Rent a Pedego, Ride the Joe Rodota Trail to Sebastopol
A three-hour rental, a fitting at pickup, and 8.5 paved miles of former railway running west out of town.
Sonoma County mostly asks for a car. The Joe Rodota Trail is the exception, an off-road paved corridor that leaves downtown Santa Rosa and runs west to Sebastopol.
Sonoma County Regional Parks records it as 8.5 miles of paved, gently sloped trail. That grade is inherited. Both this trail and the one it feeds were built on land that once carried the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway.
What the booking covers is three hours, a Pedego, and someone who sizes the bike, runs a safety briefing and checks that you know how the assist works. After that you are on your own.
Pickup is at 1721 Centurion Drive in Santa Rosa, the address the operator lists as its own. The trail's Santa Rosa end sits downtown, at the pedestrian and bicycle bridge where it meets the Prince Memorial Greenway between West 3rd Street and Railroad Street. The window is three hours, fixed, and one booking takes up to four riders. The listing has collected 110 reviews, averaging 4.95.
Pedego E-Bike Rental in Santa Rosa, Three HoursThree hours on a Pedego, ridden self-guided, with a helmet and a lock included in every rental.www.viator.comEight and a Half Miles to Sebastopol
From the Prince Memorial Greenway the trail runs parallel to Highway 12 and holds that line until Sebastopol, where it ends near the intersection of Mill Station Road and Highway 116. Street access points are spaced along the way at Roberts Avenue, Dutton Avenue, Stony Point Road, Wright Road, Sebastopol Road, Merced Avenue, Llano Road and Petaluma Avenue, which makes it easy to join or leave partway.
The rural middle is the stretch worth the battery. The parks department describes views of farmland, the Laguna de Santa Rosa and the surrounding mountains, and rates fall and spring as the strongest seasons for them.
Two crossings, at Merced Avenue and at Llano Road, are unimproved, and the parks department asks trail users to take care there.
Past Sebastopol the Old Rail Line Keeps Going
Sebastopol is where the Joe Rodota Trail stops and the West County Regional Trail picks up, carrying on to Forestville. Together the two total 14 miles of the former railway. Graton sits along that second stretch, a short main street of storefronts and angle parking.
Three hours is the constraint on how far west you get. The parks department publishes the two distances, 8.5 miles to Sebastopol and 14 miles for both trails end to end, and the decision of whether to turn around or keep going lands at the Sebastopol junction.
Who They'll Put on a Bike
The operator's own rental page lists rentals as available Wednesday through Sunday, year round. Mondays and Tuesdays are not on that list.
Age is the other filter, and the two sources draw it in different places. The operator's FAQ sets the rider floor at 18 on insurance grounds, while this listing sells places only for ages 20 through 80. The operator also publishes a weight limit of 275 pounds and a minimum height of five feet, with a request to call ahead if you are under five foot three. Everyone signs a waiver.
The fleet runs to Pedego Element, Avenue, Boomerang and Ridge Rider models alongside Fantic. E-bike rated racks are available to rent, and the operator does not allow riders to fit their own.
Booking, Weather, and the Clock
Confirmation is instant, and the cutoff for booking is a fixed clock time of 1:00 PM. Cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure and the refund is full; inside that window there is none. The operator's own policy matches for groups under six.
Bad weather can cancel the ride from the operator's side. The trail keeps its own hours, 7:00 AM to sunset, and dogs are allowed on leash.
Parking at the Santa Rosa end is free: street parking at Olive Park on Hazel Street, the Orange Street trailhead lot at the west end of Sebastopol Road, or the limited spaces on Merced Avenue where the trail crosses the road.
The Joe Rodota Trail has no restroom facilities. Plan the stops around the towns at either end.
📍 Pickup and return are both at 1721 Centurion Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Calls and texts go to 707-285-7027.
eVenture Sonoma was founded by Colin Thomas, who left a corporate sales and marketing job in 2019 to open his first e-bike store in Santa Rosa, then grew this one out of it years later. Somebody fits the bike, checks that you know how the assist works, and points you at the trail. The rest of the afternoon is yours.