Napa And Sonoma Valleys

California, United States
 (3 votes, 3 reviews)
Napa & Sonoma:
About an hour north of San Francisco are the two valleys of Napa and Sonoma.  World-famous for their wine, fine dining, natural beauty, arts and events, Napa and Sonoma Valleys offer visitors a lot to do.  Wine enthusiasts can tour vineyards and wineries as well as take in the natural surroundings on foot, by bike, train, van or limousine.  Tourists can easily rent bikes at many spots along the popular trails and main streets in both valleys.  It is common to see groups of bicyclists pedaling along the Silverado Trail in Napa, for example, or stopped for lunch along Highway 29, a relatively peaceful two-lane highway that takes visitors north through the fabulous towns of Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga.  Another popular way to view the lush scenery and rolling hills is by hot air balloon, which visitors can see taking off most mornings.
 
"The Crush":
While grapes are grown year-round in the valleys, the growing process culminates in "the crush," when the grapes are literally crushed and turned into wine.  Crush season is a busy and exciting time in Napa, Sonoma and any grape-growing region, when the smell of freshly-picked grapes blankets the valleys.  The fall crush is the big event in Napa and Sonoma and usually takes place between late August and October, when the sugar level in the grapes reaches an optimal point.  Of note, this point is different for every grape varietal. For example, Champagne requires the lowest sugar level, and is therefore picked first.  Chardonnay is second, and the famous California reds come in last with the highest sugar levels.  Wineries often celebrate the crush by involving visitors and guests, sometimes by having them go barefoot in the giant oak barrels to crush the grapes with their feet, as people used to do before modern machinery automated the process (and as Lucy did famously on the 1950's sitcome "I Love Lucy").

Trails

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Shollenberger Park
2.2 mile trail near Petaluma, California
Easy
2.2 mi/
3.5 km
Biking Calistoga's Wineries
Cycle through California wine country.
Easy
6.4 mi/
10.3 km
Sugarloaf Mountain Trail, Napa
Wine country also makes excellent hiking country, as illustrated by this great Napa hillside route.
Moderate
7.4 mi/
11.9 km
Mount St. Helena Trail
Take in awesome views on a hike to the summit of the highest peak in the California Wine Country
Difficult
10.0 mi/
16.1 km
Gunsight Rock
a great 5.6 mile hike
n/a
5.6 mi/
9.0 km
Meadow Woods Resort, Napa
3.0 mile trail near St. Helena, California
n/a
3.0 mi/
4.8 km

Jack London State Historic Park

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Lower Park Overview, Lack London State Historic Park
Loop Walk on the Lower Trails: Happy Walls House and Museum, Jack and Charmian’s Grave Site, Wolf House Ruins, Vineyards
Easy
1.6 mi/
2.6 km
London Lake Loop
Beauty Ranch and London Lake at Jack London State Historic Park
Easy
2.5 mi/
4.0 km

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Napa Valley Woodlands, Pioneer Cemetery, and Grist Mill
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park: Out and back hike to the Historic Bale Grist Mill.
Easy
3.1 mi/
5.0 km
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park Exploration
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park stands as a reminder of the natural flora and fauna of the area before the vineyards arose.
Difficult
4.0 mi/
6.4 km

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Bald Mountain Trail, Vista Trail, and Meadow Trail Loop
A great overview hike of Sugarloaf State Park
Easy
4.2 mi/
6.8 km
Guides
Sugarloaf Mountain Trail, Napa
Sugarloaf Mountain Trail, Napa
Napa, California, United States
 
Moderate: 7.4 miles, Half day
Wine country also makes excellent hiking country, as illustrated by this great Napa hillside route.
Biking Calistoga's Wineries
Biking Calistoga's Wineries
Calistoga, California, United States
 
Easy: 6.4 miles, Full day
Cycle through California wine country.
Meadow Woods Resort, Napa
Meadow Woods Resort, Napa
St. Helena, California, United States
 
3.0 mile trail near St. Helena, California
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park Exploration
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park Exploration
Calistoga, California, United States
Difficult: 4.0 miles, 1-3 hours
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park stands as a reminder of the natural flora and fauna of the area before the vineyards arose.
Mount St. Helena Trail
Mount St. Helena Trail
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, California, United States
Difficult: 10.0 miles, Full day
Take in awesome views on a hike to the summit of the highest peak in the California Wine Country
Bald Mountain Trail, Vista Trail, and Meadow Trail Loop
Bald Mountain Trail, Vista Trail, and Meadow Trail Loop
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, California, United States
Easy: 4.2 miles, 1-3 hours
A great overview hike of Sugarloaf State Park
London Lake Loop
London Lake Loop
Jack London State Historic Park, California, United States
Easy: 2.5 miles, 1-3 hours
Beauty Ranch and London Lake at Jack London State Historic Park
Lower Park Overview, Lack London State Historic Park
Lower Park Overview, Lack London State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park, California, United States
Easy: 1.6 miles, 1-3 hours
Loop Walk on the Lower Trails: Happy Walls House and Museum, Jack and Charmian’s Grave Site, Wolf House Ruins, Vineyards
Napa Valley Woodlands, Pioneer Cemetery, and Grist Mill
Napa Valley Woodlands, Pioneer Cemetery, and Grist Mill
Calistoga, California, United States
Easy: 3.1 miles, 1-3 hours
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park: Out and back hike to the Historic Bale Grist Mill.
Gunsight Rock
Gunsight Rock
Santa Rosa, California, United States
a great 5.6 mile hike
Shollenberger Park
Shollenberger Park
Petaluma, California, United States
Easy: 2.2 miles, 1 hour or less
2.2 mile trail near Petaluma, California
Community Trips
Little Bald Mountain Photo
We parked above the fog Photo
Pink fungus Photo
Brushy Peaks Trail Photo
Hiking above the clouds - Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
by Vaudesir on Jan 09, 2010
Kenwood, California, United States
8.1 miles
Barbara proposed to go hiking up to Bald Mountain in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. This is a park I have never been to and that I was recently looking at, so despite the long drive, I was in. And so was Pavla.One of the trails leading to Bald Mountain is part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail (B.A.R.T.) system so I thought it was also an opportunity to hike that segment.We decided...
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Annadel's Sweet Single Tracks
by rockymtnrider on Mar 27, 2009
Lawndale, California, United States
26 miles
Mapped out a route for a group ride, but I needed to test it out. So instead of going to work on a Friday, I went to Annadel. I think I made the right choice. It was a great ride. Good Technical Climbs and fun descents. Some of the trails might be fun to take the other way, but this is the way I will take the group. Summary Data Total Time (h:m:s) 4:41:18 10:47...
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Mt St Helena Day Hike
by RUok0101 on Mar 29, 2009
Calistoga, California, United States
3.7 miles
We drove from Sacramento, up through Napa Valley (stopping for some tasting along the way, of course) and then up just outside of Calistoga to Robert Louis Stevenson state park, where Mt St. Helena rests. We hiked about half way up the mountain and had a picnic lunch with a fabulous view!On the way back we stopped and explored the town of Calistoga.
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Mt Hood -- Bay Area Ridge Trail
by antonyw on Aug 17, 2011
Santa Rosa, California, United States
5.7 miles
One of the Steeper sections of the Bay Area Ridge Trail,  I skipped the side trip to Merganser Pond as I was time limited from having to pick up the girls back in Santa Rosa so we could head over to Russian River BC for dinner.  Wildlife seen:  blue tailed skink, ring neck snake and maybe a fox, small coyote or small bobcat,  didn't get a good picture of the latter.It's a...
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St. Helena - Napa Bike Ride
by prathmann on Aug 16, 2008
Saint Helena, California, United States
42 miles
Club bike ride from St. Helena down Silverado Trail road to Napa and then returning on the west side of the valley with a stop at the Sattui winery.
Balloon at start (Imola, California, United States) Photo
Oreo cows (Rocktram, California, United States) Photo
Regroup (Union, California, United States) Photo
Vineyard at Veeder top (Lokoya, California, United States) Photo
Napa - Mt. Veeder - St. Helena
by prathmann on Nov 09, 2008
Yountville, California, United States
59 miles
Bike Ride from Napa Valley College first heading north along the west edge of the valley, climbing Mt. Veeder, and continuing down the Oakville Grade.  We stopped for lunch at the Sattui vineyards and returned to Napa on the Silverado Trail.
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Annadel State Park-The Big Loop
by nolandkat1 on Nov 24, 2010
Santa Rosa, California, United States
19.6 miles
This ride covers the perimeter of Annadel State Park.  Approximately 20 miles with about 3,400 ft in total elevation gain.  Min grade -30.9%, Max Grade 23.7%
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park PICT0479.JPG (Larkmead, California, United States) Photo
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Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
by dang1970 on Aug 02, 2009
Shellville Colony, California, United States
5.2 miles
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Annadel State Park
by mtbChef on Nov 21, 2009
Melita, California, United States
16.4 miles
This route maximizes some of the roughest, most technical terrain at Annadel State Park on the descents (Rough Go, Cobblestone, N/S Burma).  My absolute favorite ride in the greater Bay Area.  If you're looking to add more single track, you can easily incorporate a loop around Ledson Marsh instead of continuing down to Buick Meadow directly.
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Mount St. Helena
by antonyw on Feb 16, 2013
Calistoga, California, United States
9.9 miles
Drove up from San Jose to hike some different scenery.  We made good time getting up to the top and enjoyed the wonderful views.  Saw a gray fox on the way up which was a treat for me as I haven't seen one that I can remember.  After quite a while hanging around on the summit we made a quick descent and headed over to Russian River Brewing Co for some wonderful...

Reviews
Achaetes
The hike we did near here was "Johnson Ridge - Gunsight Rock Trail". This was a very challenging hike. A lot of steep climbing, but that's the only way to get to the awesome views. There are a few ways to get to Gunsight Rock, but we chose the route from Pythian Road.
Visited on Nov 12, 2011

by Achaetes on Dec 26, 2011
lluyet
The Napa Valley Marathon is very well run and is a beautiful course. I enjoyed it and ran well there.
Visited on Mar 06, 2011

by lluyet on Aug 15, 2012
sealauren
Biking is a great way to explore Sonoma. Stop in at a couple wineries for tastings, but save most of the drinking for the end of your trip!

by sealauren on Oct 11, 2012

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