You could not ask for a more helpful group of individuals to assist you with making your visit to…read moreYountville and the Napa Valley area a memorable experience. A complementary service with a team of experts that will just make your day. Conveniently located in downtown Yountville on Washington Street, It's a great way to start your stroll through this quaint town. Whether it's information on some of the Michelin rated restaurants, extensive bike trails, wine experiences, art walks, etc in the area, they will point you in the right direction. A highly recommended stop to help you make the most of your time.

While walking down Washington St. on a recent trip to Yountville, we decided to stop in the…read moreYountville Welcome Center. The center is nice and has sofas making it an inviting and relaxing environment. We were welcomed by Marion, the weekend manager. Marion was extremely knowledgeable about Yountville and the Wine Country. She offered great suggestions and tips about wineries and their tastings and restaurants. You can get maps, various wine country magazines and pamphlets from many wineries. Ask about wineries offering two for one tastings and or discounts. If you need information about Yountville and the Wine Country, this Welcome Center is a must visit.

If you're in the hunt for a quaint, picturesque little neighborhood park, it's hard to beat Lyman…read morePark. Located in the heart of ridiculously cute St. Helena, this small, shaded community hangout is the perfect place to enjoy any number of leisure activities. We were in town for the day and looking for a place to eat some sandwiches we'd just purchased at a nearby deli. There weren't a lot of benches in town so we headed here. The park is overall well-maintained, with a gazebo, plenty of places to sit and a couple little monuments to view. There's plenty of shade from surrounding trees for those visiting in the peak of summer. I especially liked the little two seat tables that were perfect for lunch. I also appreciated that they had open and CLEAN, fully accessible public restrooms. This is after we were looking for a place to go in town and found everything, including even the visitor's center, closed to the public.

Lovely place, extremely clean nice park We had a nice…read morepicnic with my cousin my husband and me, a curious squirrel came to visit to

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

We just spent one night at Bothe-Napa State Park, and it was the perfect first outing with our…read morerooftop tent! we loved it so peaceful. !! The campground is small but charming, nestled between Calistoga and Saint Helena -- a true hidden gem. We've driven by this park so many times on our way to Calistoga. Finally got to check it out and experience it. It's surrounded trees and the soothing sounds of a creek , offering a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of nearby towns. Trails and even a swimming pool that's open on the weekends. The park is well-maintained, with clean bathrooms and a great atmosphere. It was our first time using the rooftop tent, and this spot couldn't have been more ideal. We're already planning to come back and explore more of the park!

Bothe-Napa is a California State park right outside of St. Helena ($10 day entry) with fern covered…read morehiking paths and a nice campground, with campsites, cabins and yurts to rent, but also, unfortunately with prolific amounts of poison oak everywhere. The hike though the redwoods (Redwood Trail and Richie Canyon) is well shaded and requires that you traverse a bubbling, active creek with wet stones to do the entire loop. The creek was still active in early summer, with small waterfalls and slippery stones in the creek bed. Fine for a regular hiker with great balance (and water shoes), but difficult for those with physical limitations or who can't afford a fall on slippery surfaces. It's a beautiful setting here, but with so much poison oak right off the path, and past experience with the rough side of poison oak, we opted to tread carefully. Come early in the day for a cooler hike, and try to stick to the trail so that you don't accidentally rub up on potential dangers, and leave this park with more than you'd intended.

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.

Enjoyed the experience. We walked the main trail and saw the massive petrified trees. There was an…read moreoption to take a side trail, to see more, we opted to stay on the main trail. The information provided on the trail guide was good and the walk/ hike was nice. There was a gift shop that had interesting fossils, minerals, books etc. We had a nice visit. Glad we did it.

In between wine adventures, my fiancé and I decided to do little hikes around the area. We found…read morethe Petrified Forest and were excited to check it out. It was about $14 each to enter, which was a little pricey for what we saw. You are able to do the entire space under an hour if you so wish. The people who work here are kind. There is a gift shop with both gifts and drinks. There were rudimentary women and mens restrooms. And plenty of free parking out front. You can check out the petrified woods up close. They also have a lot of informational plaques around.

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.

Preemptive Hike A…read more±5k-acre park located in the heart of Santa Rosa that offers visitors a myriad of diverse landscapes, all the way from woodlands and marshes to meadows and lakes. The Good: * Several parking lots, with the big one at the end of Channel Dr. * Over 45 miles of trails! * Visitor Center (check hours) * Tons of picnic benches along the trails (check map) * Trails are mostly shaded from what we saw, so this would be a great place to hike in the summer. * Mountain biking on certain trails (check map and trail signage) * Horseback riding on certain trails (check map and trail signage) * Dog-friendly trails (check signage) * No e-bikes * Fishing at the lakes (need permit) The Meh: * $8/vehicle fee that can either be collected via cash, or they actually have a QR Code to pay via your phone. * No camping The Ugly: * Unfortunately, we didn't have much time here as we barely squeezed in a short 2.5-mile hike. I wish this place was closer so we could explore it more, but there is always next time, Gadget! Next tiiiime!!! Conclusion: Fantastic state park with lots of great trails and something for everyone.

Another huge State Park in the vicinity-in Santa Rosa. We have done a couple of medium to hard…read moretrails and yet prefer the easy straight walk along the creek. There are houses too along that path. Lots of space for one to walk comfortably at one's own pace. We usually do 3.0 miles back and forth at a quick pace and feel well worked out. Enough tree cover, so good to walk on a sunny day too.

This was the last field trip we went on before school shut down earlier this year. The guide was…read morevery quiet in what he expected from the students and from the other adult and myself. My only mark down was I was sternly talked to for taking pictures of the students for the class and to possibly be in the yearbook. This is not an uncommon thing for field trips to have photos taken at them. As a mom to one of the students in the group it came off rude that I shouldn't be taking photos of my student with her friends. Just seemed really odd.

Went on a guided hike to Bouverie Preserve in Glen Ellen. Friend went a few weeks before & then I…read morewanted to go. Booked the last hike for the year on Sat 11/12/11. It's 1.5hr from Fremont so we had to leave the house at 7:30am to get there at 9am. Tour starts at 9:30am and finishes at 1:30pm, so you have to plan to be out there for 4hrs, bathrooms at the Interpretive Center - none on the trail. Bring lunch & water. Must have reservations to go on the hike. It's just past Sonoma Regional Park, there's a tiny sign for Bouverie Preserve on the Right. There's a gate that someone checked to make sure we were on their list. Drive on the road to the end, lots of parking available. Go into the Interpretive Center. There is separate bathrooms. Women's past the wood-burning fireplace on the right. Men's before the fireplace. There's a library, but only for docents. Stuffed birds - ask them to open it so you can see them. Guided hike they put our name on a list - we got Pat. All I wanted to see was Stewart Falls, but of course my guided thought it was too steep so we didn't go. There are some steep trails on the hike so I don't know what the problem was. I think all the other guides took their groups. Saw lots of newts & green banana slugs. We might have done less then 3 miles - no map was given & no mile markers anywhere. Hope to go in the Spring for wildflowers & to see Stewart Falls. For 2012 these are the guided nature walk dates: March 17, April 14, April 21, May 5, May 19. Website www.egret.org

You will never find a more accurate and friendly reservations company or travel agent around…read more Whether you are booking way in advance or just looking for a quick spontaneous getaway, NVR is the way to go! They can help book hot air balloon rides, a must, the wine train and more. AND they are a complimentary with 5 star service!! Travis and Maria have the valley down, so if you are looking to vacation there, definitely give them a call or email!! Go Napa Valley Reservations!

Decided to take a Saturday overnight Napa Valley trip on Saturday morning. Found this website…read moresomewhere and so glad I did! Travis connected me with multiple options for available hotels at excellent rates and continued searching after I told him just what I was looking for. Soon after selecting one Travis recommended, I was promptly emailed a reservation confirmation and the hotel had all my information when I arrived. Definitely recommend this service as a way to navigate the hundreds of possibilities for reservations in the Napa region as well as to find the best rate possible. (It's also just refreshing talking to a human being rather than going through a ad-busy website.)