Fitch Mountain and the Bend of the Russian River
Near Healdsburg, California
Look southeast of downtown and you will see a rounded green hill wrapped almost entirely by the Russian River. That is Fitch Mountain, named for the same Captain Henry Fitch whose rancho once covered all this ground. The river makes a dramatic horseshoe bend here, nearly encircling the mountain and looping right around the edge of Healdsburg.
That geography made Fitch Mountain the heart of the town's golden summer age. In the early twentieth century, and especially through the nineteen twenties and thirties, city families crowded onto the trains and came to play on the river's banks. Rustic cabins, sandy beaches, and river resorts sprang up all around the mountain.
River resorts and dance halls drew crowds. Visitors found swimming contests, boat races, and long days on the water. For decades Fitch Mountain and its river beaches were one of the most beloved summer playgrounds in Northern California.
Today much of the mountain is protected as a park and open space preserve, its wooded slopes laced with trails. The dance halls are gone, but the great bend of the river still hugs the mountain exactly as it did when the summer people came.
