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Golf guide • Spain • La Rioja

Golf in Logroño: three courses and the wines of Rioja

Logroño, capital of La Rioja, has three 18-hole courses less than forty minutes away: the Campo de Golf de Logroño in La Grajera park, with its 619-metre 4th hole; the Club de Campo Sojuela, originally laid out by Severiano Ballesteros among the oaks of the Sierra de Moncalvillo; and the Rioja Alta Golf Club at Cirueña. Come to combine golf, bodegas and tapas, ideally in spring and in September and October.

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Logroño is not a golf destination in the beach-resort sense, and that is precisely its charm. The capital of La Rioja, a city of around 150,000 people on the Ebro, lives to the rhythm of wine, of the Camino de Santiago, which crosses it by the Puente de Piedra, and of the bars of the old town. The golf here is low-key, affordable and close by: three 18-hole courses, all less than forty minutes away, played between a bodega visit and a lingering lunch.

The three layouts are nothing alike. The municipal Campo de Golf de Logroño occupies the hills of La Grajera park, five kilometres from the centre, and hosted the Spanish professional championship in 2006, 2019 and 2020. Sojuela climbs to the south through oak and pine woodland at the foot of the Sierra de Moncalvillo. Rioja Alta, at Cirueña further west, plays among vineyards and farmland, beneath great century-old oaks.

Three or four nights are enough: a round a day, ideally in the morning, then the afternoon among the vines and the evening on calle Laurel. The city is easily explored on foot, distances are short and you return to the same hotel every night. In autumn, when the vines turn copper and the harvest is in full swing, the region shows its finest colours.

The courses

Tee overlooking a fairway lined with oaks and pines, a bunker in front, plain and mountains in the distance in autumn light

Campo de Golf de Logroño

  • Opened 2003
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in 2003 in La Grajera park, around a reservoir completed in 1880, this par-72 public course is the city's golf course: ten minutes by car from the centre, with a driving range and a nine-hole pitch and putt perched at the highest point of the estate, overlooking the lake and Logroño. The terrain is rolling, the fairways wide and the greens subtler than they first appear. The club, which has hosted the Spanish professional championship three times, gladly welcomes visitors and makes a good choice for a first day.

Signature hole. The 4th, a 619-metre par 5 that the club presents as the longest hole in Spain: three genuine full shots, with no possible shortcut.

Official website

Club de Campo Sojuela

  • Architect: Severiano Ballesteros; Julián García Mayoral
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

About twenty minutes south of Logroño, Sojuela is La Rioja's first golf club, born in 1991 from a project led by local enthusiasts. Severiano Ballesteros designed the layout, later completed by Julián García Mayoral. The par 72, 6,296 metres from the white tees, winds between oaks, holm oaks and pines on the slopes of the Sierra de Moncalvillo, with the Ebro valley and Logroño below. Narrower and hillier than La Grajera, it rewards accuracy rather than length.

Signature hole. The 3rd, a par 4 of just 250 metres, tempts big hitters: the green can be reached in one by anyone willing to take the risk.

Official website

Rioja Alta Golf Club

  • Architect: Enrique Saenger
  • Opened 2004
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

At Cirueña, some forty kilometres west of Logroño, about thirty-five minutes by motorway, Enrique Saenger designed a par 72 that opened in 2004 across 75 hectares. No housing around it: just century-old oaks, crops, vineyards and the Sierra de Cantabria as a backdrop. The two nines are well balanced, the fairways wide and the greens well kept. The club offers packages that pair a round with a visit to a nearby bodega, a fine way to spend a day in Rioja Alta.

Signature hole. The 5th, a long, blind par 5 that doglegs right, with out of bounds all the way down the left: lay up your second shot short of the great oak standing 60 metres from the green.

Official website

Where to stay

Áurea Palacio de Correos

Logroño's former main post office, begun in 1927 and opened in 1932, is one of the city's finest neo-Baroque buildings; the original letterboxes are still at the entrance. Its 41 rooms overlook Plaza San Agustín, at the gateway to the tapas-bar quarter. Driving, book one of the ten indoor parking spaces and follow the hotel's access directions rather than the satnav: the way in is via a pedestrian street.

Finca de los Arandinos

To sleep among the vines rather than in town, this hotel-bodega in Entrena, about twenty minutes south of Logroño and a few minutes from Sojuela, brings together a winery, a restaurant and a spa around fourteen rooms with interiors conceived by the fashion designer David Delfín. Ask for a room with a lawn terrace: breakfast is taken there barefoot, facing the rows of vines, before the cellar tour.

Dark cubic building with a large picture window, a terrace over autumn vineyards, barrels lined up on a low stone wall

Where to dine

Venta Moncalvillo

Two Michelin stars in a village of around sixty inhabitants at the foot of the Sierra de Moncalvillo. Ignacio Echapresto cooks vegetables from his kitchen garden, two or three elements per plate, while his brother Carlos runs the dining room and a remarkable cellar. The meal begins with a walk through the garden, where the first bites are served when the weather allows, so arrive on time.

Bar Soriano

At number 2 Travesía del Laurel, the Barrero family, originally from Soria, opened this counter in November 1972, and it serves just one thing: the champiñón, three mushroom caps seared on the griddle with a house garlic sauce and a prawn, skewered onto a slice of bread. Hold it by the bread, as it arrives piping hot and the sauce runs. The first stop of an evening on calle Laurel, except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when it is closed.

La Cocina de Ramón

Beneath the arcades of calle Portales, a few steps from the cathedral, Ramón Piñeiro serves straightforward Riojan market cooking between exposed stone walls. Ask for the spoon dish, which changes every day: pochas, caparrones or patatas a la riojana, with vegetables from Riojan kitchen gardens. The ideal lunch after a round at La Grajera, ten minutes away by car.

Beyond golf

Calle Laurel

In the old town, calle Laurel and its neighbours, San Juan, San Agustín and Albornoz, line up more than sixty-five bars and restaurants. Locals call the quarter the "senda de los elefantes", the elephants' path, after the state people are in when they leave. Each bar has its speciality: griddled mushrooms, skewers, pig's ear, patatas bravas, always with a glass of Rioja. Go on foot, from bar to bar.

Santa María de la Redonda cathedral

On the Plaza del Mercado, Logroño's co-cathedral combines a Gothic nave built between 1516 and 1538 with two Baroque towers by Martín de Beratúa that have become the city's emblem. Behind the high altar, a small Calvary painted on wood is attributed to Michelangelo; the attribution has never been proven, which takes nothing away from the pleasure of seeking it out in the ambulatory.

The San Mateo festival and the harvest

During the week around 21 September, Logroño celebrates San Mateo, renamed the Harvest Festival in 1956. Children from all over La Rioja fill a vat with the year's first grapes, which are trodden to offer the first must to the region's patron saint. A fine chance to see the city in festive mood, provided you book your hotel very early.

Cobbled old-town lane at dusk, a lit tapas bar, plates of skewered mushrooms and glasses of red wine

When to go

The climate is dry and continental Mediterranean, with barely more than 430 mm of rain a year. April, May and June bring green fairways and mild days; September and October add the harvest and golden vineyards. Summer often tops 35 °C and is best played early in the morning. Winter can drop to -5 °C: frost delays tee times, but the courses stay open and almost deserted.

Getting there

Bilbao is the nearest major international airport, about 1 hour 30 minutes away by road. Logroño-Agoncillo airport, ten minutes from the centre, has links to Madrid and Barcelona. Trains connect Logroño with Zaragoza and Burgos. Once there, a car is essential to reach Sojuela and Rioja Alta.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course near Logroño?

Sojuela, originally laid out by Severiano Ballesteros among the oaks and pines of the Sierra de Moncalvillo, has the most character. The Campo de Golf de Logroño, five kilometres from the centre, has hosted the Spanish professional championship three times.

How many golf courses are there around Logroño?

Three 18-hole courses: the Campo de Golf de Logroño at La Grajera (10 minutes), the Club de Campo Sojuela (20 minutes) and the Rioja Alta Golf Club at Cirueña (about 35 minutes).

What is the longest golf hole in Spain?

The Logroño club presents its 4th hole, a 619-metre par 5, as the longest in Spain. It is played at the Campo de Golf de Logroño, in La Grajera park.

When is the best time to play golf in La Rioja?

From April to June and in September and October. Summer is hot, often above 35 °C, and winter brings morning frosts.

Which airport should I fly into for a golf trip to Logroño?

Bilbao, about 1 hour 30 minutes away by road, for international flights. Logroño-Agoncillo airport, ten minutes from the centre, is served from Madrid and Barcelona.

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