Napa & Sonoma · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Not built for backpackers, but a bus, a bike path and two campgrounds make it survivable.
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
A shaded campground under redwoods between St. Helena and Calistoga, on the valley bus route, with a summer swimming pool. Skyline Wilderness Park does the same south of Napa.
What a day costs
Around $70–130 a day before wine: campsite $35ish, food from the Napa or St. Helena supermarkets, then $25–75 for each tasting, which is where budgets die.
Vine Transit route 10
A few dollars runs the length of the valley from Napa to Calistoga along Highway 29, stopping at Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford and St. Helena. Hourly, and it works.
Car-free from San Francisco
The Vallejo ferry plus a connecting bus reaches downtown Napa in about two hours without a car — the only sane way to taste wine and get home.
Where travellers meet
Oxbow Public Market by the river, where a dozen counters and a beer bar sit under one roof and nobody minds a single slow glass.