This Underrated California Wine Country State Park Has Challenging Hikes And Incredible Views

California is a go-to destination for anyone who loves the outdoors. You can find some fantastic hikes in California's famed Yosemite or visit one of the state's impressive 280 parks. One of the lesser known of California's state parks is Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. It's in the heart of wine country, a little over 30 minutes from the town of Calistoga, a Napa Valley city known for its hot springs, and just over a two-hour-drive west of Sacramento. And despite being so close to a town, once you get out into the park, you really feel like you're in the middle of the wilderness, with rigorous hikes and fun climbing accompanied by stunning views.

The park gets its name from the author Robert Louis Stevenson, who most famously wrote "Treasure Island." In 1880, he and his wife Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne spent their honeymoon in the area, living for a couple of months in a former mining bunkhouse on the side of Mount St. Helena. You can read about their time there in Stevenson's book "The Silverado Squatters."

Although the bunkhouse itself is no longer there, you can find a plaque that marks the spot where the bunkhouse was on the west side of the park via the Stevenson Memorial Trail. This trail is about 1.3 miles one-way, with some sharp switchbacks through the woods to the bunkhouse site. 

For a longer adventure, the Stevenson Memorial Trail intersects with the Mount St. Helena Trail. This fire road is open for both hikers and mountain bikers. You can take the spur to the 4,003-foot-tall South Peak or go the full 5 miles to the top of the 4,343-foot-tall North Peak. If it's clear at the top, you can see some amazing views over the San Francisco Bay Area and even out to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

On the east side of the park is the Table Rock Trail. It's a 4.5-mile, out-and-back route, taking you through an impressive mix of environments. It starts in the forest, then leads you to a stretch of volcanic crags, across a stream, until you get to the trail's namesake rock formation. About a mile or so into the hike, there's an unexpected expanse of rocks that someone arranged into a set of elaborate spirals, labyrinths, and patterns. It's a hard trail, but the views and landscapes that you pass through are incredible, and you'll definitely be left with a feeling of accomplishment. From Table Rock, you can turn around or continue onto the Palisades Trail, which, combined with the Lower Oat Hill Mine Trail, is about 10 miles down into the town of Calistoga. This is an expert-only trail that is steep, narrow, and potentially hard to navigate.

The park also has some popular climbing areas, with over 300 named routes on the volcanic crags. One popular spot is the Bubble formation on the west side of the park with mostly sport climbs, along with some toprope and trad options, with difficulty ranging from 5.7 to 5.11.

Robert Louis Stevenson State Park is definitely more on the rugged side, and the trails are challenging. In my experience, I encountered downed trees when hiking the Table Rock Trail — it was still passable, but it made for some slow going at times. Make sure to bring enough water, wear good shoes, and consider bringing hiking poles. There are no bathrooms, and there's no potable water.

State Highway 29 is a very twisty, winding road that passes through the park, but it's paved, and there are passing lanes. There is free parking on the side of the highway. It's open from sunrise to sunset with no camping available.

In the nearby town of St. Helena in the heart of Napa Valley, about 45 minutes to an hour from the park, you can visit the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, which has over 9,000 artifacts, including some childhood toys, first editions, and one of his writing desks. And for more literary history within a California state park, Point Lobos near Monterey is considered the "crown jewel of the California state park system." Some have said that Stevenson based "Treasure Island" on Point Lobos, and parts of the 1934 movie were filmed there.