Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
walks. Bad hair? No problem. Fancy-pants St Helena couldn't feel farther away. Many
don't go this far north. You should.
Famed 19th-century author Robert Louis Stevenson said of Calistoga: 'the whole neigh-
borhood of Mt St Helena is full of sulfur and boiling springs…Calistoga itself seems to re-
pose on a mere film above a boiling, subterranean lake.'
Indeed, it does. Calistoga is synonymous with mineral water bearing its name, bottled
here since 1924. Its springs and geysers have earned it the nickname the 'hot springs of the
West.' Plan to visit a spa to indulge in the local specialty: hot-mud baths, made with vol-
canic ash from nearby Mt St Helena.
The town's odd name comes from Sam Brannan, who founded Calistoga in 1859, be-
lieving it would develop like the New York spa town of Saratoga. Apparently Sam liked
his drink and at the founding ceremony tripped on his tongue, proclaiming it the 'Cali-
stoga' of 'Sara-fornia.' The name stuck.
Sights
Hwys 128 and 29 run together from Rutherford through St Helena; in Calistoga, they split.
Hwy 29 turns east and becomes Lincoln Ave, continuing across Silverado Trail, toward
Clear Lake. Hwy 128 continues north as Foothill Blvd (not St Helena Hwy). Calistoga's
shops and restaurants line Lincoln Ave.
Sharpsteen Museum
MUSEUM
ted donation $3; 11am-4pm; )
Across from the picturesque 1902 City Hall (originally an opera house), the Sharpsteen
Museum was created by an ex-Disney animator (whose Oscar is on display) and houses a
fantastic diorama of town in the 1860s, big Victorian dollhouse, full-size horse-drawn car-
riage, cool taxidermy and a restored cottage from Brannan's original resort. (The only
Brannan cottage still at its original site is at 106 Wappo Ave).
Bale Grist Mill & Bothe-Napa Valley State Parks
HISTORIC PARK
(
707-942-4575;
parks.ca.gov
;
)
