Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

The park protects one of the easternmost natural stands of coast redwood in California. These are not the towering giants of the far north coast, but they are the real thing, growing here in a cool, moist canyon that catches enough fog and shade to sustain them well inland from the sea, mixed with Douglas fir, bay, and bigleaf maple.

The forest floor is classic Northern California woodland: sword ferns, redwood sorrel, and moss along the creek, giving the canyon a green, hushed feeling entirely unlike the open valley outside. Walking in from the parking area, the temperature drops and the light softens within a few hundred yards.

The heart of the park is Ritchey Creek, which runs down the canyon and gives the main trail its name and its route. The Ritchey Canyon and Redwood Trails follow the water upstream beneath the trees, easy and shaded, while the Coyote Peak and Ritchey Canyon loops climb the slopes for a longer walk with views out over the wooded hills.

The creek runs strong and clear in winter and spring and quiets to a trickle by late summer, its pace tracking the Napa Valley's wet-winter, dry-summer rhythm. Along the way the trails pass old homestead traces and the quiet reminders of the people who lived and worked in this canyon before it was a park.

Long before the vineyards, this part of the Napa Valley was home to the Wappo people, who lived across the valley and its wooded canyons and drew on the land's oaks, creeks, and game. Their presence here reaches back many generations, and their descendants remain part of the region today.

In the American era the canyon was homesteaded and later became a resort called Paradise Park before being preserved as a state park, named for a local family. The neighboring Bale Grist Mill, built in 1846 and connected to the park by a short forest trail, anchors that pioneer chapter, so the two sites together tell the story of the valley before wine.

Bothe-Napa is an easy, welcoming park. It has a campground under the trees, a picnic area, and a seasonal swimming pool that is a genuine treat on a hot valley afternoon, though it runs only in summer, so it is worth checking ahead. The trails suit families and casual walkers as much as anyone chasing a longer loop.

The forest keeps the canyon cooler than the surrounding valley, but Napa summers are still hot, and the trails can be dusty by late season and muddy after winter storms. Small as it is, the park pairs naturally with the historic mill next door and with the wineries and towns of the upper valley for a well-rounded day.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.