Crane Melon Barn

We go here every year, two years ago we moved to Hidden Valley Lake in Lake County. We drove for 1 1/2 hours to come here. Have never been disappointed. We love the Crane Barn.

I knew the founder George Crane long ago His family still runs this treasured stop on Petaluma Hill Road, stop by when melons are in season.

Crane melons are available in September and October only, they are worth the wait. The melons we had were ripe, sweet and delicious.

This Barn is a historical monument! Plus my Grandma is hosting a huge Barn Sale this week! So if you have a couple bucks to spend. Go support her please. I'm sure you'll find something you like. Or just say hi to Ellie for me. Thanks

Absolutely love Crane Melons! They are so delicious. Found out Crane Melon season started last Sunday, purchased 4, just went yesterday and purchased 4 more, yes they are that good. The people at the Crane Melon Barn, are kind and courteous and will answer any questions that you might have. So far I have shared 4 Crane Melons, I am sure they will all enjoy them immensely. If you have never tried one, go to the Crane Melon Barn, you will not be disappointed!

Just wanted to give the hard working men and woman over at the crane melon barn a shout out. In the midst of this horrible fires rampage throughout our county I couldn't help but notice that despite it being almost midnight they are out there doing what they can to help by mowing down the fields across the street to ensure that if the fire does make it across Petaluma hill rd it will have less to feed on. So thank you from your neighbors behind you on Snyder. We appreciate your efforts. And we will continue to pray that it does not reach you Thank you & God Bless, M. Vivenzi and the Sullivan Family

Every year, I line up to get Crane Melons first thing in the morning every few days, I eat half a melon a day. Best melon I've ever had!

We attended a milestone birthday party for a friend. It's a charming, casual, real Sonoma County kind of place. Hey, it's a BARN. It comfortably accommodated 80 for a sit down dinner....AND still had room for a band, a dance floor, and a photo booth. There were heaters...so it was warm enough for a cold late winter evening event, but I'm betting it's better in warmer weather. Be forewarned. Bathrooms are OUTside. Could have been very uncomfortable in the rainy season. Apparently the kitchen is adequate to handle multi course meals. You hire your own caterers. I didn't see the kitchen. Plenty of parking in the lot next to the barn. This us more a jeans & boots place; less slinky bare giwns with high heels. Yeehaw!

I have been waiting for them to open up and what a delightful surprise to support them on "small business Saturday". I truly loved the independent work and collections of folks there and it was lovely. The people at the register were very snarky and rude. Almost as if I was taking something but I had already provided the tag of the star I purchased. They were sure to get my items counted and paid for but did not get my bag to me until the kind blackberry Jam lady got it for me a minute later. Customer Service is important and you should work on this especially if you want to foster a spirit of community. Thank you for the Blackberry Jam and home made items I am grateful.

My niece married the man of her dreams at the venue of her dreams. The Crane Melon Barn offers vineyards, expansive lawns, and an amazing historic barn for dancing. What a great day.

Barn is beautiful! I stopped by to buy a Crane Melon which was just picked and VERY delicious!! I also bought a jar of their dill pickles for $16.00 and was very disappointed, the pickles were not crisp and when I held it it would flop over. The sad pickles are the reason for the four stars.

The best melon's if you love melons get them here very tasty Great way to support the local farm business.

We had the great privilege of having our wedding at the Crane Melon Barn this spring. As for the venue it was a perfect setting for any wedding. It is about 8 minutes away from the Rohnert Park hotels, but just far enough outside of town to feel like you're deep in the country. As it had rained earlier that week, the season creek behind the wedding area was flowing and the grass was green and lush. The barn itself is a very nice area to party. Janis is the event manager at the barn and is absolutely phenomenal. There is no issue or problem that she cannot handle with ease. You have the option to rent the chairs and party supplies directly from Janis and I highly recommend it as she was able to significantly beat the prices of the local party supply stores. Our wedding at the Crane Melon Barn was exactly what we had envisioned. Our guests were raving about it. I cannot recommend enough. Thanks again for all of your hard work.

We had a perfect wedding here last month. Gorgeous spot, reasonable prices, can do as much decorating as one wants, lots of freedom yet help by Event Coordinator, Janis Garrigus. Outside space beautiful, open, lovely vineyards with green watered lawn space too. We had grazing table, bar, bluegrass band and the farmer and his vintage truck out for cocktail time. There is a Creek behind ceremony site. We added a 40 x 40 tent for dinner guests of 105 people and used the barn to dance and eat cake. Thanks, Janis and Cranes for great venue and all your staff and help!

One of my old co-workers and his wife just got married here! The barn is beautiful! The lights and decoration were country style. They had wonderful mason jar glasses for wine. The grounds were just beautiful and they had plenty of parking:) great place for a wedding.

Um, I literally just mowed down a half a Crane Melon to my dome. And it happened to be about the size of my dome also--half of it anyway. These melons are extra sweet, extra juicy (multiple paper towel-type napkins needed to eat a slice) and are basically all the best melon features, wrapped into one ULTIMATE melon! Maybe I'm bias because I've been able to have access to these delectable little gems most all my life....but even when I've been away from Sonoma County, I have long yearned for the honey-like, juicy flesh of a Crane Melon as melon season approached and passed. It's Crane Melon season now! Run and get one today, you won't be sorry.

A couple of years ago I had the good fortune to discover the Crane Melon Barn. I have to say that I have never had melon this good before. Sweet and juice, totally luscious! I understand that these melons were developed by the Crane family years ago by crossing different melons. You won't find these melons in stores anywhere and they are only available for a very short season in late summer. The latest update is that they will open in September this year. Call first and be prepared to go early because when they sell out for the day the barn doors close. The melons are so good that I am planning a trip around acquiring a few of them - one to eat right away, one for friends, and one to take home for the guys. www.cranemelon.com

The Crane Melon Barn is AMAZING for weddings and events. The 12 acres of meadows, vineyards, and 165 year old barn offer the perfect backdrop for whatever your perfect day needs. Rustic to elegant, the property has it all. Thank you Rick and Cindy for making dreams come true.

We had our wedding here August 2nd of this year. This place is absolutely gorgeous from the rustic barn, breathtaking vineyard, to the beautiful tree we said our vows under. Our day was so very special and we had so many people comment how beautiful the site was. We really couldn't be happier with our decision to get married here. We did have a summer wedding, which means it gets darker later in the night so when it was time to move to the barn for our first dance and such it was still light out (7pm) The barn was very bright from the sun coming through the windows which made it a little awkward for dancing. That is really my only complaint for the whole event. Things went so smoothly. We had Janis as our coordinator and Cindy (the owner) as our caterer. The food was good, although we didn't have much time to eat it! The price for everything was pretty reasonable and competitive. Weddings aren't cheap!! We considered a few other sites in Sonoma County and really found the that the Crane Melon Barn is the best bang for your buck.

WOW! Beautiful venue! The grounds were well kept. There was a grassy area for the guest tables, a raised platform to view the bride and groom with an area for guest seating. The scenic view and tree areas kept the party atmosphere warm and inviting. There is even a full kitchen and indoor facility on site. If I wasn't already married, this would be my first choice.

I went to a wedding at Crane Melon Barn on Halloween. What a wonderful, meaningful, "real" environment to celebrate. The vineyards, barn and outbuildings, beautiful tented site for eating and the inside barn dance floor. Equally important to such a successful event is Janice, the event coordinator who attended tirelessly to every single detail and a true member of the wedding "team". Thank you Janice!

While these melons are excellent the customer service is awful. Calling in daily is kind of a joke as no date for the recording is ever given. The time of recording is missing as well, so a drive that might take many of us nearly 20 minutes without having some clear information is not only a waste of time but a huge inconvenience and shows a lack of respect for their customers. Marianne

The Crane Melon Barn is a fantastic venue for a rustic country wedding. If you drive down Petaluma Hill Road, you can see the old barn from the road, but back behind the barn is a nice raised pad in amongst the trees where we had an outdoor wedding. Just west of the ceremony area, Crane's Vineyard gave us a beautiful background view and later the sun set behind the vines. We had an early June wedding on a Saturday at 4:00 pm. Weather was perfect, and the evening cooled for a very comfortable dining period. A reception followed with drinks and some very tasty hors d'oeuvres. Dinner was a buffet of barbeque and unique side dishes. To usher in the night, we moved up to the barn for dancing, drinks and cake. The barn's concrete floor was a nice dance area. We strung bistro lights, hung and draped tulle, and filled in the rafters with paper globes. There was a nice counter and glass door refrigerator for our bar. We had a coffee area, a corner for the wedding cake and the DJ set-up in another corner. The rest of the night was a party. We got nothing but complements for every part of the evening, and all of our guests were amazed at how comfortable the facility was and how nice everything ran. My daughter had very definite ideas for her wedding and laid out her plans. And with the experience of Garrigus Events and a lot of elbow grease from my entire family we got everything that we planned. The Crane Melon Barn uses Janis Garrigus of Garrigus Events to handle the coordination of all events at the barn. We have Janis Garrigus, Cindy Crane, our Caterer Pacific Connection and my coworkers who did all the BBQ entrees to thank for putting on the wedding of my daughter's dreams. Janice had all the tables and chairs that we needed and she had quite a collection of decorations and party stuff to complete the rustic look. We rented very little due to the abundant items Janice has available, included free with the venue fee. Venders we used all did a job that exceeded our expectations: Officiant: Michael Wright Caterer: Pacific Connections, www.pacconn.com, Rob Gronbach Photographer: Stephanie Court Photography, www.stephaniecourt.com, Stephanie Court Flowers: Vanda Floral Design, www.vandafloral.com, Bryce Loutsch Cake: Your Sweet Expectations, http://www.yoursweetexpectations.com, Carolyn Besse Quartet: Sonoma Strings, Sonoma.Strings@gmail.com, Pam Otsuka DJ: DJ Dan of Crystal Clear Studios, http://www.crystalclearsonoma.com

Crane melons are fabulous. The best of the best come from the original Crane Melon Barn on Petaluma Hill road. The others are all just a good attempt at the real deal. The family that grows them are really good people.