We weren't quite ready to go back to our hotel for the day so decided to enjoy the beautiful outdoors at Moore Creek Park. It was a stunning drive to get here along Lake Hennessey. The park has a suggested donation box near the parking lot. There was a map with different trail options near it. They were open from dawn to dusk. Since we got there later, we decided to do the closest trail we found and walk up it for 20 minutes before turning around. We did a medium level vista trail that had a clear dirt path zigzagging up a mountain. It was absolutely gorgeous. While we didn't exactly make it to the main vista, we still enjoyed the stunning views of other mountains and the gorgeous wildflowers and trees. I highly recommend checking this park out. read more

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So gorgeous in the spring. Cool in the morning and every step has a nature surprise. Good for biking, horseback and a swimming hole at the summit (3.1miles each way) Fantastic! read more

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First to Moore Creek Park in St Helena. Parking is Free, $3 suggested donation. Not a lot of parking maybe 20 spots, signs for horse trailers so don't park there. You can park on the side of the road before park entrance if it's full. One pit toilet, when I used it Sun 4/11/21 around 2:30pm it was full! We started on Moore Creek Trail and Lots of folks recommend to go this way, and take Valentine Vista Trail back for a loop hike, supposed to be 4.3 miles, but my phone said I did 5.5 miles so I don't know. Moore Creek is ok because you walk along the creek. It's got lots of sun so it can get Hot in the afternoon. I need to go back to keep going and end at the secret swimming hole. Instead we made the Rt turn onto Valentine Trail and after lots of switchbacks and mild climbing you will finally see wildflowers of small Calif poppies, Blue Dicks, Vetch. It was very nice to see lots of them on the hillsides. Worth the drive to Saint Helena to do this hike! read more

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Located in the Pope Valley area of St. Helena, Moore Creek Park is a lesser known but pretty spectacular Napa County park. I had read about their spring wildflower bloom and went out there on April 18, 2021. Despite the drier winter, the hillsides here were blanketed with poppies and a variety of other wildflowers. Unfortunately, in mid April, the hills were already drying out (some green remained but I think will fade quickly) and I would recommend coming out by early May to see the blooms. Free parking in a large dirt lot, that was only half full on a Sunday afternoon. There's a relatively clean porta potty and donation boxes should you want to support Napa parks (please do-they maintain this park very well!) I took a loop that started on Moore Creek trail which was a wide dirt fire road. You weave in and out of patches of shade and sun and the elevation gain is slow and moderate. After about a 1 mile, I turned right on Valentine Vista trail which is actually part of the Bay Area ridge trail. This is where the real wildflower show begins. It's a climb but not too steep and has patches of shady trees to rest under. It was a very warm day on the day I hiked it, so I did stop for some water breaks under the trees before hitting the next exposed section. About halfway through Valentine Vista, things level out and the second part is a gradual downhill. It eventually loops back down to the parking lot and my Fitbit said I went 4.5 miles. If I lived closer I'd make this a regular hiking spot. Even if it were not wildflower season, it's a good workout without having to hike all day. The views of the Hennessy reservoir are gorgeous and at the top of the ridge had a nice breeze, even on an 80+ degree day. I can see making this part of my future spring hikes rotation! Review #25 of 100 review goal in 2021 read more

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Lovely area to hike in the Spring, right now there's soo much beautiful Poppies and other Wild Flowers. It can get hot during the day. Fairly a moderate hike with great views! Parking wasn't soo packed around lunch time. It seems like there's lots of mountain bikers here as well. read more

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Has the potential to be amazing. Great example of the inner coast ranges style of oak woodlands. Lots of grey pine mixed throughout. Unfortunately, nobody here seems to have any will to remove the large amounts of trash that call this place home. Every type of household thing can be found somewhere along this trail, appliances (at least a few dishwashing machines), couch pieces, tires... you name it, it's in here. Kind of a disgrace. All they need to do is get to work start taking it out but somehow after all these years, they just leave it. Really unfortunate. This stuff, if it hasn't already, will eventually leach toxins into the creek and greater ecosystem. read more

Moore Creek Park - Tons of trash leading down to creek. - Parks Near Me - Saint Helena, California

Trying to get some last days of biking done before old man winter comes. Wanting to explore new places so buddy suggested this place and here we are. Located off Pope Valley Road in St. Helena tucked in a valley is this beautifully maintained park with a series of trails networking or intertwining each other so you can get many different routes to explore. Fairly large parking lot so I don't think you'll have issues with parking. No fees but charitable donations are accepted to help with maintaining the park. Since it's my first time here we explored the south end of the park near the reservoir and it was unbelievably serene and peaceful. Managed to put in 9.6 miles climbing up to Conn Peak for a spectacular view of the valley and Lake Hennessy. Well groomed trails in open oak fields with plenty of shade to hide under. Looking forward to going back soon to explore more read more

I enjoyed the waterfall and hike. Pretty protected from the hot sun. We were told to watch for tics and poison oak, but we didn't have any problems. read more

Moore Creek Park - The hike - Parks Near Me - Saint Helena, California

This park opened today! (As of 6/30/2013). We volunteers finished up constructing trails and finally opened. This park in in dry wine county, but luckily this park has creek. You can enjoy diffrend kinds of scenery. read more

Great place to hike. My hubby and I went last weekend. We went around 11am. I recommend sunscreen and/or hat to people who need it because certain parts of the trails can be really sunny. It was kinda crowded but we made the best of it. Parking wasn't great but what do you expect it's California and we have great weather like 90% of the time. We just parked on the side of the road outside of the park and walked into the park (as instructed by the park ranger). I highly recommend the free hiking spot. read more

Moore Creek Park - Hubby being silly - Parks Near Me - Saint Helena, California

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Great place to hike or take a bike ride. There are a few trials you can check out and all of them are easily accessible. I wouldn't say this place is an intense or extreme hike or bike but the views are definitely worth the climbs. read more

Moore Creek Park - Wonderful views and abundant wild life. - Parks Near Me - Saint Helena, California

Went today and this was a pretty nice hike. It was about 30 mins from Napa and the trail is about 1.5 hours to the end. I think maybe almost 3 miles. If you make it to the watering hole (we didn't), I think it's about 3.5 hours. The trail is next to the creek and we saw lots of cows, so watch out for cow poop. There is lots of it. It wasn't a very hard hike, but it was nice. It's just a pretty hike that I don't think alot of people know about. It's worth checking out. Here is a link to the trail map- http://napaoutdoors.org/parks-trails read more

This hidden gem just happens to be so close to home! The views and scenery are breathtaking. So far I have explored the Moore Creek Trail and the Valentine Vista Trail. The Moore Creek Trail starts a mile up the driveway (through the gate at the far end of the parking lot). It is 1.8 miles to the "Pools." The trail follows the creek. There are 3 or 4 crossings where you have to balance on a board to get across. Make sure you take the tiny detour and check out the viewing area towards the end. I forgot its name, but there is a bench where you can sit and soak in the beauty. The last few forks are not well marked, just keep heading down. I underestimated this trail, but the "pool" was a beautiful place to rest. Pictures do not even do it justice, you must see it with your own eyes! There were quite a few steep inclines in this trail. The elevation changed often. So if you are as out of shape as I am, you may need to take a few breathers! The Valentine Vista Trail was perfect for a run because it's a 3.1 mile loop. I prefer to run loops. Apparently I went backwards, however, because the mile markers were facing the opposite direction. I began at the fork a mile up the driveway where the Moore Creek Trail also begins. The views were amazing. I could see Lake Hennessey from many spots. The trail was narrow and not well marked in some spots, but it was easy to follow. The loop ended at the top of the parking lot. The inclines didn't seem as difficult as the Moore Creek Trail and it was more of a consistent uphill, then downhill. There is an information board, handicapped porta-potty, bike pump, and trail map in the parking lot. Any time I've gone there have been other friendly people enjoying the trails as well. I absolutely LOVE this park! I can't wait to explore it more! read more

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How did I not know about this stunning location?! Steve and I were planning to head over to Alston Park - it's close, easy, friendly people and my favorite thing...lots of dogs. But at almost the same time, we realized that we were feeling that it might be a good day to try a little hike somewhere new. We love the drive up Silverado Trail so settled on Moore Creek Park. Chiles Road is not far passed the boat launch area and the park entrance has a sign so it is easy to find. We were surprised that there was a residential home so be sure to keep your speed down when you pull in. There is a small info area that shows the trail system, warns hikers about rattle snakes, tick and mountain lion sightings, offers a pump for bike tires, a donation box and a bathroom. Everything we needed to start our adventure! The park welcomes hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, bird watchers and nature lovers. Not really knowing what to expect, we came prepared for about an hour and a half hike. There is a short 4.3 mile loop that was perfect for our hunger level and the amount of water we brought. Though there were plenty of trail head signs, somehow we ended up hiking 9.5 miles and returned very thirsty but still amazed by the setting. When we arrived at the park, we saw one hiker leaving and when we got back to the parking lot, we saw 2 hikers returning from the other direction. And that was it! We felt like the 673 acres and beautiful view of Lake Hennessey was all ours! The entire hike, we could not stop gushing about the views, the songbirds and the numerous water fowl we were privileged to see. The biggest surprise was when I walked right passed a rattle snake. He was NOT happy with me invading his space. After I gave a little shriek and high stepped it down the trail, I got to stop and enjoy this amazing experience. My first rattle snake encounter and we were both no worse for the wear! The hike starts out on a narrow path as it winds its way up and closer to Lake Hennessey. Then it suddenly opens up which allowed us to hike side by side and marvel over our amazing find. Every part of the hike was picturesque but I was almost awestruck by the view of Lake Hennessey! The hike was easy - flat or downhill through much of it until we looped around to head back. As we all know, what comes down must go back up. The hike back was almost all uphill so it really raised the bar on the difficulty level. Though I wasn't prepared for it, I loved that it was more challenging than I initially thought. The first thing we said when we got back to the parking lot (after "I'm so thirsty") was "I can't wait to come back next week!" read more

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Nice park but with considerations. In order to hike the narrow trails you should be fit, wear real hiking shoes, have deet repellant and be ready for hiker and mountain biker traffic, everyone that we encountered was considerate but there was more human traffic than we expected. We hike regularly all over the north bay and have never seen so many ticks! After hiking the Valentine trail we removed over 50 ticks from each other in the parking lot, pretty freaky (we even found a few in the truck when we got home). You also need to be aware that the Napa Valley has a population of black bears and Moore Creek has its share of them, kind of cool but make noise while hiking and know best behavior if you encounter one. We have also seen bobcats and one mountain lion which was exciting but if you hike with kids, keep them close by. 3 stars is a rating for most folks because it is a bit rugged and if you are not prepared your hike could turn into a struggle, especially if you hike with young children. It can be hot and exposed in Spring and Summer so bring more water than you think that you need. I would say that if you are prepared it's a 4 to 5 star experience. read more

Moore Creek Park is NOT closed. Beautiful trails. Will definitely be back. Hiked a couple of miles on Moore Creek Trail - covered about 2.6 miles in an hour. Not heavily used so a great hidden gem! read more

I don't know who the heck gave this place five stars. We drove all the way up here based on the star rating and and found a deserted gravel parking lot next to a dried up creek bed with one rocky, dusty path leading off into nowhere. Horrible place to hike and for kids, don't waste your time, we turned right around and left read more