Part of the value of being in Napa County is having access to the equally remarkable surrounding areas. When you’re in Napa County, you’re just a short drive from an incredible number of Northern California attractions, destinations, and cities. This includes the Northern California coast, cities like San Francisco and Sacramento, major league sports, national parks, award-winning wineries, natural wonders, international festivals, and major concerts. Napa County may seem a world away from civilization when you’re enjoying a hike through a local park, but you can get to any major location in Northern California in just a couple of hours.
The city of San Francisco is only an hour from Napa County. Here, you can enjoy just about everything a world-class city has to offer, and for visitors to the area, that means plenty of attractions, including Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz Island and Prison, Golden Gate Bridge and Park, the Cable Cars of San Francisco, China Town, Ghirardelli Square, the San Francisco Giants, Coit Tower and the San Francisco Zoo.
In northern Napa County, boating enthusiasts can enjoy Clear Lake, which is the largest lake in California by area. Clear Lake is also believed to be one of the oldest lakes in North America and is actually the product of geological fluke. Also to the north is the capital of California, which is Sacramento. Located along the Sacramento River, it is the seventh largest city in California and has been named one of the five “most liveable” cities in America.
To the west of Napa County, you’ll find Sonoma County and the Sonoma Coast State Beach. Sonoma Coast State Beach has long been a haven for those seeking relief from the Napa Valley summer heat. It is accessible by the famous Pacific Coast Highway via Coast Highway One and stretches 17 miles from Bodega Head to the Vista Trail. Here, beachgoers can sunbathe, swim, shell hunt, fish, and picnic along the series of beaches that are separated by cliffs and headlands. Also in Sonoma County, nature lovers can marvel at the wonder of the Petrified Forest. This private park, located in eastern Sonoma County, is home to thousands of red forests that were preserved by an ancient volcano whose lava flow replaced the organic material in the trees with fine-grained silicon and oxygen.
Just to the east of Napa County is Yolo County, best known for its organic agriculture. Like Napa County, Yolo has been contributing to the organic food revolution since the 1970s and supplies most area restaurants and markets with olive oils, fruit, produce, meat, and dairy. . One of the best things to find in Yolo County is fresh organic produce at the many farmers’ markets.
The areas surrounding Napa County make it one of the best places to live in Northern California. You can find just about anything within driving distance you can think of, or you can just stay and enjoy all the amenities of Napa County.