More Than Just Wine Tasting in Napa Valley

With over 3oo wineries, Napa Valley, California is best known as a wine tasting destination. However, if wine tasting isn’t your thing, or if you are traveling with children, there is plenty of other things to do in Napa Valley.

Go on Safari without going to Africa with Safari West. Safari West is not a zoo, and it is not a theme park. It is an African Wildlife Preserve which is home to over 500 animals, including mammals native to Africa, and exotic birds from around the world. At Safari West you can take a truck tour where you will see a variety of African animals living together. Some of the animals you might see include giraffes, ostriches, zebras and wildebeest! Then, after your truck tour you will take a walking tour where you will see the cheetahs and the lemurs. Currently tours at Safari West are $68 and you must have a reservation.

Just north of the small town of Calistoga you will find a favorite attraction for the kids, The Petrified Forest. Here you can take a 30 minute self-guided walking tour where you will see trees that have turned to stone. To the casual observer, it make look as though these are just dead trees that have recently fallen. Take a closer look, and you will see that these are trees of stone, complete with bark! The largest tree here is 8 feet in diameter and over 65 feet long. Admission is $8.00 for adults and the park is open from 9 to 7 daily. 9 to 5 in the winter. You can get a 15% off admission coupon at the Petrified Forest website.

If you have always wanted to see Old Faithful, but can’t get to Wyoming, visit the California Old Faithful Geyser in Calistoga. There are not many geysers in the world that erupt regularly but the California Old Faithful is one of the few. Every 30 minutes or so the geyser shoots hot water and steam 60 to 100 feet in the air. Eruptions last just a few minutes. The water is hot enough to burn so don’t get too close! Admission is $10 for adults, and you can get a $1.00 of coupon at the California Old Faithful website. The site is open every day, including holidays, from 9 to 5. ( 9 to 6 in the summer months.) In addition to The California Old Faithful Geyser, the park has fainting goats, llamas, and 4 horned sheep.

So you can see that the Napa Valley in California is a destination for everyone, not just the wine connoisseurs. Where else can you go on an African Safari, see trees turned into stone, and watch one of the few old faithful geysers in the world?