Napa Valley ideal destination for mountain biking

Mostly dirt and only a few rocks on the trails in Angwin in the Napa Valley. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Wildflowers fluttering in meadows full of wispy grass, an obstacle course of sorts, miles of single track, mostly shaded trails with no other riders sharing our route.

It was ideal.

Five us spent our last day in the Napa Valley exploring the mountain bike trails in Angwin, which is near Howell Mountain.

Donna, Joyce, Barb, Becky and Kae along a meadow at Angwin. (Image: Donna Rockwood)

Signage is atrocious. We had no idea which trails we were on. But it didn’t matter. We didn’t mind making a couple U-turns.

We did loops, which are lot of fun … up one way, down another. This could make for seemingly endless options. Going up one section is never the same as descending it.

It would be easy to go back and not be bored. Plus, there is more to this area than what we pedaled on.

Green grasses sway in the breeze alongside the mountain bike trail. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

We came across a race course of sorts with features to go over. I opted to be the photographer and not a participant.

On this last Friday of April the weather was ideal. My guess with the cold spring much of Northern California has experienced the flowers were not at their peak. Short, deep purple irises dotted the trail at different times. But the cooler temps also meant the grasses were a lush green, which won’t last much longer.

While we saw poison oak, none of us got it this trip.

We parked at Angwin-Parrett Field, aka the airport parking area, which sits at an elevation of 1,848 feet.

We put in 9.3 miles, with 938 feet of elevation. It was a lot of up and down, as opposed to steady climbing.