1. Bothe–Napa Valley State Park
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 942-4575 (info), (800) 4
Description: While a million or so industrious tourists whiz by on Highway 29, you can recline next to your tent and look up at the boughs of oaks and pines or at the stars of the Milky Way. The park has a first-rate campground along Redwood Creek, with 9 tent-only sites and 50 for tents or RVs up to 31 feet long. You get picnic tables and fire pits, toilets, and showers. Wheelchairs can be used here, and pets are allowed (campground only). There is a spring-fed swimming pool, where you can take the plunge for $1 (free for children).
2. Hunting Creek Camp
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 468-4000
Description: This is one of Wine Country’s least-known campgrounds and, because of its isolation in the uppermost northern tip of Napa County, that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Located about 17 miles north of Lake Berryessa near the small community of Knoxville, Hunting Creek has only five sites for tents or RVs, but it does have picnic tables, fireplaces, and vault toilets. Pets are permitted on leashes. Be forewarned that the campground is popular with off-road enthusiasts and hunters. Take Lake Berryessa Road to Devilshead Road. A map of the area is available from the Bureau of Land Management at the number listed. There is no charge for camping here.Sonoma County
3. Doran Regional Park And Westside Regional Park
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 875-3540, (707) 565-2267
Description: Doran’s facilities include 113 sites for RVs or tents, 19 first-come, first-served sites, 1 hiker/biker site, and a reservable group site. Westside has 47 campsites. There are tables, fire rings, and a trailer disposal site. For extra comfort, showers and flush toilets are available too. Parking is $5 in summer, $4 the rest of the year. What to do? Try fishing, beachcombing, clamming, boating, and picnicking. A boat ramp and fish-cleaning station are available. There’s an extra charge of $5 per vehicle and $1 per dog.
4. Gualala Point Regional Park
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 785-2377, (707) 565-2267
Description: The 195-acre park is located near the coast, adjacent to the Gualala River. The overnight camping area is across the highway from the park’s day-use facilities, and it contains tables and stoves. Water and restroom facilities are nearby. Recreation options for day-use or overnight campers include fishing, bike trails, hiking (one trail beside the bluff is especially good for bird-watching), and picnic areas. It’s open all year and offers 19 family campsites for tents and motor homes up to 28 feet, 7 hike-in/bike-in campsites, and a trailer sanitary station.
5. Bodega Bay Sportfishing Center
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 875-3344
Description: These folks operate charter boats out of Bodega Bay for either full-day or half-day fishing trips for bay or ocean fishing. You’ll be going after rock cod, lingcod, halibut, and Dungeness crab. Fishing tackle is available. Whale-watching trips run from November to February. The cost of excursions begins at $85 if you’re going for the fish listed above, and you can fish for them in combinations. Going out 60 to 80 miles for halibut would require a negotiated cost. These trips on the sometimes rough and windy ocean waters are not for the queasy; motion-sickness medication is highly recommended.
6. Bothe–Napa Valley State Park
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 942-4575
Description: A trail of cars crawls along Highway 29, but you can leave it behind by exploring this 1,900-acre retreat. Follow shady Ritchey Creek with its redwoods and maples, then venture deeper into terrain covered by oak, hazel, laurel, and madrone. From Coyote Peak you can gaze east into a rugged canyon. And in summer you can enjoy the cool, spring-fed swimming pool in the picnic area. There is a campground (see the Camping chapter) and a horse concession with guided rides. Bothe is just off Highway 29, between Calistoga and St. Helena. Parallel to the highway runs a 1.02-mile trail that connects Bothe with the Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park.
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
8. Annadel State Park
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 539-3911
Description: One minute you’re in Santa Rosa—the largest city in Wine Country—and the next you’re hiking in the solitude of a 5,000-acre parcel of undulating meadow and oak woodland. Within Annadel, you’ll find one large natural marsh and one man-made lake, Ilsanjo, stocked with black bass and bluegill. One of the best hikes is the Warren Richardson–Ledson Marsh Loop, a 7.5-mile outing that takes you to Ledson with its bulrushes, cattails, and bird life. Primary trail junctions are marked, but you should think about carrying a park map to help you sort out the details. There are several picnic sites in the park, which is open 9:00 a.m. to sunset daily. Get there by taking Montgomery Drive to Channel Drive on the east side of Santa Rosa.
9. Spring Lake Regional Park
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 539-8092
Description: Most of this 320-acre park is consumed by the central lake, popular with boaters and swimmers in the summer and with a reputation for harboring huge, huge bass. Around the lake are a 2-mile bike path and a parcourse plus about 15 miles of hiking and equestrian trails. Spring Lake also has a developed campground, scads of picnic tables, and a visitor center that’s open on weekends. The park is attached to the north end of Annadel State Park. The west entrance is on Newanga Avenue, off Summerfield Road in Santa Rosa; the east entrance is on Violetti Drive, off Montgomery Road. Parking is $6 for day use. Leash your dog, please.
10. Lake Sonoma
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 433-9483
Description: The 18,000-acre park that surrounds the lake is filled with possibilities, including more than 40 miles of trails with views of the lake. The visitor center has Pomo Indian artifacts, and the California Department of Fish and Game operates a nearby fish hatchery (see the Kidstuff chapter). A self-guided nature trail begins at the center. Lake Sonoma also has a large developed campground and several primitive campgrounds around the lake. From Geyserville, go west on Canyon Road, turn right on Dry Creek Road, and after about 3 miles bend left onto Stewarts Point–Skaggs Springs Road.
11. Doran Regional Park And Westside Regional Park
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 875-3540
Description: These two recreation areas are on the south and northwest sides, respectively, of ultraprotected Bodega Bay. The parks feature wavy sand dunes and, at Doran, a 2-mile stretch of beach. Each park has a campground, with 47 sites at Westside and 133 at Doran (see the Camping chapter). Each is reached from Highway 1. For Doran Park, turn west at Doran Park Road; for Westside Park, turn west at Bay Flat Road. Parking is $6 in summer, $5 the rest of the year. Dogs must be leashed.
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
13. Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 847-3221
Description: This 317-acre reserve near Salt Point State Park was donated in 1933 by Edward P. E. Kruse, whose family raised sheep, logged, and harvested tanbark there. From April through June the pink and violet rhododendron blossoms brighten the shady forest of fir and second-growth redwood. Five miles of hiking trails offer great opportunities to view the blooms. The reserve is off Highway 1, toward the north end of Salt Point, and is open sunup to sunset.
14. Goodtime Touring Company
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (707) 938-0453, (888) 525-0453
City: Wine Country, CA
Category: Parks & Recreation