We had a great time visiting the Bale Grist Mill in St. Helena. Our tour guide explained it was…read morebuilt in 1846 from the design in the 1795 book "The Young Mill-Wright & Miller's Guide." I was able to read some of the book from the Library of Congress archives and found Oliver Evans wrote the guide and patented his design in 1790, the year the patent office was formed, before patents were numbered. In 1804 they retroactively assigned him patent number (X3) three. He licensed his design to hundreds of people including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. He became the first American to live off of intellectual property income.

Historic Grist Mill where grain is milled powered by a gigantic water wheel. From the friendly…read morereceptionist to the remarkable tour guide this is a fabulous experience. I have not been here since before the pandemic but it is always an amazing experience. Bring a picnic and sit outside at the tables or take a hike after the guided tour in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. You will learn a lot about the history of the region. And the milling process. Modest entry fee.

Nice place to take you kids to, good skating park, nice playground, tennis courts, pickleball…read morecourts, and, of course, Napa Valley views. Clean, comfortable.

Disappointing. No real spot in shade to sit and watch the children. Bathrooms were locked. Had to…read moreleave.

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.

So happy to finally be able to cross this hike off my bucket list. It was certainly worth the wait…read more It's not a long hike, but there is a little bit of climbing on rocks, especially towards the end I suggest wearing good shoes with traction The scenery along the way to the falls is lovely and changes throughout the hike. Meadows, fir trees, boulders, and ponds! We made it to the Falls on the last day of April. I would think that during the summer they wouldn't be flowing as greatly as they were now. Sitting below the falls was majestic. We also did the hike at the fork of the road, which eventually ends due to all the brush on the trail, and it was lovely as well with a beautiful pond

I always enjoy a hike to waterfall but it was quite disappointing that this fall was just a…read moretrickle. Though it's understandable because it is summer that the water flow is probably way better after some good rain. To get here, Google maps was help to get me to the parking lot. However, from the there i was quite confused reading others yelp or goggle reviews. Hopefully I can help those going. When driving up the hill from Napa, on the right you drive pass the Pacific Union College sign then pass by the city Angwin sign, immediately you will turn to your LEFT pass the baseball field into the gravel parking lot. From the baseball parking lot cross the street and walk along the bike path as you are walking against traffic flow. You will go back and pass the Pacific Union college sign and then you will see a bike path sign see pics. You walk on the pavement path for 6 min and then see the sign of Linda Fall preserve. See the map and the caution of the wild mushroom you should not eat. The path to the Falls is about 20 minutes in and 20 minutes out. You wil see your firstb Linda Falls sign. Then you will see a second Linda Falls sign. After the 2nd one be prepared for slippery dry dirt. You will want shoes with good grip. Soon you will be at Falls. Ther are lots of boulders to climb over to get close to the Falls. Its a small area and gets crowded. I suggest going before 11am. In my opinion age 6 and above it accurate. You will have to help kids the last 5- 10 minutes of the hike. Do not suggest infants and or in carriers. Im Glad I did this Falls hike while in Napa so I can write about and tell other people. It's a nice hike to get out with the family and friends, eat a snack or lunch at the Falls and head back. I recommend this hike just wish the beginning of the trail to get there had clear signs up.

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.

If you look for this park on Google maps it also comes up as Stonebridge Park. The best way to…read moreaccess this park is to turn on College Avenue from Pope Street and then drive all the way to the far end of the parking lot. This is considered a dog park, but there's more to it than that. At the entrance you'll find eight picnic tables on concrete with a couple of large grills and a fountain. If you walk towards the rear of the park, that is where you will spot the enclosed dog park which is out of view from the entrance. You'll also find a nice dirt path that runs around the perimeter and the dog park. If you find yourself here in the summertime you'll notice there's lots of blackberries growing wild next to the trail. It's a great park to have a picnic at or bring the pooch, but there are no public restrooms here. Informative photos included.

Calistoga Pioneer Cemetery is a haunting place. Perched on the side of a cliff, it is a final…read moreresting place for Civil War veterans and Donner Party survivors. A local Boy Scout troop recently made a guide to the cemetery, which dates back to the 1870s. Many original records have been lost, for there are faded tombs where the names have faded into eternity. It's not an easily accessible cemetery- the most one can do is park across the street&find a way across Highway 29/128. There are stories of the cemetery being haunted, of the presence of apparitions, it has that kind of an atmosphere. What was once a quiet cemetery is now beside a busy highway, trying to rest in peace.

Top Notch Care and Handeling of my Beloved Pet !!!!! Great…read moreCountry Facillity and training as well . They even have a Dog pond for the Water Loving hounds

Every time I take Rango here, he comes back happy. He is also very excited and happy when we get…read morethere, despite the fact he knows I'm leaving him there for an extended stay! Everyone is very helpful and friendly that works here, and they all seem to be dog lovers.