This article is from our friends at DogTrekker.com – check out their website for great travel-with-your-dog tid-bits!
Napa: Just saying the word conjures the good life—what makes the good life even better at this time of year is elbow room. The valley exhales and takes a breather after harvest season. Hotels offer their lowest rates of the year, restaurant reservations are easy to come by, and you’re likely to find yourself (and your dog) among just a few guests in a popular tasting room. Here are our weatherproof suggestions for visiting the valley in the off-season.
Enjoying Fruit of the Vine
The Napa Vintners Association has identified 97 wineries throughout the valley that are dog friendly. While all welcome canines in their picnic areas, many say “no” to pups in the tasting room. In wet or cold weather, that means Astro will have to wait in the car while you imbibe.
That said, we have a few all-weather favorites, starting with Vintner’s Collective in downtown Napa, established a decade ago in the city’s oldest commercial building, an 1875 stone structure that originally served as a brewery.
The collective showcases wines from about two dozen boutique producers you’ve probably never heard of, and it warmly welcomes guests on leashes.
Moving up valley, Clos du Val and Regusci in the Stag’s Leap district are among wineries that allow dogs in the tasting rooms as well as the picnic areas. In St. Helena, you and your pup can stay warm the tasting rooms at Flora Springs Vineyards, a family operation whose reds are sourced from organically grown vineyards and crafted in a solar-powered barn and wine caves. St. Supery and V. Sattui winery welcome leashed dogs in their tasting rooms as well as in their garden and picnic areas. V. Sattui even has a pet blog with a photo page featuring visiting canines. Continuing to Calistoga, you’ll find a wealth of wineries whose staffs won’t blink when four-legged guests walk in the door. Among them: Clos Pegase, notable for its art and gardens as well as its wines; Cuvaison, whose glass walled tasting room affords sweeping vineyard panoramas; and lesser known Lava Vine, Bennett Lane and Carter Cellars, where personalized experiences and memorable wines await.
Burn Some Calories
Most people come to the Napa Valley for legendary food and wine, but dogs traveling with their uprights often have other ideas. After all, there’s not much exercise to be had in a tasting room! If your Restless Rover needs to burn a few calories before settling down, we suggest starting your day at Canine Commons dog park, part of 157-acre Alston Park northwest of downtown Napa. This three-acre fenced romp space (small dogs have their own area) is custom designed for off-leash play. In addition, dogs under voice control are allowed to accompany you without a tether on almost 30 acres of open space surrounded by vineyards above the dog-park enclosure.
In addition to Alston Park, you’ll find off-leash areas for dogs under voice control at Napa’s Shurtleff Park and in the undeveloped areas of Kennedy Park. For leashed walks, take a stroll along the downtown portion of the Napa River or check out the newly opened Trancas Crossing Park, a 33-acre preserve where you can enjoy nature and even launch a kayak. To really escape the tourist crowds, try the serene, four-mile perimeter hike around Lake Hennessey, Napa’s municipal water-supply reservoir and a popular fishing and birding destination.
Chow Down Among the Vineyards
The only aspect of a wintertime visit to Napa Valley that can be problematic is mealtime. While many restaurants, both casual and upscale, welcome dogs on their open-air patios, cool weather and reduced clientele mean few of those patios are open in winter. Your best bet on a sunny day is to call ahead and ask (or beg) to be served at an outdoor table, preferably one with a heater.
Good bets for patio tables in cool weather are Angele and Napa General Store in the Historic Napa Mill complex; Gott’s Roadside, with dog-friendly locations in St. Helena and at the Oxbow Public Market; and The Farm, a fine-dining restaurant at the Carneros Inn.
Yountville, which touts itself as having the highest percentage of Michelin stars per capita in the world, does not ignore diners traveling with their pets. Hurley’s, Bistro Jeanty and Bouchon are among acclaimed restaurants with pet-friendly patio dining. In St. Helena, try Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen or Go Fish, which reserves a section of its patio for DogTrekking & Bay Woof guests.
Should you be turned away when arriving with a dog in winter, you can always let Fido sit it out in the car. Another alternative: sample some yummy take-out from Dim Sum Charlie’s, a “rolling noodle bar” based out of an Airstream trailer near the river on First Street in Napa. For an inexpensive lunch, try Tacos Garcia, a Mexican food truck parked next to Pancha’s, a genuine, cowboy-attracting dive bar in otherwise toney downtown Yountville.
Rest Your Paws in Wine Country
A destination as diverse as Napa County deserves an overnight stay, and there’s no need to leave Fido home no matter what your budget. If money is no object, five-star Solage, Calistoga Ranch or Carneros Inn will be happy to accommodate both you and your pet in rarified style. For a luxury experience at a more realistic price point, the boutique Napa River Inn, offering a Very Important Pet program along with a premium location at the Historic Napa Mill complex on the river walk in downtown Napa, is hard to beat. (DogTrekker’s “Dogcation” of the month is a two-night stay at this distinctive property.)
The Westin Verasa, also on the river, accepts only small dogs but pampers them with signature “Heavenly Beds” and other amenities. Just outside town, Best Western Plus Inn At the Vines reserves several first-floor rooms for four-pawed guests traveling with their uprights. Embassy Suites Napa Valley, with its two-room accommodations, offers lots of leg room for the two of you (plus a huge and complimentary breakfast spread for humans). If a B&B is more your style, a good choice is Beazely House, in a beautiful Victorian neighborhood within walking distance of downtown restaurants and tasting rooms. Looking for an up-valley location at a reasonable price? El Bonita, a renovated roadside motel in St. Helena, while not fancy, offers reasonable rates during the off-season along with landscaped picnic grounds and a great location for forays to area wineries and restaurants.
For more about dog-friendly Napa, other travel destinations, product reviews and much more check out the website www.DogTrekker.com, fun for dogs and the humans that follow.
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