Bothe-Napa Valley State Park Exploration

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Bothe-Napa Valley State Park Exploration

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Difficulty: Difficult
Length: 4.0 miles / 6.4 km
Duration: 1-3 hours

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Overview: A visit to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park allows hikers to make a trip back in time. The park is a still-forested hill nestled among several of the famous valley's wineries. It stands as a reminder of the natural flora and fauna of the area before much of it was cleared to create vineyards. Though the trees and other plants have been largely removed from the land used as vineyards, the soils and microclimates that have drawn grape growers for over 100 years remain.

The park is also teeming with plants used by Native Americans in the region, who were likely the first people to use the Valley's bounties to make intoxicating concoctions.

Most of the park is rugged, with elevations ranging from 300 to 2,000 feet. You will notice a pattern in the vegetation: the forests are on the north-facing slopes and in canyons, while south-facing slopes tend to be brushy; redwoods grow only near creeks or springs.

Plant life hides much of the park’s geology, which is principally volcanic, but you can see a reminder of the area’s violent geologic past in the volcanic ash cliffs of upper Ritchey Canyon.

The park is home to raccoons, gray squirrels, deer, foxes, bobcats, and coyotes to name a few, but they are sometimes difficult to spot because of their nocturnal habits and the heavy forest cover.

Several species of birds can be easily detected though, including the six kinds of woodpecker that inhabit the park. The spectacular crow-sized pileated woodpecker is one of them. On a more rare occasion a spotted owl can be found, perched high in a redwood tree.

Located by the entrance to the park is the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center and entrance station are open intermittently when staffing is available. Brochures (hiking maps) are also available by mail.

Next to the park’s visitor center is the Native American Garden which displays some of the plants important to the first people of this area. Today, many of the same plants are used by the Wappo people.

This Exploration created in collaboration with the Exploratorium

Tips: Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

3801 St. Helena Highway North

Calistoga, CA 94515

Phone: 707-942-4575

The park exhibits more seasonal changes than most Californians experience. Hot, dry summers change to mild, wet winters; in between, in spring and fall, the park and its surrounding area are probably at their finest.

Summer temperatures may reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit, but nights are usually cool. In the fall, when daytime temperatures are more pleasant, the leaves begin to turn, creating a dramatic and colorful display.

Temperatures don’t often go below freezing and snow is infrequent, but nearly 45 inches of rain are apt to fall during a single winter – between December and March.

Directions

5 miles north of St. Helena and 4 miles south of Calistoga on Highway 29/128.

South – Near the Coast

Take Highway 101 north to Highway 37 at Novato, east on Highway 37 to Highway 121, north on Highway 121 to Highway 29 near Napa, north on Highway 29 to the park entrance.

South – Inland

Take I5 north to I580, west on I580 to I680, north to I780, north to I80, east to Highway 37, west to Highway 29, north on Highway 29 to the park entrance.

North – Near the Coast

Take Highway 101 south to Calistoga exit, go east on Mark West Rd., continuing on Porter Creek Rd. to Petrified Forest Rd., turn left, go to Highway 128, turn right and follow Highway 128 past Calistoga to the park entrance.

North-Inland

Take I5 south to Highway 20, west to Highway 53, south to Highway 29 at Lower Lake, then south on Highway 29 to the park entrance.

East

Take I80 west to Highway 12, west to Highway 29, then north to the park entrance.

Activities

Hiking: there are well over 10 miles of trail.

Swimming: Memorial Day weekend through mid-June, then daily through Labor Day, from 12- 6 p.m. There is an additional fee for the use of the swimming pool, to be paid at the park entrance.

Horseback riding: horseback ride during the spring, summer, or fall. Reservations for horseback rides can be made through Triple Creek Horse Outfit by calling (707) 933-1600.

Picnics: The large picnic grounds are located in the day use area, and are even available for group events and getaways. A covered area for group use contains picnic tables, a sink and an electrical outlet with a horseshoe pit and wheelchair-accessible restroom nearby.

Interpretive programs: offered throughout the year. Special programs can sometimes be arranged for groups by calling the park in advance.

Points of Interest

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Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

Going into the park, you're greeted by a riparian woodland that gives way to mixed evergreen forest. Some visitors are surprised at the prevalence of redwoods. Like nearly all of the state's redwood groves, it's second growth, having been logged in the mid-to-late 1800s.

Tilt your head back here, look skyward and you'll see a majestic forest canopy of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), black oak (Quercus kelloggii), and foothill pine (Pinus sabiniana).

The soft, flat needles found on California's state tree, the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens).

The distinctive thick, ropy bark of the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) can grow up to 12 inches thick on mature trees. It's bright red when freshly exposed, then weathers to a pale reddish gray. Its thickness and relative lack of resin make the bark nearly impervious to flame, an important self-preservation feature in an ecosystem that frequently experiences fires.

1b. Looking up - mixed evergreen forest Photo

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Colorful evidence of bird life

Bothe-Napa State Park is known for its abundant bird life. Somewhere nearby, a Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is missing a feather. These birds, commonly found invading picnic tables, are as loud and raucous as their bright blue plumage suggests.

The park is also home to wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). Although they primarily feed on grasses, these large birds can often be seen dining on the park's abundant nuts such as acorns, pine nuts, and hazelnuts.

This scattering of feathers liberally dotted with white droppings is evidence of a bird that parted with more than just a bit of its plumage. It likely became a source of food for one of this forest's birds of prey, perhaps a sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) or a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii).

2a. Colorful evidence of bird life Photo

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California Bay tree

This common western, mixed-woodland tree (Umbellularia californica) is also known as the California bay laurel. Its highly aromatic leaves have a pleasant scent similar to the familiar kitchen spice, Bay laurel. The local Wappo people roasted and ground the tree's nuts to make flour, and used other parts of the plant for medicinal purposes.

A sometime neighbor of the California bay tree is the foothill pine (Pinus sabiniana), also known as ghost pine for its delicate and airy appearance. The Wappo people have used its surface roots for basketry. Observation of the Wappo harvesting these roots with sharp sticks led to the colloquial name "digger pine" which is now out of favor.

The bark of this foothill pine (Pinus sabiniana) is oozing a sticky, golden pitch. Such pitch was chewed like gum by the Wappo natives in the region in and around what is now Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. The tree's cones were used as fire starters, and the nuts were harvested for food.

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Sword fern

In wetter areas of the park, especially along heavily shaded stream banks and side trails, sword fern (Polystichum munitum) rise up to 8 feet high with dozens of thick evergreen fronds.

The sword fern (Polystichum munitum) found frequently in the wetter, shadier areas of the park's lower elevations, sports dramatic reddish-brown spore clusters called sori.

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Dancer amongst the giants

Butterflies are familiar denizens of Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. This delicate orange-and-black creature is likely a California crescent (Phyciodes orseis) or Mylitta crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) sipping nectar from angelica (Angelica tomentosa).

Along with looking up at the forest canopy and around at the butterflies, make sure to look down at your feet. Otherwise, you might miss wildlife like this giant millipede, most likely of the genus Tylobolus. Although some exotic millipedes have almost 700 legs, most have between 80 and 200. None truly have the "1000 feet" as their name suggests.

If you're already on your belly to check out the millipede in the previous picture, you might be close enough to see even smaller forest dwellers. This 1/4-inch hoverfly (Syrphidae family?) displays a rather subtle but fetching iridescence on its wings.

5c. A fly on the ground, not the wall Photo

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California black oak bark

One of the great pleasures of hiking in a mixed woodland is the variety of textures and colors; The California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) has a sooty black exterior grooved with numerous reddish lines.

California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) have the classic lobed leaves associated with oaks. Growing up to 90 feet high, these quintessentially Californian trees can live up to 500 years, and were a preferred source of acorns for pre-European inhabitants.

All oaks develop some type of acorn, as seen in this unidentified species. Acorns from the California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) (not pictured) were one of the most important food sources for the Wappo people, who gathered them in huge quantities for mush, soup, and bread.

No discussion of a hike in California would be complete without a caution about our Pacific poison-oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). It is not a true oak, but a plant related to mangoes and pistachios. You know the drill: leaves of three, let them be.

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Blue elderberry

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park abounds with plants that provided useful raw materials to the native Wappo people, and the area was an important place for plant gathering. Sometimes one plant offered a variety of resources. Blue elderberry (Sambucus caerulea), for example, provided nutritious berries, and the blossoms were used for a fever-reducing tea.

The area's native Wappo people favored the long, straight branches of the blue elderberry (Sambucus caerula) for making ceremonial whistles and split-stick rattles.

Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum), a close cousin to marijuana, is a poisonous shrub with a long list of aliases and nicknames - dogbane, amy root, indian hemp, rheumatism root, wild cotton. Although too toxic for food or ceremonial uses, it was used for making string and rope.

The distinctive sawtooth leaves of the native toyon shrub (Heteromeles arbutifolia) are a common sight in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. The local Wappo people would bake the late-season berries in hot coals and enjoy them as a snack.

The unassuming California hazelnut (Corylus cornuta var. californica) had a lot to offer the intrepid native forager. In addition to the well-known nuts, the durable wood fashioned well into digging tools, and the shoots provided useful weaving material for items like animal traps and baskets.

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Bark of the Pacific madrone

Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) is easy to spot by its shimmering, peeling orange bark and smooth, bare wood.
The tree, a not-so-distant relative of the blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), provided the last harvest of the year for the native people here.

Not all the bark of a Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) will peel; Some remains mottled in a fashion more typical of tree bark. Looking only at close-up views of the two barks, you might think they were found on entirely different trees.

The distinctive, light-green leaves of the Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) are a striking contrast to the bright orange of the tree's peeling bark.

8b. Pacific madrone bark before peeling Photo

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'Forward gravelly loam' soil

The earth of Napa Valley is a confluence of volcanic, alluvial, and oceanic geologies, lending the hillsides an extraordinary variety of soil types - over 60 are recorded in this valley of 300,000 acres. The type of soil pictured here, called forward gravelly loam, is highly respected by wine growers. Volcanic in origin, this soil is a fine host for cabernet, syrah, possibly zinfandel wine grapes.

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Common manzanita

The lovely common manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita) is covered in distinctive peeling bark, more purple than that of its more coppery cousin, the Pacific madrone. Native groups in the area used manzanita leaves in a tea to cure stomach ailments, and carved the extremely tough wood into fishhooks and harpoon heads.

Napa Valley's first fermented beverages were made by the native Wappo people from these small, apple-shaped berries. "Manzanita" or "little apple" in Spanish, refers to these bland but edible fruits that were the basis of a cider-like drink.

Deadwood from the common manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita). As it ages, the wood dries silver with an appealing tight grain.

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Caught in the act - making soil for future wine

Much of the soil in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park is the leftovers of ancient volcanic activity, making it a potentially rich mixture for grape vines. On this slope supporting the trail up to Coyote Peak, you can see welded tuff, the raw parent material to some of the Valley's prized soils.

As it weathers, this gray, volcanic dirt develops into some of the Napa's fine grape-growing soils, such as forward gravelly loam.

11b. Volcanic welded tuff, parent material of some growing soils Photo

11a. Caught in the act - making soil for future wine Photo

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exposed layers of 'Kidd Loam' soil

This stratified soil is called Kidd loam. Volcanic in origin, it's a contributor to grapevine-friendly soils. On its own, though, Kidd loam is more often the base of range land than vineyards.