Oat Hill Mine Trail to Bald Hill

Near: Calistoga (Napa Valley)
Trip Type: Trail Run
Distance: 6.5 miles
Elevation: 300 - 1,800 ft
Surface: Rocky dirt
Vegetation: Forest and grassy sections

View of Napa Valley from a bench ~1/2 mile up the Oat Hill Mine Trail

 

 

 **Note: this hike was impacted by the Glass Fire of 2020.  Check the Robert Louis Stevenson State Park website for up to date information on trails**

 

Brownter is coming.  In most of the world, they've got winter.  The season when, for some people, the cold drives them inside and the snow on bare trees seems a monochrome, icy, deathscape.  Putting aside my own enjoyment of snowy winters, my closest analog is Brownter - the dry season in the bay area when the hills turn brown and the grass fights back.  This weekend you could see it lurking in the hills around Napa Valley.  Bits of light yellow here and there.  The first foxtails of the season. (Watch out) Brownter is coming.

The foxtails are emerging...

Other than the looming specter of a monochrome, spikey, hot, dusty, deathscape... it was a great day for a run.  Mostly the hills were still green and there was a pleasant breeze over the valley.  We went for a trail run up Oat Hill Mine Trail to Bald Hill (1814').  With 1,500 feet of elevation gain, it's not an easy run, but the grade is remarkably steady making for the easiest climb of this height I've done around the bay. The commanding views are well worth the effort.

Links

Robert Louis Stevenson State Park

http://dogtrekker.com/yp/oat-hill-mine-trail-calistoga-94515
http://www.summitpost.org/oat-hill-mine-road/380866

Trailhead

Intersection of CA-29 and Silvarado Trail on the north side of Calistoga.  Across the street is pizza place that let us have Presto at our table on the back patio.  Not the fastest service, but when you're relaxing on the patio on a nice Sunday, who cares.

Route

The trail winds steadily uphill to the northeast.  The climb is very steady, a good starter climb for flatlanders getting into trail running in the bay area, or novice mountain bikers.  If we'd had a bit more energy, we could have continued climbing for another mile or two and gained several hundred feet to lord over the valley on Duff Hill (2574') or Browns Hill (2768').  We'll be back sometime to tag those peaks.  If you're sans dog you could also continue north into Robert Louis Stevenson State Park.


Caltopo Map: http://caltopo.com/m/F0A8

Pictures

The Palasades Cliffs and Mt. St. Helena to the north.