Solvang windmill guide: where all four stand and where to photograph them

Solvang windmills quick facts

How many

Four wooden windmills within four blocks (Visit Solvang)

Most photographed

Alisal Road windmill, built 1963, beside the 1/3-scale Round Tower replica at 436 Alisal Road

Blue Windmill

Copenhagen Drive at Second Street (Hamlet Square), about a 5-minute walk from Alisal Road

Brewpub windmill

Solvang Brewing Company, 1547 Mission Drive, about 9 minutes on foot; open Wed–Sun 11:30am–10:30pm

Also listed

Kronborg Inn, Mission Drive (Santa Ynez Valley News, 2009), about 13 minutes on foot

Working mills?

No. None of the downtown windmills grind anything (Visit Solvang audio tour)

Walk times

On foot from the Round Tower on Alisal Road

Make a day of it around the windmills

The windmills sit within a few blocks, so build the day around them. Walk times are from the Round Tower on Alisal Road:

• Solvang Bakery is right beside it; open daily 8am to 6pm.
• The Hans Christian Andersen Museum, 4 minutes on foot, is open daily 10am to 5pm.
• The Little Mermaid fountain at Mission Drive and Alisal Road, 4 minutes: Visit Solvang says it is the only replica authorized by the sculptor's heirs.
• Mission Santa Inés, 3 minutes: self-guided tours 9am to 4:30pm, $9 for adults.
• Finish with a beer under the windmill at Solvang Brewing (Wednesday to Sunday).

By car: OstrichLand is 2.6 miles (5 min), Nojoqui Falls 6.5 miles (18 min) and La Purísima Mission 19 miles (30 min).

Where are the windmills in Solvang?

These are in or next to the walkable village center, nearest the Round Tower first:

1. Alisal Road windmill. On the east side of Alisal Road, in front of the Round Tower replica at 436 Alisal Road. Visit Solvang's audio tour calls it "one of the town's most photographed landmarks." Businessman Ray Paaske commissioned it in 1963, after a mill near Copenhagen.
2. The Blue Windmill. Copenhagen Drive at Second Street, by Hamlet Square: about 0.2 miles (5 min) on foot.
3. Solvang Brewing Company. 1547 Mission Drive, 0.4 miles (9 min).
4. Kronborg Inn. 1440 Mission Drive, 0.6 miles (13 min). The Santa Ynez Valley News listed a windmill here in 2009.

The same 2009 article also listed one on Old Mill Road, outside the shopping blocks.

Where are the best windmill photo spots?

• Alisal Road, with the Round Tower. The audio tour points out the tower right behind the windmill, so step back across the road to fit both in one frame.
• The Blue Windmill on Copenhagen Drive. The color makes it the easiest to pick out among the half-timbered shopfronts on the main shopping street.
• Solvang Brewing. The only windmill you can sit under with a drink. The patio is open while the brewpub is: Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30am to 10:30pm.
• Holiday lights. Visit Solvang describes "illuminated windmills" in the holiday season. Dates are on our Solvang Christmas guide.

Early morning, before the shops open, is the time for a street with no people in it.

Is Pea Soup Andersen's still open?

The restaurant isn't. Pea Soup Andersen's Inn in Buellton, a separate, family-run motel, says the Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant next door "recently closed for redevelopment" and that the inn remains open (see Buellton hotels). For a windmill in Buellton, the Sideways Inn's lobby sits under one.

Are the Solvang windmills real working windmills?

No. Visit Solvang's audio tour says "none of the structures in town are working mills." They were built as part of the town's Danish-style makeover: the Santa Ynez Valley News dates the first downtown windmill, at the Danish Inn on Mission Drive, to 1957. The paper reported in 2009 that the Danish Inn windmill was being torn down.

Good to know

Are the Solvang windmills working mills? No. They are decorative; none of them grind anything.

Is there a hotel with a windmill? In Buellton, you check in under a windmill at the Sideways Inn. In Solvang, regional press listed one at the Kronborg Inn on Mission Drive in 2009.

Don’t miss

• Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant in Buellton has closed for redevelopment; the inn next door is still open. (2026-10) source

You might also like

• Hans Christian Andersen Museum · about 0.2 miles, walkable. The Danish storyteller, 4 minutes on foot. Tip: Open daily 10am to 5pm. Official site · source
• Mission Santa Inés · about 0.2 miles, walkable. The 1804 mission, 3 minutes on foot. Tip: Self-guided tours run 9am–4:30pm, $9 for adults. Official site · source
• OstrichLand USA · about 5 min drive (2.6 mi). Feed the ostriches on the way to Buellton. Tip: Gates close at 5:45pm. Official site · source
• Nojoqui Falls · about 18 min drive (6.5 mi). An 80-ft falls, 0.65 mi round trip. Tip: Open 8am to sunset. Official site · source

Drive times are without traffic.

Nearby: eat, taste, stay

• Solvang restaurants: Dinner after the windmill walk
• Solvang hotels: Each timed from Solvang Park, the village green
• Things to do in Solvang: The rest of the village
• Solvang bakeries: Next door to the windmill on Alisal Road
• Solvang museums: Hans Christian Andersen Museum, 4 min on foot
• Mission Santa Inés: An 1804 mission, still a parish · 3 min on foot
• Nojoqui Falls: A waterfall after rain · About 18 min by road
• La Purísima Mission: The most restored California mission · About 30 min by road

Quick answers

How many windmills are in Solvang?

Visit Solvang counts four wooden windmills within four blocks. The easiest to find are on Alisal Road, at Copenhagen Drive and Second Street (the Blue Windmill), and at Solvang Brewing on Mission Drive.

Where is the famous windmill in Solvang?

On Alisal Road, in front of the Round Tower replica at 436 Alisal Road. It was built in 1963.

Where is the Little Mermaid in Solvang?

In the fountain at Mission Drive and Alisal Road, about a 4-minute walk from the Alisal windmill.