SCW and I visited Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Park one day while staying nearby. I'd use…read morecaution when using a driving app to get here as we were led along a very narrow road through a local residential area with no room and switchbacks galore. Suffice it to say we saw a few locals along the way that seemed perplexed why we were driving very slowly through their neighborhood. I think that had to do with a bridge closure. Anyways... The return was not the same route thankfully. The park has for pay parking areas and what seemed to be free parking along the road to the park at your own risk. We found a spot in the paid lot ($10). Get a receipt, put it on your car's dashboard and off you go. There's a small welcome center and info at the entrance as well. The Redwoods are incredible here, some alive for 1400 plus years. You simply can't see the tops of the Redwoods from the ground. Truly incredible. The trails are well marked and it's highly discouraged to get off the trails as the environment is very ecologically sensitive. Unfortunately we saw some disregard for that. Stay on the trails people! You'll find placards noting interesting names and places along the way in addition to information about the flora and fauna. The history of the park and previous residents from indigenous peoples to the parks name sake are along the trail. It's an incredible park to visit and appreciate nature. The redwoods are incredible and certainly worth a visit.

Wow! What can I say that will convince you to come visit the splendor at Armstrong? We walked…read more Hiked. And drove our vehicle up a tiny one lane hillside road to the top for a spectacular view of the whole area. It was beyond words! The park was immaculately clean. Everyone was kind and polite. The air was so fresh. I hope to return soon.

I've been living in Windsor for about three years and. Finally made it to this beautiful place. The…read moretrails lead to such beautiful views. We decided to hike up the more intense trail and it was so worth it. There were quite a few others hiking as well and most people seem to respect it. Picking up their trash and making sure to leave it as it was before setting up their picnic spot. Net time I'm going to make sure to bring my on picnic. This time I only brought snacks and water to sustain me while hiking. I'm so blessed to live in an area that provides this wonderful piece of Mother Nature.

I liked it . We did the easy hike and hit all three lakes. Park outside on the street . It's…read moreeasier and plenty of parking. Otherwise you have to pay. It was a very nice Saturday afternoon. There were quite a bit of people there hiking with their dogs. It have a nice family feeling to the park.

This is a beautiful stop in Sonoma County. It features easy walks that allow you to learn about…read moreJack London and explore his homes, including the House of Happy Walls Museum and the ruins of his Wolf House. The trails are well-maintained and shaded by trees, with some minor uphill and downhill sections, making it a great outdoor activity for all ages. There is a vehicle entry fee to get into the park, but it is covered if you have a California State Parks pass. Highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area or need a break from wine tasting.

Jack London's gravesite and ruins of Wolf House. We came for the abandoned house and were very…read moreimpressed by the scale and size, Jack London must have been very wealthy for the time to have a house like this. The sad thing is it burned down right before completion so they never got to live in the house. The use of stones and rock kept a lot of the walls despite the fire and it reminds me of of an oversized version of a Greene and Greene style Craftsman Bungalow I saw in Pasadena, CA. If you are a fan of abandoned places you will like coming here. It's fenced off for safety so you can't go running around the structures but you can do a full 360 walk around and there is a platform you can walk on that's about in the middle of the house and you get a good view of the pool and different floors from here. The hike from the parking lot to the museum and to the grave sites and house are easy, my senior parents and young kids were able to do it easily. I would stop by the museum on the way back, there are some nice artifacts from Jack London as well as a scale model of what the hosue was supposed to look like.

Wide dirt path. It's like getting to eat dessert first! Great view when you start with a moderate…read moredownhill grade the whole way. No help for it, you have to eat your veggies some time! All uphill on the way back. Also, a fairly tick rich environment. We even came away with ticks in early January. Use of the area is by permit only. See photo below. However, I have a feeling most people using the area do not have permits. Contact: www.landpaths.org, (707)524-9381. Dogs are permitted on leash. My observation is that most people politely adhere to on leash protocols. I'd recommend first time visitors park at signage which indicates "no turn around beyond this point." The road does continue for another 1/4 mile but it's extremely narrow and really meant for the few residents who live down there. Better to park at the sign and walk that last 1/4 mile the first time to get the lay of the land. So how do you find this place? It's really just a stone's throw up the hill from the town of Occidental. It's easier to just put in these GPS coordinates: 38.422560, -122.996500. Want even more information? We found the AllTrails app really helpful.

Pretty cool place for a little hike! Decent dirt road for a 6.8 there and back hike. Downhill there…read moreand uphill back. Filled with towering green trees, bright fungi, flowing creek, grassy hills and beautiful views!

Hiked the Oat Hill Mine Road from the Silverado Trail, Calistoga on Sun 12/12/10. We hiked w/ the…read moreNapa Land Trust starting at 9am, I got up really early to do this hike. Parking - across from the pizza place La Prima (Lake St & Lincoln Ave) or next to the Trailhead. No Bathrooms - just gotta pee in the off to the side of the trail or find a bush. We did the Lower Oat Hill Mine Trail & lunch at Holms Place. Then we went off trail cross country to Point Duff & had great views of Mt St Helena w/ fog under it. Pretty cool. We didn't go to Duff cave w/ platform, but saw a cave - I didn't go up to get a close look, others did. Started 9am, finished 3:40pm with lots of breaks. We did about 11 miles round trip. Advice: Go on a clear day or when there's 10% chance of rain or less. There were a bunch of crazy mountain bikers that don't tell you they are coming up or down so be careful. Didn't see ticks Sun 12/12/10, but saw them 5/13/07.

Outdoor lovely views great gradual hike with shade sun and views…read more... I would rather hike here than write about it so go hike it. It's so worth it especially rocky outcroppings. It's 8.3 miles. Take a hike and enjoy this destination in the Napa Valley

Nice area to hang out with children, Lot of parking space with restroom close by…read more Perfect for a picnic day.

We usually park at Wright's Beach and follow the path north along the coastline. It is fairly flat…read morewith pretty views of the ocean. Lots of brush on either side of the trail but it is maintained well. There are nice photo ops along the way and you can see and hear birds calling out or flying gracefully in the sky. There is one area further north where we often take the path down to the beach. Even though you will see cars in the parking lot, we have never run into crowds of people so it is quiet and a place where you can be one with nature with beautiful ocean views.

Table Rock trail is located within Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. The road to get to the…read moretrailhead is directly north of Calistoga on Highway 29-about 20 minutes from the downtown. There are no facilities and parking can be hard to come by, as there are just two small lots. You're competing with other hikers who might be climbing up Mt St Helena. Mileage wise, the trail signs indicate 4.2 miles round trip. So, while the distance is short, the trail itself is moderate to challenging. There are sections both going in and out with an incline. While the inclines and declines aren't terribly steep, it's the loose rocks, downed trees and washed out trail sections that make it more challenging. I do wish I brought hiking poles to navigate the downhills and found myself tripping a few times, The scenery is quite unique with interesting rock formations along the way. The end of this trail, at Table Rock itself is spectacular, especially in winter when the valley below is green. The area did suffer from fires back in 2017 so there are a lot of burned trees and scrubby landscape. Interesting hike and worth checking out at least once. If you're up for more of a challenge, the trail continues to the Palisades trail and eventually connects down to the Oat Hill Mine trail in Calistoga. Good workout, scenic and not too crowded. Bring water and layers. It's exposed for much of the uphills and I was sweating but then cold and windy at the top. Minus 1 star for the challenging parking situation and washed out (but passable) sections.

Fun little trail with a lot of scenic views, trees, and (currently) greenery. We went today, which…read morehappened to be cold, windy, cloudy, and even hailed a bit, and there were a few downed trees you needed to hop over. I loved the hike. Only saw 4 other people, a couple on their way out and a couple on their way in (when we were on our way out). It was quiet and peaceful. The parking lot adjacent to it was nearly full. There was another trail entrance across the road from this one that seemed more popular.

An amazing network of trails of all levels can be found at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, as well as…read moreinformational trails that are great for kids. You can pick up a list of trails and rough map at the entrance. We meandered creekside, and looped Hillside Trail to meadow trail, all with amazing scenery. Very clean and well-maintained park, with plenty of rangers. Loads of great picnic areas as well. Can't wait to return and try more hikes.

This state park was relatively easy to get to despite the long drive and heavy traffic from…read morePeninsula. However the road leading up to the park was relatively straightforward. We are getting into camping this year and this was our trial run with all the new gears we bought. We rented camper site #1 which is labeled as "premium". Maybe it was a bit bigger than the regular sites but other than that it didn't feel particularly premium. Since #1 and 48 are the first and last sites in the campground loop and closest to the visitor center, they had the best WiFi reception. The downside is we were the farthest to the bathrooms and showers which were located on the opposite site of the loop. This made trekking over at night a bit inconvenient. The bathrooms were somewhat clean and the showers are coin-operated at the cost of 25c per minute. Shampoo and body wash were provided which is nice. All in all this was a nice introductory experience for us. If we were to come back to camp at this park we will opt for site #3 which is nicely tucked into the shaded corner and is fairly close to the bathrooms.

The North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve is an amazing park with incredible…read moreviews! There's a parking fee or it's free if you have a Regional Park Pass. They have a bathroom near the parking lot that they keep clean. There are several different trails that you can take and some that connect to Jack London Park. We hiked the Bennett Valley Overlook Trail, which is a 3.7 mile out and back trail. Dogs are not allowed on this particular trail so you will have to leave your four legged friends home if you decide to hike this trail. The overlook has stunning views. There are two picnic tables if you want to pack a lunch/picnic and enjoy the views for longer. Most of the trail is not shaded so something to consider and bringing a hat may come in handy for this reason and wearing sunscreen on sunny days. Also wear hiking shoes and bring water to stay hydrated along the way. We enjoyed our hike and the views and look forward to hiking some of the other hiking trails soon!

Went here recently with friends for a day hike. We went to discover scenic vistas. We enjoyed a…read morenice picnic on picnic tables overlooking scenic vistas and also enjoyed some chess as I am an avid chess player. Giant redwood trees and the setting sun. There is also the umbrella tree which is a unique tree to climb and enjoy shade underneath it on a sunny day. Recommended hiking here. There are many options and the views can't be beat!