Robert Louis Stevenson State Park
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Table Rock Overlook Robert Louis Stevenson State Park |
April27, 2024
Looking for yet another new place to explore in the lowlands while awaiting
snow-free access to the high-country, I have ventured over to the famed Napa
Valley wine country. Just up the hill bordering the north end of the valley
is a little park dedicated to Scotland's most beloved author.
The most popular trail in the area leads upward for 1,800 feet over five miles to the summit of Mount St. Helena, but I opt for the trailhead across the street today.
Getting started
Onto the Bay Area Ridge Trail
Stretching all the way from here to San Jose, that ever-growing loop route is over 400 miles in length now, with more to come.
Red Larkspur
Hillside Woodland Star
Pacific Pea
Desert Starvine
Snow Mountain is about 100 miles to the north
A multitiude of flower varieties provides some interest to an otherwise unexciting route.
Bush Poppy
Indian Warrior
Pretty Shooting Star
Purple Nightshade
This almost looks planned
At the 1-mile mark I reach the signed overlook. Better views probably can be had from the nearby rock pile, so I head over there.
Looking northwest
Calistoga and Napa Valley
Switchbacks on Mount St. Helena's South Peak. The higher East Peak
is out of sight behind it
From here that doesn't look like an attractive hike, but it might be nicer in the saddle on the other side of the mountain.
That flagpole overlooks the entire valley
To the south is where I am supposed to continue, but I am rapidly losing interest. The Tubbs Fire of 2017, the most destructive fire in the state to that date, devastated most of my remaining route. Having not come here for a boring walk through dead trees, I will turn back now.
Table Rock is on the far right
Pinned to a tree leaf
I'll leave that guy for someone else. I have collected many inscribed rocks, but I'm not into badges.
Great Hounds Tongue
Poisonous Oak
Non-poisonous Oak
Tick Clover
Common Groundsel
A candidate for my Unusual Trees collection
California Poppy
Hairy Vetch
It's time for a short detour that was bypassed earlier.
A bench faces northward toward Snow Mountain
Words to live by — and I have
Unfortunately, right beside the heartfelt inscription is this abomination:
This bench deserves better
After passing more than a dozen hikers just starting out, I haven't far to go now.
Nearly there
Well, having walked only two miles, it hardly seems appropriate to stop now. Having read that a point of interest is about a mile away, I start up the Stevenson Memorial Trail.
As a hiker with a small dog hurries by me, I remark that a ranger had better not see the animal, because dogs are specifically prohibited on these trails.
No scenery — just switchbacks
Surely enough, after little more than a mile the anticipated feature appears.
The Robert Louis Stevenson Monument is not very monumental at all
This memorial was placed here in 1911 by the Napa Club. The inscription, being all but unreadable in the sunlight, is better viewed here:
Read more about the park and its history here: <Robert L.Stevenson State Park Information>
‘This tablet placed by the Club Women of Napa County
Marks the site of the cabin occupied in 1880 by Robert Louis Stevenson
And bride, while he wrote The Silverado Squatters.
"Doomed to know not winter only spring,
A being trod the flowery April blithely for awhile,
Took his fill of music, joy of thought
And seeing and stayed and went
Nor ever ceased to smile." – R.L.S.’
§: Well, there was some interesting historical stuff here, but nothing
else of much interest at all — that is, except for the heartfelt Thoreau quote
on the bench, for which I have increased the rating of this walk.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty | |
| Personality |  |
| Flowers |  |
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October 2017: The Tubbs Fire consumed much of this area, leaving little shade in places. |
FOLLOW-UP
Horrors! After returning home, I discovered that just a short distance from where I turned back is a most unusual formation which is marked on Google Earth as the Power Circles of Mount Saint Helena.
That is a misnomer, however, because it actually is a labyrinth consisting of a little circle next to a big square.
When negotiating the path to the center, there is only one place to take a wrong
turn and hit a dead-end after walking the entire pathway. What fun!
