Unencumbered by restrictive permitting, Morton’s is better than ever
By Paul Goguen
It takes a certain kind of person to invest in a property with what some might call “restrictive zoning,” like Morton’s Warm Springs Resort. Restrictive might even be too mild of a word to describe what is allowed here. But the family that owns and operates this hidden Sonoma Valley gem are bent on going with the flow, and keeping things pretty much as they have been since the 1950s. The site was originally a gathering place for the Native Americans, including the southern Pomo, Wappo, and Coast Miwok, and that’s at least a 10,000-year history. Tribes would meet, camp, and trade at the site, and many artifacts have been found over the years. In the 1880s the resort was established as Los Guilicos Warm Springs, the name of the Spanish land grant in this area.