Hike Napa's Skyline!

Hike Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa Valley

Bottles of wine aren't the only things popping in Napa. Right now the wildflowers are popping, too! Get in a 4-mile (round-trip) hike packed with wildflowers and wonderful views. Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa Valley is nestled within a few minutes’ drive of bustling Oxbow Public Market.

The park’s 850 acres of wilderness area is managed by a nonprofit, and the frills come courtesy of nature’s seasonal gifts; in springtime that means wildflowers! Currently the trails are fringed with baby blue eyes, buttercups, and some popcorn blooms. This hike starts on Buckeye Trail, making a gradual ascent among oaks and manzanitas, with a few wide-open views to the Mayacamas Mountains. Continue on the trail until you reach the Skyline Trail intersection, which connects at a plateau festooned by poppies. Enjoy the expansive view to downtown Napa all the way to the bay before descending sharply on the Skyline Trail to finish.

BONUS FOOD & BEER: It’s about a 10-minute drive from Skyline Wilderness Park to bustling Oxbow Public Market. Oxbow’s got plenty of artisan food and drink options, from organic coffee and kombucha drinks to the comfort foods of fried chicken and shakes at Taylor’s Refresher. Grab a patio seat at Fieldwork Brewing Company, and try the Hazy Glue pale ale or the staff favorite In Bloom (back by popular demand).

No dogs at Skyline Wilderness Park. Patio seating at Oxbow Public Market is dog-friendly!

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

    View
  2. Woman hiker is climbing up the ladder in the Steep Ravine section of the Dipsea Loop Trail on Mount Tam

    Misty on Mount Tam

    Mount Tam’s 3.9-mile round-trip Steep Ravine and Dipsea Trail Loop weathers the wets and wilds with some confidence, sheltered in parts by redwoods, and wowing with a waterfall.

    View
  3. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

    View
  4. Up and Umunhum

    Early risers can experience one of the Bay Area’s best morning glory hikes on this 7.4-mile out-and-back up beautiful Mount Umunhum. In early spring if you arrive at the parking area right before sunrise, you’ll get a beautiful eastern view of the sun coming up between Bald Mountain and the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains. On days when fog settles into the valley, the colorful view is nothing short of magical.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

    View
  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

    View
  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

    View
  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

    View