San Francisco - Alison Bing [209]
There are 13 miles of hiking trails and 8 miles of bike paths around the island, including a hike to the summit of 781ft Mt Livermore (no bikes) and a 5-mile perimeter trail. Wednesday to Sunday, the Immigration Station and its detention barracks, which operated from 1910 through to 1940, are open for tours, but you must buy tickets (adult/child $7/5) in advance or on arrival, near the ferry dock at the Cove Café in Ayala Cove. Camp Reynolds, the East Garrison Chapel and the Guard House at Fort McDowell sometimes offer guided tours.
To get here, take the Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry ( 415-435-2131; www.angelislandferry.com; 21 Main St, Tiburon; round-trip adult/child/bike $13.50/11.50/1). It runs from Tiburon four times daily midweek and eight times on weekends.
Eating & Sleeping
Cove Café ( 415-435-3392; Ayala Cove; during ferry-operating hrs, roughly 10:30am-3pm, to 4pm summer weekends) This snack bar sells hot dogs, ice cream and barbecued oysters. Rent bicycles for $10 per hour or $35 per day. Cash only.
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ALERT: PARKS MAY BE TERMINATED
To balance California’s catastrophic budget mess, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has twice proposed the closure of California state parks that don’t turn a profit – among them Mt Tamalpais and Angel Island. As of this writing, the California State Parks Foundation (www.calparks.org) was again spearheading a letter-writing campaign to block the closures. It worked once, and we hope it will work a second time. Before visiting a state park, call or refer to the state park website at www.parks.ca.gov to ensure the park is open to visitors. Fingers crossed…
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Book campsites through www.angelisland.org or Reserve America ( 800-444-7275; www.reserveamerica.com). All are walk-in only, so be prepared to lug your stuff a mile from the ferry. The camping fee is $30.
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WINE COUNTRY
For 150 years the West has gone wild for the spas, the gourmet grub and the almighty grape in the patchwork of vineyards stretching from sunny Napa to coastal Sonoma. Napa has art-filled tasting rooms by big-name architects with prices to match; in down-to-earth Sonoma, you’ll drink in sheds and probably meet the vintner’s dog. Tastings usually cover four to six different wines; Napa Valley wineries typically charge $10 to $30 per flight, while tastings in Sonoma generally run from $5 to $10, which is refundable with purchase. You’re never obliged to buy, though you might consider picking up a bottle wherever you picnic – sunshine is free, but maintenance isn’t.
Orientation
Wine Country is about 90 minutes north of San Francisco by car via Hwy 101 or I-80; see the Transportation box Click here for alternative transport options. Skinny Napa Valley stretches from Carneros in the southwest to Howell Mountain in the northeast; most wineries are clustered along Hwy 29 and Silverado Trail. Sonoma County sprawls from Sonoma Valley along Hwy 12 north to Healdsburg and Dry Creek Valley and west to Russian River Valley. Wineries are listed south to north, unless otherwise noted.
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NAPA VALLEY
Brace your senses for impact: Napa awaits with 220 standard-setting wineries, a constellation of star chefs, and sleek new spa-hotels. When Napa wines took top honors at a 1976 blind tasting in Paris, the wine-drinking world was shocked – except Napa, which has been growing grapes since the Gold Rush. But cowboys who grabbed a bite, bunk and tub at Napa’s dusty stagecoach stops a century ago would now find their options upgraded to humanely raised steaks with truffled potatoes, luxury sheds with high-end linens and aromatherapy mudbaths.
Information
Napa Library ( 707-253-4241; www.co.napa.ca.us/library; 580 Coombs St; 10am-9pm Mon-Thu, 10am-5pm Fri & Sat, 2-9pm Sun) Check work email before wine-tasting.
Napa Valley Visitors Bureau ( 707-226-7459; www.napavalley.com; 1310 Napa Town Center; 9am-5pm) Spa deals, wine-tasting passes and the free Preiser Key to Napa Valley, which has comprehensive