Driving the Napa Valley

by Ronald Larson

Five main roads lead into the Napa Valley and all of them are essentially two lane highways, with two leading in from the north. The first is Highway 128 from the northwest coming out of Sonoma County through the scenic Alexander and Knight's Valleys. The other is Highway 29 entering from due north, the route from Lake County. The roads merge in Calistoga and stayed merged until Rutherford (about halfway down the valley) where Highway 128 turns to the east toward Lake Berryessa and Highway 29 continues south. Farther down the valley, at Napa, Highway 121 comes in from the east, also from the Lake Berryessa region.

The final two routes into the valley enter from a southerly direction. Highway 12/121 comes in via the southwest from Sonoma and is referred to as the "Carneros Highway." Travelers coming from Marin County would take Highway 37 north and east to Highway 121, where they would turn north and head toward Sonoma. Just south of Sonoma, Highway 121 merges with Highway 12 and heads east toward Napa. Highway 12 runs south of Napa and eventually links up with Interstate-80 which takes a traveler either to Sacramento or back toward San Francisco. A person wanting to drive into Napa would head north on Highway 29. Highway 29 is a divided freeway from Napa to Yountville. North of Yountville it becomes a two-lane road.

The Napa Valley has two main avenues of travel from north to south: Highway 29 which takes you through the middle of the valley floor and Silverado Trail, which hugs the mountains on the east side of the valley. Highway 29 is the main commercial route as it runs past the most developed areas, actually turning into the main business street in St. Helena. Silverado Trail, on the other hand, passes through the rural countryside and is less heavily traveled. Local residents use Silverado Trail to avoid the tourist traffic on Highway 29.

The name "Silverado" comes from the fact that wagons used the road to transport quicksilver (mercury) from the mines in northern Napa County to the California gold fields. The mercury was used to separate gold from gold ore. The road, following the old Wappo Indian trails, was referred to as "the old back road" until 1921 when it was renamed Silverado Trail.

Of course, sometimes it is necessary to travel not only north and south but east and west. Given the narrowness of the valley this should not be a problem, but it is more difficult than might be expected. Because of the extensive vineyards and large scale use of valley land for agriculture there are relatively few roads that take one directly and easily from Highway 29 to Silverado Trail or vice versa.

Within the town of Napa, several streets -- Lincoln, Trancas, and Oak Knoll (which is very scenic), will easily get you from Highway 29 to Silverado Trail. Once you start heading north out of Napa, however, Highway 29 and Silverado Trail resemble Interstate Highways more than local roads in that, aside from winery entrances, there are relatively few places to exit and few crossroads that can take you across the valley.

The first east-west road is Yountville Cross Road, which is exactly what its name indicates, a road that crosses the valley at Yountville, the first town north of Napa. The next road that allows you to cross the valley with relative ease is Oakville Cross Road which is about three miles north of Yountville. Oakville Cross is the first in a series of scenic crossroads and there are a number of important wineries along this road including Rudd, Plumpjack and Groth and at the intersection of the Oakville Cross and Highway 29 is the Robert Mondavi Winery, Opus One, Turnbull, Nickel and Nickel, Cakebread and Sequoia Grove.

About two and a half miles further north is the Rutherford Cross Road; another scenic route. Its beauty is perhaps surpassed only by its fermentational importance. There are a number of important wineries near the intersections of Silverado Trail and Rutherford Cross Road and Highway 29 and Oakville Cross Road: Conn Creek, Mumm Napa Valley, Frog's Leap, Rutherford Ranch, Quintessa, Peju, St. Supery, Provenance, Rubicon and Grgich. This part of the valley, Rutherford, was one of the first to produce wine and is arguably the center of wine production in Napa Valley.

Two and one half miles further north but still south of St. Helena is Zinfandel Lane which also cuts through scenic vineyards and wineries. At St. Helena the valley narrows considerably and there are several city streets that allow one to cross from Highway 29 to Silverado Trail. These streets are Pope Street, Pratt Ave, Deer Park Rd. and just north of St. Helena, Lodi Lane, which is near the narrowest point in the valley. The most interesting of these roads are Pope Street and Lodi Lane. The intersections off of Lodi Lane boast a number of important wineries: Freemark Abbey, Frank Family, St. Clement, Ballentine, Markham, Rombauer, Duckhorn and Casa Nuestra.

The next opportunity to cross the valley is Larkmead Lane which is about halfway between St. Helena and Calistoga. At Calistoga, Highway 29 turns to the east and runs through the town (becoming Lincoln Ave.) and merging with Silverado Trail east of Calistoga. The last road of significance to cross the valley is Tubbs Lane north of Calistoga at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains. While there are a few other roads that cross the valley, the ones mentioned above are the easiest and most scenic and can make the trip across the valley a pleasant reprieve from the traffic and congestion on either Highway 29 or Silverado Trail.