History of Mount St. Helena

Mount St. Helena - a Volcano Mountain. Mount St. Helena is the most spectacular mountain in the San Francisco Bay area, featuring a double-peaked rise with trees almost all of the way up its flanks, and was called "The Mont Blanc of one section of the California Coast Range" by famed Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson. Preserved today within the bounds of Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, just north of Calistoga, the mountain overlooks the rich hills of the grapevine-laden Napa Valley. At a peak height of 4,344 feet, Mt. St. Helena commands sweeping views of Northern California, and is an excellent mountain for hiking and climbing. On a clear day, visitors can see skyscrapers in San Francisco, Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as well as the volcanoes of Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta from the summit of Mount St. Helena. [Top]

Mount St. Helena Hiking Trails. The Mt. St. Helena Trail starts your climb up the mountain about 300 feet west of the main parking area. The trail meanders at a gentle grade through forest for 3/4 mile to a stone monument, which marks the site where Robert Louis Stevenson spent his honeymoon in an abandoned mine building during the summer of 1880. From here, you climb more steeply and leave the forest to intersect the fire road. After a short walk, you can look down on the patchwork of the upper Napa Valley and beyond to Mount Diablo and Mount Tamalpais. As you continue on the south-facing slope of the mountain, you'll be surrounded by chaparral, and the higher up you go, the more exhilarating the view. At 3.6 miles, a road branches to the left leading to a ½-mile hike to the South Peak. [Top]