Northern California - suggestions for touring napa

I'm hoping to organize a lovely tour through Napa with my father, but I need help with where to get started.

I was hoping to make it a weekend trip (so maybe we could take in more than just Napa). Camping is possible, but not necessary, we may just try to stay a some little inns along the way.

But what I really need help with is the route. Has anyone ever done a tour through Napa before? Where did you start, where did you end? Any suggestions and what routes to take and what routes not to take? Where did you stay?

I've found some good web-sites -- but I'm wondering if anyone has advice/little known secrets from personal experience.

I'd love to hear any and all suggestions.

Thanks
jw

do you have an idea of how many miles/hours a day you want to ride?

do you want to avoid climbs? or seek them out?

There are basically two main roads that run the length of Napa Valley: Highway 29 and Silverado Trail. The latter starts near downtown Napa and runs north to Calistoga, which is about 30 miles away. Along the way, it passes many wineries.

Highway 29 pretty much runs parallel to Silverado Trail. The shoulders are not nearly as wide and so it's not as bike-friendly. However, it passes more closely to actual towns -- namely Yountville and St. Helena. You can still easily get to those towns if you stay on Silverado Trail....you'll just have to take some cross-roads for a couple miles to do it.

Both these roads are primarily flat. I tend to avoid Highway 29 as much as possible. People do bike it regularly, but Silverado Trail is so bike-friendly in comparison, I stick with it.

If you are interested in climbing, many more opportunities arise.

Thanks for your help. That Silverado trail looks great! But I think we'd like to go maybe 50 or so miles a day. So I think I we need something in addition to that trail.

And I don't think we'd mind doing some climbing. - So if you know of a particularly spectacular trail that involves some climbing I'd love to know.


If you have time, maybe you could comment about the possible route I've created on google maps (linked below). It's about 111 miles. Do you have any experience going through highway 20? How about highway 29, before it reaches the Silverado Trail? Perhaps we should think about doing more riding below napa, or east/west, instead of going starting so far North. (But the path along highway 20 does look promising).

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=116369316099180088637.0004684d347cb8c549794&z=9

Thanks for your thoughts!!! :)

jw

Do you have any experience going through highway 20? How about highway 29, before it reaches the Silverado Trail? Perhaps we should think about doing more riding below napa, or east/west, instead of going starting so far North. (But the path along highway 20 does look promising).


I have never ridden Highway 29 above Calistoga, i.e., the part you have on your route. It seems like most of the organized rides that occur in that general area (the Davis Randonneur club rides, Santa Rosa Randonneur club rides, Knoxville Double) don't use it, so my guess is it's probably not considered very bike-friendly.

I've created a different option in Bikely.com -- a 105 mile route that starts in Napa at the Silverado Trail, reaches the town of Healdsburg at around mile 55, then returns to Napa. Here it is (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Napa-Healdsburg-loop).

It's not scenic 100% of the way -- the portion that goes from Healdsburg to/through Santa Rosa is pretty suburban. But it would put you in Healdsburg at the halfway point, and Healdsburg is a nice play to stay for a night.

The first half of the ride -- Napa to Healdsburg via Silverado Trail and Highway 128 is pretty flat. On the Silverado Trail portion, there is a great shoulder the whole way. Calistoga comes around mile 30 or so -- plenty of options there to stop and have lunch. Highway 128 from Calistoga to Healdsburg doesn't always have a shoulder if memory serves, and can be somewhat trafficky, especially on weekends. There is a slight hill shortly after Calistoga, but nothing major.

The second half -- Healdsburg to Napa is a lot more challenging, and you should probably only do it if you and your dad are relatively experienced cyclists. As mentioned above, the first 20 miles of this portion, from Healdsburg to Santa Rosa, is kind of suburban for long stretches, flat, some heavy car traffic in places. Once you hit Bennett Valley Rd. in Santa Rosa, you'll start to climb, and then have a twisty bumpy descent into the small town of Glen Ellen. Bennett Valley is a two-lane road without any shoulder in some areas, with sharp drop-offs into ditches in some parts. Nothing majorly frightening, but not for beginners, I'd say. You have to be comfortable with the occasional truck passing you fast, close, and aggressively. At least that's how it's been the couple of times I've ridden it.

Glen Ellen is a good place to stop/eat and fill your bottles. Very quickly after Glen Ellen, the major climb of this route occurs: Trinity Road, which is about 2.5 miles long with 1200 feet of elevation gain. It's a tough one. The descent has some very sharp hairpin turns as well. After the top of Trinity, it pretty easy and scenic riding back to Napa and the starting point.

Krebs maps http://www.krebscycleproducts.com/T1.html
Wine country itinerary from a blog http://bikeandhike.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/wine-country-harbin-hot-springs-bodega-bay-in-36-hours/