About RIO NIDO, CA
Rio Nido, California is a small, unincorporated resort community on the Russian River, 1.3 mi (2.1 km) east of Guerneville, in Sonoma County. The town's name means "river nest" in Spanish. Rio Nido's Post Office is a small unit on the side of its fire station. Its year-round population in 2000 was 296 persons; typical of resort communities, the population increases in the summer. There were 179 housing units. The land area is only .1 square mile. Rio Nido consists of numerous summer homes and cabins, as well as a few small businesses- a bar/restaurant, public pool and a small resort hotel. Most of the homes are located in a redwood canyon which contains a small creek that flows into the Russian River, Rio Nido Creek. The main roads are named Canyons One, Two, Three, Four, Six and Seven. There is no Canyon Five.
The property comprising Rio Nido was purchased in 1908 as a single plot by the Eagle Lodge in San Francisco, and then it was broken up into parcels for Eagle Lodge members. During World War II a number of facilities were added to accommodate the huge crowds of sailors on liberty and soldiers and Marines in transit to the war in the Pacific. The Big Band era was in full swing and the Russian River area was well-known recreation area. The San Francisco Chronicle once reported the extended appearance in Rio Nido by singer-actress Betty Hutton. Rio Nido is only a few miles from the famed Bohemian Grove.
During the 1950s and the 1960s, a footbridge crossed the river to a public beach on the south shore. A small excursion boat regularly cruised between the Rio Nido beach and Johnson's Beach in Guerneville. A snack bar was maintained on the beach. Canoe rentals were available through Bob "W.C. Bob" Trowbridge, who also served as a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy and the head of the Sonoma County & State Democratic Central Committee for 38 years. Loudspeakers were set up around the square and on the beach, playing music from KSRO in Santa Rosa. A few cabins were available for rent. On summer evenings Dick Crest, a teacher and band director at the College of San Mateo, led a small orchestra in free concerts in the town square and at dances. By 1974, the beach had been abandoned and overgrown with weeds.
Learn more about this city.
City of Rio Nido, CA official site
City of Rio Nido, CA Chamber of Commerce
City of Rio Nido, CA newspaper
County of Rio Nido, CA official site
State of California official site