Shutterstock
It’s not all about the wine
Napa sits about an hour from San Francisco and Sacramento, right in the heart of Northern California’s wine country. You already know about the vineyards.
Everybody does. But the valley pulled in 3.7 million visitors in 2023, and a good chunk of them came for things that have nothing to do with a glass of cabernet.
You can float over the hills at sunrise, ride a century-old train, watch a geyser blow, and hike to a peak where three mountain ranges line up on the horizon. The wine is just the opening act.
Wikimedia Commons/Carol M. Highsmith
The Patwin word that gave a valley its name
The name “Napa” traces back to the Patwin people, who used the word “napo” for “house.” Nathan Coombs laid out the original town site in 1847 at the farthest navigable point on the Napa River…