The hike to Upper Ritchey Canyon at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park is challenging, but along the way you can see a forest that is in recovery from a fire that burned through parts of it in 2020.
I’ll be straight up, a lot of the area we hiked is burned, so the park is not as scenic as it was before the Glass Fire. The trunks of trees were charred, some bushes were bare, and poison oak was rampant and encroached along certain parts of the trail.
The positive side of things are the forest is in recovery, and the redwood trees that were charred have new limbs sprouting from them with green growth, and the wildflowers seem to be recovering. When we were there, we saw Indian Paintbrush, Bush Monkey Flower, Warriors Plume, Shooting Star Flowers, Buttercups, Dandelions, and Baby Blue Eyes Flowers.
The hike starts off on Redwood Trail and follows Ritchie Creek. At the right time of year, or after a storm, it can really flow, and it would look really neat with the greenery all around it. You’ll come to a point where you need to cross Ritchey Creek, and you’ll emerge at a junction where Redwood Trail, Spring Trail and Ritchey Trail all intersect. We took the Spring Trail and headed up.
Enjoy the scenery under the canopy, as the climbing doesn’t really begin until you’re start the Spring Trail about a mile and a half in. Shortly after you start on the Spring Trail is where you begin to really notice where the park burned. The trail is really wide and looks like a service road. You’ll come to a junction as you climb where the Spring Trail and the South Fork Trail meet. The South Fork Trail leads to the Coyote Peak Trail, which we took on our way back. Hike on, and in about .25 miles you’ll come to a junction where the Spring Trail meets the Ritchey Trail and Upper Ritchey Canyon Trail.
The Upper Ritchey Canyon Trail is not as well maintained as the other trails in the park, as it is less trafficked by hikers. From here, it’s a single track trail. You will see most of the burn damage, and you can also see the burned out forest on the ridges above you. But we didn’t look at the ridges or away from the trail for too long as we hiked and spent most of our time looking at the plants on the side of the trail. This is where the poison oak really started to kick in – and yes, we inadvertently rubbed against some of it as it poked into the trail. It was difficult to avoid in places.
At about 1.35 miles from the Upper Ritchey Canyon Trailhead, it gets kind of easy to lose the trail. It looks like it goes on over the Ritchey Creek and on a little further until it ends. There is a marker that looks like a headstone but nothing was written on it. There were also abandoned items like an old sink, what appeared to be mattress springs, and other rusted items that couldn’t be identified. We speculated that maybe at one time there may have been a cabin or something there.
Once we figured out we were in the wrong place, we went back to look for the trail so we could get to the end of it. We found it and then the trail widened and looked like it was a road at one point. We hiked about .2 miles which was about half a mile from the end of the trail. There was a fallen tree across that trail which blocked our passage.
We backtracked out, avoiding poison oak that grew on the side of the trail and in the middle of it. We eventually found our way back to the South Fork Trail which connects with the Coyote Peak Trail. A good portion of this leg is under canopy and quite green in places. We got to the offshoot trail that went up to Coyote Peak, but there really weren’t any views there, as trees blocked any lookout. It was pretty, and wildflowers dotted the way. We came back down, joint the main trail, and followed it back to where it intersected with Redwood Trail and followed it back to the trailhead.
Directions: From St. Helena, take California 128 West/California 29 North for 4.7 miles. Turn left into Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. Parking is here: 38.551860, -122.518710
The Skinny
Trail: Redwood Trail To Upper Ritchey Canyon
Trailhead Coordinates: 38.551860, -122.518900
Trailhead Elevation: 314 Feet
Distance: 8.1 Miles – Lollipop
Level Of Difficulty: 🟡
Average Grade: 2.6%
Steepest Grade: 12.4% Over .5 Miles
Ascension: 1918 Feet
Trail Condition: ⚫️ and 🟢🟢🟢
Scenery: 🟢🟢
Nearest Town: Calistoga
Challenges: Avoiding Poison Oak
Traffic: 🥾
Highlights: Recovering Forest
Best Time: Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall
Hazards: Poison Oak, Temperatures Over 90 Degrees Fahrenheit
Wildlife Concerns: Mountain Lions, Rattlesnakes
Cell Service: 📱 (AT&T)
Would I Do This Hike Again?: No
Parking: $8 At The Time Of This Writing
Restrooms: Near The Parking Area