California wine country. Don’t care about the wine, just the scenery?
California wine country. Don’t care about the wine, just the scenery, ESPECIALLY valleys, lushness of foliage, and fall colors is a bonus.
If I go to Santa Barbara wine country, is it the same scenery as Napa/Sonoma or not as nice?
What has more beautiful scenery, Napa or Sonoma?
Thanks!
Tagged with: beautiful scenery • bonus • california wine country • fall colors • foliage • napa • santa barbara wine • sonoma • valleys
Filed under: All Things Wine
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Santa Barbara isn’t better or worse — it is just different.
I like the drive through Napa on Route 29 up to St Helena.
Drives on Hwy 12 are nice. Pass through and see the mission in Sonoma as part of your auto tour.
I have friends who live in Napa.
Napa Valley is a hot place that if not for irrigation couldn’t grow anything, including humans. There is no fall foliage, just green vineyards turning brown and the garbage-y smell of grapes fermenting on purpose. If you go, you better go for the wine, or have some anyway.
Napa doesn’t turn drab in the winter. When the rains come it’s lush green. And in Feb-March the bright yellow mustard blooms. Summer and fall are a beautiful time because of the heat but the irragation keeps the grapes lush, and the hills are a beautiful purple-pink. Nice contrast! I don’t really think there’s a drab season here. And I’ve never smelled the vineyards in all my time here, in fact, it’s exciting to watch crush in the fall.
Just my 2 cents. I live here.
Santa Barbara has a beautiful coastline, but the trees in Southern California usually do not turn color. That’s because many of the plants have tropical and/or desert origins.
If you’re looking for fall scenery, Northern California is a much better bet. Of course, the best places for it are in the Sierras (Yosemite and Gold Country) and Far North (near the Oregon border). However, you can catch a glimspe of it in the wine regions.
Sonoma has more lush scenery than Napa because it has a larger river system (though Napa has better arthitecture). For the best results, you want to drive along Highway 116 through the towns of Valley Ford, Sebastopol, Forestville, Guerneville, and Jenner.
Fall foiliage is notoriously brief, however. It only lasts about a month, and then the trees are stripped bare for the rest of the fall and winter seasons. You may have missed the optimal viewing weeks already. I’d call up their tourist office and ask: 707-522-5800.
Good luck with the planning.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time visiting and photographing in both Sonoma and Napa. They both have their good points.
Napa Valley is much more of a mono-agriculture area. Overwhelmingly grape vineyards. And lots of them. I like the symmetry of orderly rows on hill sides and yes there are seasonal color changes. One thing you may find is that the west side of the valley is quite different from the east because of the amount of sun, etc. I much prefer the Silverado Trail (east side) for sightseeing. The Stags Leap area is beautiful all year round and there is much less traffic and development on that side. You might want to drive up one side to Calistoga, shop and have lunch, then drive down the other.
Sonoma is much larger and would take longer to really explore. From Carneros to Healdsburg there is lots to see and most of it is not vineyards and wineries, though there are plenty of those.
One of my favorite drives is up the Silverado trail to Calistoga, cross over to 29 and just a little farther north to the Petrified Forest highway and cross into Sonoma County then turn south on Highway 12 and return through the Valley of the Moon, Glen Elen and Sonoma Square.
Lots of pictures, a couple maps and more on my website if you are interested.