Kevin Courtney
Having driven the route a zillion times, I don’t notice much when I drive to town on Browns Valley Road.
The recent exceptions include the mules munching away at Connolly Ranch, the ready-to-roll engines at Fire Station No. 5 and, returning home, the Sign Guy’s political rants.
Westwood Hills Park? The park’s tiny parking lot doesn’t immediately suggest that here lies a portal to the great outdoors.
Yet, when a recent weekend neared its close and we were chafing that we hadn’t done anything remotely exciting, Cheryl suggested that we take a late afternoon hike there. This surprised me, but sure, why not?
I’d hiked Westwood dozens of times when my kids were young, but then I’d forgotten about it.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Westwood Hills is a blast.
People are also reading…
It offers a quick adventure that will leave you exhilarated in body and spirit. In the span of an hour you can hike two miles of trails, climb to the ridgetop with commanding views of all of Napa and thank your stars you live in a place with the foresight to plunk a nature park so close to the heart of the city.
Westwood Hills opened in 1976, America’s Bicentennial Year. The city paid $160,000 for a rugged piece of wild land, then spent a few more dollars acquiring street frontage for the parking lot.
There had been changes since I last visited. The parking lot now has drinking fountains for humans and dogs (on leash only), a thriving native plant garden and a potentially life-saving port-a-potty. A map of the 106 acres and the 16 trails is on display.
The map doesn’t prepare you for how rugged the hiking can be. Almost immediately the main trail climbs and climbs, then climbs some more. All told, hundreds of feet, not thousands, but still, it packs a punch.
Hearts pumping, legs straining, we made our way to the ridgetop where we knew we’d be rewarded with great views of the city. The outlet mall, the Archer Hotel looming above downtown, those new apartments going up along Soscol north of Lincoln.
Not to mention patches of vineyard against the eastern hills, the golf course at Silverado and the sweeping arc of the Maxwell Bridge over the Napa River.
We plunked down on a bench and marveled at a view that only someone in an airplane might otherwise have.
Other hikers came and went. People of all ages, ethnicities. Westwood is the people’s park!
Many visitors had brought their dogs. In two instances, humans were carrying pooches that were all tuckered out.
Westwood Hills’ peak is glorious. Unfortunately, in 1990 a developer built a mansion right up against it, blocking views to the south. Joni Mitchell’s song about “paving paradise” came to mind as I sat there scowling.
To get back to the parking lot, we took a trail the plunged down the western slope. We found ourselves on wilder, narrower, less stable paths with thick brush all around, including poison oak. Fortunately, it didn’t arc over the trails.
There were moments of hiking confusion (no trail signs), but there was no threat of getting lost. Eventually a hiker will hit a bordering road — Thompson Avenue, Browns Valley Road, Tiffanie Lane/Laurel Street, which is another entry point.
When we got back to our car, we were different people than when we’d set out. We’d given our bodies a workout, we’d set our minds free of end-of-weekend ennui.
What next? Napa has other close-to-home places to hoof, including Timberhill, Oxbow Preserve, Trancas Crossing, Alston, Skyline, not to mention Kennedy and the Vine Trail.
We Courtneys need to take off our blinders.
Westwood Hills is located at 3107 Browns Valley Road, next to the Carolyn Parr Nature Museum. Open sunrise to sunset. Dogs should be leashed.
Kevin can be reached at [email protected].