Your Glen Ellen Summer: What's Actually Happening in the Valley of the Moon Right Now

Summer in Glen Ellen is often summarized too quickly: a morning hike, an afternoon tasting, dinner on Arnold Drive. That version leaves out what makes this particular season feel different.

As of July 11, 2026, the best things to do in Glen Ellen this summer are forming a repeatable local rhythm. Wednesday pairs farm shopping with live music at the botanical garden. Saturday moves from the Red Barn to an afternoon concert. Sunday begins at the farmers’ market. Running through it all is an unusually active year at Jack London State Historic Park, where the 150th anniversary of London’s birth has brought new programs to a place many residents already know well.

The point is not to fill every hour. It is to know what is happening now, what has actually changed, and which routines are worth making your own.

This weekend is a good preview of the whole season

The July 11 and 12 calendar captures the range of Glen Ellen’s summer in one weekend.

On Saturday evening, Jack London State Historic Park is presenting a live reading of “The Water Baby” in the historic cottage garden from 6 to 7 p.m. Admission is $15, the regular park entrance fee is waived for the event, and a golf cart will run between the Ranch lot and the cottage.

Sunday brings two very different reasons to spend time outdoors:

• Verano en el Parque runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Jack London State Historic Park. The free program is conducted entirely in Spanish and includes cyanotype art, wildlife activities, a guided Beauty Ranch walk, lunch, park admission, and supplies. Limited backpacks, binoculars, and hiking poles are available to borrow.
• Sunday Funday at Sonoma Botanical Garden runs from 1 to 4 p.m. with arts and crafts, face painting, family yoga, seed planting, and lawn games. It is a drop-in program included with Garden admission and free for members. Selected activities are available in both English and Spanish.

The current heat matters. Glen Ellen’s forecast calls for highs around 90 degrees on July 11, followed by 94 to 96 degrees from July 12 through July 15. Early park time, a shaded afternoon pause, and evening music make more sense than an all-day outdoor plan.

The useful summer rule: Start early, leave room for the heat, and return outside after 5 p.m.

Wednesday has become Glen Ellen’s best repeatable summer evening

A strong local routine has emerged along Highway 12.

Begin at Oak Hill Farm’s Red Barn Store, open Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m. The store carries produce and flowers grown on the farm, along with local olive oil, hot sauce, nut butters, wellness products, and pantry goods.

From there, continue to Acoustic Sunsets at Sonoma Botanical Garden. Music runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday through September 16, and the Garden remains open until 8 p.m. Admission is included with general Garden entry and free for members.

You can bring a picnic and a blanket. Well-behaved leashed dogs are welcome. Advance tickets are not required, though a reserved picnic table costs $50 and seats up to six people.

The upcoming schedule is unusually specific, with a different performer and beverage partner each week:

This is the clearest expression of Glen Ellen’s 2026 summer rhythm. It connects a working local farm, an outdoor cultural program, regional musicians, and Wine Country producers without requiring an elaborate itinerary.

The Botanical Garden has more than a concert series this year

Residents who have not visited Sonoma Botanical Garden recently have a real reason to return.

“Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” is on view through September 7. Eight monumental hybrid-animal sculptures, inspired by the Zapotec calendar, bring bright color and intricate pattern into the Garden.

The exhibition arrived alongside a lasting change. Sonoma Botanical Garden has expanded its California Native Plant Demonstration Garden in collaboration with the Ruth Bancroft Garden. New planting around the Welcome Center and California Oaks Trail is intended to create a more accessible, water-wise learning garden.

That pairing gives the summer exhibition more depth. The sculptures are temporary, but part of the garden around them is being reconsidered for the future.

A second Sunday Funday is scheduled for August 9 from 1 to 4 p.m., offering another chance to see Spirit Guides alongside the afternoon activities.

Jack London’s anniversary is giving a familiar park a new chapter

Jack London State Historic Park is celebrating the 150th anniversary of London’s birth throughout 2026. For Glen Ellen residents, the value is not simply another reason to tour the historic buildings. The anniversary has produced readings, talks, art workshops, and new interpretive tools across the year.

The park now offers a digital tour app with an augmented-reality experience. That makes it possible to approach the property differently, even if Beauty Ranch, the cottage, and the House of Happy Walls are already familiar.

There has also been a practical change. Effective June 1, vehicle admission increased from $10 to $15 for up to nine passengers. The fee includes access to the museum, historic cottage, Beauty Ranch, orchard, and more than 30 miles of trails.

Two August programs extend the anniversary calendar:

• August 6: “Jack London’s Medicine Case” runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the House of Happy Walls Museum. The talk examines the medicine case on display and is part of the park’s anniversary speaker series.
• August 22: A plein-air watercolor workshop with Hannah Day runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It covers composition, color temperature, atmospheric perspective, sketching, and watercolor technique. Materials are provided, but the $15 vehicle fee is separate.

For an ordinary hiking day, check the park’s trail conditions page before leaving home. Its published trail notes were not current as of July 11, so older reports should not be treated as present-day closures.

Saturdays and Sundays now have their own dependable pattern

Oak Hill Farm returns on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A farm tour is offered at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month, making that morning especially useful for anyone curious about the agricultural side of Sonoma Valley.

By early afternoon, B.R. Cohn Winery’s Summer Music Series provides the next stop. Free live music runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through October 31. Wine is available through guided tastings or by the glass and bottle, with food trucks appearing on selected dates.

Sunday has become market day. The Glen Ellen Farmers’ Market reopened June 7 at Woodland Star Waldorf School and operates every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Its focus is straightforward: local goods, small businesses, and a place for neighbors to reconnect before the week begins.

These are useful precisely because they recur. You do not need to remember one festival date or reserve an entire weekend. You can make a farm stop, hear a set of live music, or shop the market as time allows.

Glen Ellen’s food options make the schedule work

A local summer routine depends on knowing where to find an early breakfast, picnic provisions, or dinner after the music.

Glen Ellen Village Market opens daily at 6 a.m. and keeps later summer hours. Its deli, salad bar, hot-food bar, sandwiches, pastries, coffee, and prepared foods cover everything from an early trail breakfast to a picnic for Acoustic Sunsets.

Garden Court Cafe serves breakfast and lunch from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday through Saturday. It is closed Tuesday.

For dinner:

• Glen Ellen Star is open nightly from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations for parties of one to seven are released 20 days ahead.
• Poppy serves dinner Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Its current offerings include a weeknight family-style meal and seasonally changing French-influenced dishes.
• Songbird Parlour in Jack London Village is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m., making it an easy continuation after an afternoon near the park or Garden.

The reservation window at Glen Ellen Star is the detail to remember. If dinner is part of a planned August evening, looking 20 days ahead may save the last-minute scramble.

A few short-drive events belong on the Glen Ellen calendar

The center of this guide remains Glen Ellen, but a few Sonoma events fit naturally into a Valley of the Moon week.

Sonoma’s Tuesday Night Market continues on the Plaza every Tuesday through September 8, generally from 5 to 8 p.m. It brings together produce, prepared food, artisan vendors, and live music. Free bike valet service is available, and cyclists who use it receive a $1 token redeemable with market vendors.

The Valley of the Moon Music Festival runs July 11 through 26. The 2026 season, “Postcards from Dvořák,” explores the composer’s travels and cultural exchanges through chamber music on period instruments. The schedule includes ticketed performances, pay-what-you-choose programs, a free family concert, lectures, open rehearsals, and pop-ups.

At the Field of Dreams, Transcendence Theatre Company presents “Radio Recall: The Soundtrack of Your Life” through July 12. The Sunday show begins at 7:30 p.m. and includes ASL interpretation. Looking ahead, “Mamma Mia!” runs August 13 through 30.

The summer to remember is the one you can repeat

Glen Ellen does not need one oversized event to define the season. Summer 2026 is working on a smaller, more local scale: produce at Oak Hill Farm, music under the trees, a Sunday market, new art in the Garden, and a fresh look at Jack London’s legacy.

Pick one Wednesday. Build a Saturday around the Red Barn. Return to the park for a program rather than the usual route. That is where this summer’s Glen Ellen story is taking shape.

Amanda Shone’s connection to Sonoma Valley spans generations, with locally grounded guidance for homeowners throughout Glen Ellen and the surrounding Wine Country. If this season has you wondering what your property may be worth in today’s market, get your instant home valuation.