Napa Valley, California
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Calistoga Sightseeing, Parks & RecreationThe mud baths, massages and mineral waters at Calistoga's famed spas are the historical draw for this town at the top of the Napa Valley, but there's so much more. You'll find an "old faithful" geyser, an ancient petrified forest, a popular museum, intriguing tromp l'oeil art, and historical landmarks as well. Not to mention golf and lots of great parks. |
Calistoga Mineral Water Company
865 Silverado Trail North
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.6295
The Calistoga Water truck greets visitors along the Silverado Trail.
One of the country's most famous bottled water companies, it has been owned by Perrier for years. Visitors are very welcome. During your visit you'll enjoy a water tasting with lots of different flavors. Due to government regulations the company can't advertise its water as healthful, but the reality is they've got lots of testimonials and people have been drinking (and bathing in) Calistoga's water for more than a hundred years as a health tonic.
Napa County Fairgrounds
1435 Oak Street PO Box 344
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.5111
Site of the Napa County Fair held every July. Also has a 9-hole golf course, automobile racetrack and conference/meeting facilities.
Old Faithful Geyser Of California
1299 Tubbs Lane
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.6463 Fax: 707.942.6898
Open daily at 9 a.m. Charge for admission
Every 40 minutes—woooosh! (Photo courtesy of "Old Faithful of Calistoga.")
One of only three "Old Faithful" geysers in the world, erupting approximately every 40 minutes and shooting water 60 feet into the air.
Geothermal exhibit hall, gift shop, picnic area and self-guided geothermal tour. Private moonlight parties for 20 or more by reservation only.
Petrified Forest
4100 Petrified Forest Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.6667
Open daily 10a.m.- 6p.m .(Winter: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.) Six miles west of Calistoga. Charge for admission
The Giant—petrified through the ages. (Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest).
A fascinating and educational example of the powers of nature and the vastness of time. Huge petrified trees scattered throughout the grounds as well as a museum and gift shop. Excellent for older kids.
Sharpsteen Museum
1311 Washington Street
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.5911
Directions: One block west of Lincoln Ave. on Washington St.
Hours: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., April - October, and Noon - 4 p.m., November - March. Free admission.
Sweeping dioramas, fascinating artifacts and unusual exhibits in a museum created by Ben Sharpsteen, Walt Disney Studio animator and Oscar-winning producer.
Exhibits include a 32-foot-long diorama depicting 1860s life at the opulent resort that gave Calistoga—"the Saratoga of the Pacific"—its name. An elaborately furnished "Sam Brannan" cottage from the lavish Victorian spa resort. A restored stagecoach that encountered many a bandit on its mountain journeys. A working model of an 1871 train. Vintage car memorabilia. A Native American exhibit. A Robert Louis Stevenson exhibit and bronze sculpture.
Sterling Vineyards Sky Tram
1111 Dunaweal Lane
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.3344
North of St. Helena turn east on Dunaweal Lane. Sky tram charge includes tasting (for adults).
The SkyTram takes visitors to the Sterling Vineyards winery at the top of the hill.
A beautiful Mykonos-style winery, sparkling white on top of a hill just south of Calistoga. Travel the Sky Tram to the winery where you can take a leisurely self-paced tour. Gorgeous views of the valley below.
View from the Sterling Vineyards SkyTram.
Villa Ca'toga
3061 Myrtledale Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.3900
Just one of the colorful sights that await visitors at artist Carlo Marchiori's Villa Ca'toga. (Photo courtesy of Villa Ca'toga.)
At Villa Ca'toga, visitors are looked at too. (Photo courtesy of Villa Ca'toga.)
A Palladian villa, created by artist Carlo Marchiori, that serves as his residence and workshop. A large salon and six other rooms are completely decorated in trompe l'oeil frescoes. The garden and grounds include pools, statues, fountains, Roman ruins and 18th century follies. One tour weekly, every Saturday at 11 a.m. from May through October. Charge for tour.
Enjoy Ca'Toga at home. Buy Festa Veneziana a Ca'Toga: The Imaginative World of a Venetian Artist in Napa Valley
Calistoga Parks and Recreation
707.942.2838
Pioneer Park
1308 Cedar Street
Small park located one black from downtown Calistoga. Gazebo, Picnic tables, BBQ pits. Great spot for weddings, group picnics and concerts. Rental available.
Bothé-Napa Valley State Park
3801 North Saint Helena Highway (Highway 29)
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.4575
Reservations: 1.800.444.PRK
Bothé is just north of Bale Grist Mill, and the two parks are connected by a one-mile trail.
The nearly 2,000-acre park has more than 10 miles of excellent trails along Ritchey Creek and through beautiful redwood groves. It offers 50 camping areas either near redwoods along the creekside, or among the oaks and manzanita on sunny slopes above the creek. Campsites are also available for groups, hikers and bicyclists, and one site is fully wheelchair accessible. Picnic areas and an outdoor swimming pool are available. We consider it the loveliest public place to hike in the entire valley. Open year round.
The Native American Garden, is located next to the Visitor Center. Many of these plants are still used today by the Wappo People.
Day use fees are $5.00 per car. Camping is $16 on the weekends, $15 during the week. It's a wonderful place for all ages and the loveliest public place to hike in the entire valley.
Guided horseback tours are available at Bothé through Triple Creek Horse Outfit .
1. Ritchey Canyon Trail takes you through the heart of the park on historic routes and paths that parallel a year-round stream shaded by redwoods, firs and other plants that prefer cool, moist environments. The trail becomes steeper after a half mile, but offers solitude and a pleasant picnic spot at the homestead site.
2. Redwood Trail skirts the south side of Ritchey Creek. Along its upper section, the path is heavily shaded by redwoods and mixed-evergreen forest. You will enjoy a peaceful walk along the creek bank among the ferns, Solomon's seal, and other shade-loving plants. Early in the spring, trillium and redwood orchids bloom at the base of the young redwoods that have sprouted from the roots of trees that were felled during settlement of the valley in the 1850s.
3. Coyote Peak Trail climbs out of the canyon bottom offering views of the upper canyon and Napa Valley. Combining this trail with the Ritchey Canyon, Redwood and South Fork Trails makes a popular loop of 4.4 miles and reveals the variety of plant communities found in the park.
4. South Fork Trail goes up a canyon following a skid road used by early pioneers to haul out redwoods. After 0.4 miles the trail leaves the skid road and continues at an easier grade, passing a spur trail to a good overlook of Ritchey Canyon before rejoining the Spring Trail.
5. History Trail leads from the picnic area to the historic Bale Grist Mill. Near its beginning the trail passes through a pioneer cemetery and the site of the first church of Napa County, built in 1853. It was named after the Reverend Asa White, who gave sermons in a grove of trees on this site. A steep section of the trail climbs from the cemetery onto a ridge paralleling Highway 29.
The trail ends at the mill after passing the remains of the pond and ditches that brought water from Mill Creek to power the mill's overshot water wheel.
For state parks in the Napa Valley and throughout California, buy California State Parks : A Complete Recreation Guide
Hiking in the valley—and everywhere. Buy California's State Parks: A Day Hiker's Guide
Calistoga Pack Goats
4762 Petrified Forest Road
Calistoga, CA 94515
707.942.5504
Email: goatwalk@aol.com
Two-hour hikes on Napa Valley trails. Goats carry your food and water. You get to stroll along unencumbered.
Diamond Mountain Stables
1296 Diamond Mountain Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.0719
www.diamondmountainstables.com
Lessons, show training, childrenıs day camp during the summer. Horses for sale.
Mt. St. Helena Golf Course
P.O. Box 344
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.9966
9-holes, par 34. Men - 2,759 yards. Women - par 35 - 2,650 yards. Public course located at Napa County Fairgrounds.
Oat Hill Mine Trail
The trail is an old wagon road that originally went to mercury mines. The trailhead is at the intersection of Highway 29 and Silverado Trail, about one-half mile north of Calistoga. Park alongside either road or on Lake Street, but not in the small dirt lot at the trailhead. The trail begins at the metal gate.
The trail is a strenuous hike, rising 1,900 feet over nearly five miles. Best time to visit is spring. Make sure you bring water.
Famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote such classics as Treasure Island and A Child's Garden of Verses, honeymooned here in an abandoned bunkhouse in 1880. His story The Silverado Squatters describes his stay. (See Silverado Museum in St. Helena.)
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park
3801 North St. Helena Highway
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.4575
www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=472
Directions: Drive north from Calistoga on Highway 29 almost eight miles until you see signs for the park. Park in lots on either side of the road. The trailhead is on the west side.
This undeveloped 5,000-acre park is seven miles north of Calistoga, and open during daylight hours only. There's a five-mile hiking trail to the top of Mount St. Helena, exhibits, a picnic area, and an historic landmark monument to Stevenson.
It's a strenuous hike with an elevation gain of 2,100 feet. Bring your own drinking water for the long, sometimes very hot, climb up the mountain. Best time to visit is spring or fall. The view from the summit includes the nearby geyser country and, weather permitting, distant mountains such as Lassen, Shasta and the Sierra Nevada. Not only is there no water, there are no restrooms either. And only limited parking. Which probably explains why there's no entrance fee.
The park contains the old townsite of Silverado, and the tent site where Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Kidnapped, Treasure Island, and A Child's Garden of Verses, spent six weeks in the summer of 1880. Stevenson and his bride stayed in an abandoned mining building near the Silverado Mine. The building is long gone and a monument marks the site. While at the site, Stevenson kept a journal that he later used to write The Silverado Squatters. (If you're interested in Stevenson, visit the Silverado Museum in St. Helena).
Site Of York's Cabin, Calistoga (No. 682)
Among the first houses in this area was John York's log cabin, constructed in October 1845. Rebuilt as part of the home of the Kortum family, it was used as a residence until razed in 1930. Nearby was the cabin of David Hudson, also built in October 1845. Calistoga was named by Samuel Brannan.
Location: SW corner Hwy 29 (Foothill Blvd) and Lincoln Ave, Calistoga
Site Of Hudson Cabin, Calistoga (No. 683)
David Hudson was one of the early pioneers who helped develop the upper portion of Napa Valley by purchasing land, clearing it, and planting crops and building homes. Hudson built his cabin in October 1845.
Location: NE corner of Hwy 29 (Foothill Blvd) and Lincoln Ave, Calistoga
Sam Brannan Store, Calistoga (No. 684)
Sam Brannan arrived in Napa Valley in the late 1850s and purchased a square mile of land at the foot of Mount St. Helena. This is the store he built, in which he made $50,000 in one year.
Location: NW corner of Wappo Ave and Grant St, 203 Wapoo Ave, Calistoga
Sam Brannan Cottage, Calistoga (No. 685)
Sam Brannan arrived in Napa Valley in the late 1850s with the dream of making it the "Saratoga of California." In 1866 cottages were built and palm trees planted in preparation for the grand opening of the resort. This is the only cottage still standing.
Location: 1311 Washington St, Calistoga
Site Of Kelsey House, Calistoga (No. 686)
Nancy Kelsey arrived in California in 1841 with the Bidwell-Bartleson party and settled with her family south of present-day Calistoga. Now the hearthstone is all that can be seen of the house. The property is owned by the Rockstrohs.
Location: 500 ft NW of intersection of State Hwy 29 and Diamond Mtn Rd, 1.1 mi S of Calistoga
Napa Valley Railroad Depot, Calistoga (No. 687)
The Napa Valley Railroad depot, now the Southern Pacific depot, was built in 1868. Its roundhouse across Lincoln Avenue is gone. On its first trip, this railroad brought people to Calistoga for the elaborate opening of Brannanıs summer resort in October 1868.
Location:1458 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park (No. 710)
In the spring of 1880, Robert Louis Stevenson brought his bride to Silverado. He and Fannie Osbourne Stevenson lived here from May 19 until July, while he gathered the notes for The Silverado Squatters.
Location: Hwy 29 (P.M. 45.5), 75 mi NE of Calistoga
