.
Road note: Old Sugar Mill tasting rooms are closed Monday to Friday through November 24 because of the bridge closure. Weekends are open as usual. Source: Rendez-Vous Winery visit page.
The little river towns
The Delta's river towns are tiny, old and charming: a bar, a store, a dock, a century of stories. Here's a little about each, north to south, and a few things worth stopping for.
Freeport
Freeport started in 1862 as a scheme to dodge Sacramento's landing fees, with its own short railroad to the river. The railroad was bought out and torn up a few years later, and the boom town settled into a quiet spot of a few dozen people at the top of the Delta.
Freeport Bar & Grill
A decades-old bar and restaurant at the mouth of the Delta, and the classic first or last stop of a river drive.
8259 Freeport Blvd.
Freeport Railroad marker
A roadside plaque on Freeport Blvd telling the story of the little railroad that started the town.
Freeport Wine Country Inn
A bed for the night if you'd rather not drive home after the tasting rooms.
Clarksburg
Named for Robert Clark, who settled here in 1849, and laid out as a proper town in the 1920s. The brick sugar mill ran until 1988 and is now full of tasting rooms, which tells you most of what you need to know about Clarksburg today.
Old Sugar Mill
Park once and wander between a dozen small tasting rooms in the old mill.
Clarksburg Marina
Coffee, a diner and river cruises, right on the water.
Husick's by Forester
Pizza and a local glass on the deck in the middle of town.
Bogle Family Vineyards
A tasting among the vines just outside town.
Hood
A railroad town, founded in 1909 by Southern Pacific and named for its chief engineer, William Hood. Trains and riverboats once met here on the route to San Francisco. The line is long gone, but the old post office still stands.
Scribner Bend Vineyards
A riverside estate winery with a restored 1918 barn and a courtyard kitchen, on River Rd between Freeport and Hood.
Blue Heron Trails at Stone Lakes
About a mile of paved, easy loop trail around the wetlands of Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, a few miles east of Hood. Best from October to May for sandhill cranes and ducks. No dogs.
Open daily, 6:30 AM to 5 PM in winter and to 6 PM in summer.
Courtland
An old steamer-landing town from the 1870s, deep in pear country. The whole town turns out for the Pear Fair every summer.
Courtland Pear Fair
A volunteer-run small-town fair since 1972: pear pie, pear drinks, a parade, live music and a duck-calling contest.
The last Sunday in July.
Grand Island Vineyards
A family winery near Courtland that's open for tastings and tours. Check before you go, as we couldn't find posted hours.
12484 State Hwy 160, Courtland.
Locke
Built in 1915 by Chinese merchants after a fire burned Walnut Grove's Chinatown. They couldn't buy land under the law of the time, so they leased it from George Locke. The wooden Main Street is still standing, and it's the most intact historic rural Chinese American town in the country. Watch for the resident cats lounging on the porches.
Say hi to the porch cats
Locke's resident cats like to nap on the old porches along Main Street. Look, don't chase.
Locke Boarding House Museum
A free state park museum in a 1909 boarding house, with docents, a small shop and free history tours some weekends.
Fri to Sun, 11 AM to 4 PM. 13916 Main St.
Dai Loy Gambling House Museum
A 1915 gambling hall with its original tables, one of a few small museums along Main Street.
13951 Main St.
Al the Wop's
A bar and steakhouse in a 1915 building, open since the 1930s, with dollar bills stuck all over the ceiling.
13943 Main St.
Spring Festival and Chinese New Year
Lion dances, music, crafts and food fill Main Street for the Asian Pacific Spring Festival, with a Chinese New Year celebration earlier in the year.
Spring Festival in May; Chinese New Year in February.
Walnut Grove
A steamboat stop in the 1800s that grew Chinese and Japanese neighborhoods side by side. Its 1920s Japantown still looks much the way it did before the families were sent away in 1942, and it's on the National Register.
Walk the historic districts
Stroll the old Japantown and Chinatown blocks by the river, past the 1916 Kawamura Barber Shop and the 1927 Buddhist church.
Tony's Place
A local bar and restaurant known for prime rib, fish and chips and its Portuguese beans.
14157 Market St. Open daily, per a 2025 travel piece.
Ryde
Laid out in 1892 and named after Ryde on England's Isle of Wight. Its four-story hotel went up in 1927, right in the middle of Prohibition, and ran as a speakeasy with a reputation to match. Herbert Hoover announced his run for president there in 1928.
Ryde Hotel
Stay a night in the old speakeasy, or just stop in for the story. The restaurant keeps seasonal hours.
Small towns, small hours. Many of these places keep weekend or seasonal hours, so check before you go. Know a spot we missed? Send it in.