Westwood
Hills Park,
City of Napa Parks and Recreation,
Napa County
Getting there:
From CA 29 in Napa County, exit 1st Street/Downtown Napa. Drive west on 1st Street
(which becomes Browns Valley Road) about 0.8 mile, then turn left into the park.
Trailhead details:
No parking or entrance fees. Small paved parking lot. There is a map under glass
and a drinking fountain at the trailhead. No restrooms or pay phone. There is
a designated handicapped parking spot, but trails are not accessible to wheelchairs.
A Napa VINE bus runs along Brown Valley Road. Visit their
website for more info.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, pay phone, stores, and restaurants back near CA 29. No camping.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 1.2 mile loop hike is easy. Elevation changes are slight, although
there is one short very steep downhill stretch.
Rules:
Park is open from sunrise to sunset. Trails are open to hikers and equestrians.
No dogs or bikes on trail.
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Great Day Hikes in and around Napa Valley, by Ken Stanton (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and trail descriptions.
• North Bay Trails, by David Weintraub (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and trail descriptions.
Westwood
Hills in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
View
photos from this hike.
Unlike some of the more rigorous and remote wine country
parks, 
Westwood
Hills offers a gentle hiking experience less than a mile from Highway 29, in residential
Napa. At this small park packed with a variety of vegetation you'll travel up
a eucalyptus filled canyon, traverse grassland dotted with buckeye, and wind through
coast live oak and California bay woodlands. Before you know it you'll run out
of real estate and find yourself back at the trailhead. The park features a handful
of fire roads and about as many footpaths, but not all junctions are signed. It's
fairly easy to stay oriented though, as vistas stretch in every direction once
you climb out of the woods.
Begin at the edge of the parking lot, on a paved
road. The road climbs slightly, then a private driveway veers left. Continue
straight and at about 200 feet, pass around a gate onto a fire road. At an
easy grade Valley View Trail ascends through a eucalyptus forest, with some California
bay and coast live oak. A series of signposts begins along the trail, companion
to a self-guided tour pamphlet under glass at the trailhead. You'll squeeze around
another gate,
then at 0.20 mile, you'll reach a signed junction with trails departing to the
left and right. Turn right.
Shrunken a bit in stature, the trail climbs through
woods and passes through a gate -- this fence line runs steeply uphill and you'll
encounter it again. Broom crowds the trail. At 0.29 mile you'll reach an unsigned
T junction. Turn left.
Now in woods dominated by California bay, coast
live oak, madrone, with some bigleaf maple, the trail adopts a nearly level pace
along a ridge. You'll pass through another gate and continue left/straight
where a slight path departs on the right. Black boulders sit under the trees
on the right, no doubt the inspiration for the path, which is named Rocky Ridge
Trail. There are partial views to rolling hillsides out of the park to the west.
The trail crests, then begins an easy descent back into the eucalyptus forest.
At 0.44 mile, you'll reach an unsigned multiple junction, with all the options
fire roads. Take a soft right onto an ascending fire road.
The broad trail immediately 
leaves
the eucalyptus woods behind, and rises into coast live oak woods mixed through
grassland. Sweeping uphill, continue straight past a signed junction with
a footpath on the right, at 0.51 mile. A few steps later, at 0.52 mile, you'll
reach a saddle, junction, and picnic table. The broad fire road running along
a ridge to the left reaches a viewpoint, an optional add-on to this hike. Turn
left and look for a post numbered 11. A narrow unsigned trail heads slightly
downhill at 0.54 mile, just past the post, beginning on a bare expanse of rock.
Walk downhill on this path, named Deer Trail, angling across a grassy hillside
dotted with coast live oak and California bay, monkeyflower, poison oak, and sagebrush.
On a clear day you'll have a view east across Napa Valley to the Vaca Mountains.
At 0.59 mile, the path forks. Stay to the right. The trail continues downhill
at an easy grade, entering an open sloping meadow dominated by buckeyes. Cows
may be grazing in this part of the park when you visit. At 0.70 mile, the trail
passes through a cluster of small coast live oaks. Just past the trees,
the trail drops sharply downhill. This is an optional route back toward the trailhead,
but I was hoping for a more gentle option. Back in the coast live oak clump,
turn left and uphill on a slight path.
Buckeyes and coast live oaks sprawl in the grassland,
and you might notice a few black oak in a more dense woodland on the right. At
0.73 mile, you'll reach a T junction at the ridgeline. Turn right. A bench
on the left is a good place to soak in the views east. As the trail begins to
descend, it narrows a bit through some broom, but is still easy to follow. The
descent is easy until the trail takes a sharp dive downhill. At 0.86 mile, you'll
reach a T junction at the fenced park boundary. Browns Valley Road and surrounding
houses are visible and audible. Turn left.
The narrow trail clings near the fence as it gently
descends from buckeye and coast live oak back into the eucalyptus canyon. At 0.97
mile, a fire road heads uphill on the left. Continue straight.
A few steps later you'll reach a broad flat, still
under tree cover but strangely bare, perhaps due to cattle traffic. The official
trail ascends to the left, reaching a previously encountered junction, but another
path slips uphill to the right, reaching the fire road back at a gate slightly
downhill from the junction. Either route is fine. Once you reach the fire
road, turn right and retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 1.22 miles
Last hiked: Monday, September 9, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
Westwood
Hills offers a gentle hiking experience less than a mile from Highway 29, in residential
Napa. At this small park packed with a variety of vegetation you'll travel up
a eucalyptus filled canyon, traverse grassland dotted with buckeye, and wind through
coast live oak and California bay woodlands. Before you know it you'll run out
of real estate and find yourself back at the trailhead. The park features a handful
of fire roads and about as many footpaths, but not all junctions are signed. It's
fairly easy to stay oriented though, as vistas stretch in every direction once
you climb out of the woods. 
then at 0.20 mile, you'll reach a signed junction with trails departing to the
left and right. Turn right.
leaves
the eucalyptus woods behind, and rises into coast live oak woods mixed through
grassland. Sweeping uphill, continue straight past a signed junction with
a footpath on the right, at 0.51 mile. A few steps later, at 0.52 mile, you'll
reach a saddle, junction, and picnic table. The broad fire road running along
a ridge to the left reaches a viewpoint, an optional add-on to this hike. Turn
left and look for a post numbered 11. A narrow unsigned trail heads slightly
downhill at 0.54 mile, just past the post, beginning on a bare expanse of rock.
Walk downhill on this path, named Deer Trail, angling across a grassy hillside
dotted with coast live oak and California bay, monkeyflower, poison oak, and sagebrush.
On a clear day you'll have a view east across Napa Valley to the Vaca Mountains.
At 0.59 mile, the path forks. Stay to the right. The trail continues downhill
at an easy grade, entering an open sloping meadow dominated by buckeyes. Cows
may be grazing in this part of the park when you visit. At 0.70 mile, the trail
passes through a cluster of small coast live oaks. Just past the trees,
the trail drops sharply downhill. This is an optional route back toward the trailhead,
but I was hoping for a more gentle option. Back in the coast live oak clump,
turn left and uphill on a slight path. 