DAYTRIP NO13>LOOSEN UP IN CALISTOGA
Take a brisk morning climb to what feels like the top of the world, and spend the rest of the day rewarding yourself in the most laid-back town in Napa Valley.

MARCHING ORDERS: Why crawl the Silverado Trail with the rest of the pack? Start your morning with a hike north of Calistoga in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park (707/942-4575, www.parks.ca.gov), through evergreens and chaparral and past knobby volcanic sculptures, scanning the canyons below like a falcon. The first mile of Table Rock Trail to the overlook is a woodsy climb to already impressive views, as birds of prey whirl overhead. Continue on to the Palisades Trail, named for its red rock cliffs where peregrines nest, and Table Rock itself (2.2 hilly miles), scrambling over rocky washes, for even more striking mountain vistas.

You could hike all day out here, but food is calling. So when you get hungry, head back to Calistoga. Wappo (1226 Washington St., 707/942-4712) is a good choice for lunch. A restful space with a shady patio, it serves a mix of cuisines—duck carnitas, green papaya-chicken salad, Brazilian seafood chowder—that sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Wappo pulls it off nicely.

Ready for your mud bath? As you soak in a tank of volcanic mud at rustic Indian Springs (1712 Lincoln Ave., 707/942-4913), you'll feel the blood pulsing from head to toe. After a mineral bath and a eucalyptus steam, you'll snooze wrapped in a blankie with cucumber slices over your eyes. That's a lot of luxuriating for 75 bucks. Then it's off to the pool—in a town full of them, this is the only Olympic-sized, outdoor, 102-degree geyser-water one—where you float aimlessly like a Hollywood starlet, gazing at the smogless blue sky overhead.

GETTING THERE: Take Highway 29 north from Calistoga. Shortly after you spot the sign for Robert Louis Stevenson State Park at the crest of the hill, park in the unpaved pullout on the right, where you'll find a sign for Table Rock Trail.

MAKE IT A WEEKEND: One of the most appealing lodgings is the Garnett Creek Inn (707/942-9797, www.garnettcreekinn.com, from $165) downtown. With a bright, comfy living room for lounging and five pretty guestrooms with fireplaces, you'll want to spend some of your weekend right here.


DAYTRIP NO14>TRY BENICIA ON FOR SIZE
Explore a beautiful old waterfront city with a rich cache of history and a small-town heart that's been hiding out right under your nose.

MARCHING ORDERS: Ditch your car at the lazy, tourism-free pier lined with fishermen, the ideal spot to take in million dollar bay views out to the Benicia and Carquinez Bridges. About now, you're thinking one thing: Hey, how much do houses run here, anyway? Sure enough, all up and down First Street, Old Benicia's main strip, realtor offices cash in on the small-town-near-the-big-city fantasy.

Not far from the pier, Captain Blyther's restaurant is a former bordello, a reminder of the city's days as a red-light district. And that's just for starters. The state

capital for a nanosecond in 1853, Benicia has more than its fair share of colorful historical spots worth ducking into—the old capitol building at First and G Streets, for one. And more sites from the days when William Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant served as lieutenants here can be found at the Benicia Arsenal (707/745-5435).

Even if you've rarely cracked a history book, and hope to keep it that way, you can spend a pleasant afternoon pecking around the antique and collectible shops, coffeehouses, bookshops, and restaurants along First Street. And anyone who has a soft spot for bungalows and Victorians will want to take a little loop off of First on F or G Street to wander a languorous, tree-lined neighborhood where folks live in gorgeous homes without a whiff of pretension.

When it's time for a break, sit down for a cozy lunch at First Street Café (440 First St., 707/745-1400), which offers a Napa-worthy wine list. Then walk it off with a stroll along a section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail at the eastern end of F Street. Or, if you've got youngsters in tow, head to the Playground of Dreams, a castle-shaped play structure capped with turrets à la Windsor at First and Military West.

Either way, save time for the homespun Benicia Historical Museum (2060 Camel Rd., 707/745-5435), housed in the arsenal's former camel barns—yes, you read that right. Camels were brought from the Middle East in the 1850s as pack animals, but the experiment was abandoned after the Civil War. Camels in Benicia? Just the icing on the cake of this surprising little town.

GETTING THERE: Exit 780 at East Second Street and turn left. Turn right on Military West and left on First Street. The pier is all the way at the end.


DAYTRIP NO15>DRIFT DOWN THE RUSSIAN RIVER
Find fresh inspiration at a trio of worth-the-drive sebastopol nurseries, then head to guerneville for an unpeopled hike under the redwoods and a lazy paddle on the Russian River.

MARCHING ORDERS: Anyone with a yard that could use a little jazzing up will want to start the day at Sebastopol's wild, inspiring nurseries. Like Vintage Gardens (707/829-2035), an in-the-flesh, Technicolor encyclopedia of 3,500 types of antique and rare roses, and, on the same lot, California Carnivores (707/824-0433), which raises all kinds of bizarre, "Feed Me, Seymour" bug eaters. Or the by-appointment-only Bamboo Sourcery (707/823-5866), seven acres of 400 kinds of swaying bamboo up to 50 feet tall. The effect is so enchanting, you may find yourself pulling out with a pot of house-high bamboo strapped to your car before you even realize what's happening.

As you continue west, Highway 116 cruises through orchards, past roadside pie stands, and into the cool shade of the redwoods. Fortunately, most people haven't caught on to the fact that a grove of some of the tallest and oldest of these beauties is right in Guerneville. Take a right at the sign for Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve (707/869-2015, www.parks.ca.gov), where trails loop under the towering trees

or climb up, up, up to sunny hilltops.

Afterward, pull into Guerneville's crunchy-quaint downtown, which has yet to fall victim to the gentrification of its neighbors to the north and south. The brief, jumbled, Western-style Main Street is worth a stroll, with everything from a tattoo parlor boasting the solicitation "We Maim to Please" to housewares shops peddling the wine country look. Stop in at Flavors Unlimited (707/869-0425) at the west end of the stretch for a cone. 

For the ultimate low-impact afternoon, head to Burke's Canoe Trips (707/887-1222, www.burkescanoetrips.com, reservations required) on River Road at Mirabel Road, where they'll gear you up for an effortless one-way float down the river to swimming holes, sun-soaked beaches, and a Zen state of mind.

GETTING THERE: Take 101 North to Highway 116 West to Sebastopol. You can find directions to the nurseries at www.vintagegardens.com, www.californiacarnivores.com, and www.bamboosourcery.com. To get to Guerneville, continue west on 116 for 13 miles.

MAKE IT A WEEKEND: Relax with a cocktail and dinner by the fireplace at the tastefully spruced-up Fife's Roadhouse Restaurant (707/869-0656) at the west end of town. A night at the Raford House (707/887-9573, www.rafordhouse.com, from $140) puts you in a primo position for a day of wine tasting in Dry Creek Valley.


DAYTRIP NO16>SOAK UP WESTERN SONOMA
Get loose-limbed and blissed out of your mind with a morning hideout at
osmosis, and make the most of your heightened state with a salt-sprayed hike above the surf.

MARCHING ORDERS: First things first—no one, and we mean no one, passes through the barely-there western Sonoma town of Freestone without carbo loading at Wildflour Bread (140 Bohemian Hwy., 707/874-2938). What they're kneading in front of the giant brick oven is the area's most addictive bread, filled with goodies like roasted garlic and jalapeños.

Load up free of guilt, because the only thing your sanctuary for the morning, Osmosis (707/823-8231, www.osmosis.com), asks is that you not show up with an empty stomach. Cross the street from the bakery and change into a cotton kimono to admire the formal Japanese garden and sip tea. Then sink deep into a fragrant cedar enzyme bath—the spa's specialty
—a finely ground blend of evergreen and rice bran that heats as it ferments, leaving you relaxed and dreamy. For the full Osmosis experience, request a massage in one of the pagodas in the woods out back, and linger longer than you should in the new Japanese meditation garden.

When you're ready to move on, head toward the coast along Bodega Highway, winding through rolling farmland to Highway 1 and into Bodega Bay, taking a left on Eastshore Road. If it's the weekend, stop in at Seaweed Café (1580 Eastshore Rd., 707/875-2700) for a meal that's a big step up from the usual coastal chowder joint. Here we're talking fresh fish from the bay and local organic vegetables.
 
Continue on Eastshore and take a right on Bayflat Road,

which becomes Westshore Road and comes around the harbor to the Bodega Head Trail. The trail can be crowded on weekends, with good reason—this sparkling ocean-view hike plays to the sound track of an island full of sea lions. Take the shorter southern path a mile out toward the tip, and instead of doing the full loop, return the way you came—you won't want to veer away from the crashing coast.

As you drive back through Bodega Bay in the late afternoon, stop off at Gourmet au Bay's (913 Hwy. 1, 707/875-9875) waterfront deck for a flight of wine, a good excuse to prolong the day.

GETTING THERE: Take 101 North to Petaluma and exit at East Washington Street, heading toward Bodega Bay. Continue for 20 stunning miles (the road will change to Bodega Avenue). At the fork, veer right onto Valley Ford Road. After the town of Valley Ford, turn right onto Valley Ford-Freestone Road and follow it into Freestone.

MAKE IT A WEEKEND: Just inland from Bodega Bay, Sonoma Coast Villa (707/876-9818, www.scvilla.com, from $225) is a cushy retreat with sweeping views of neighboring farms. Each suite has a wood-burning fireplace, Italian slate floors, and duvets. Stay over and spend the morning dallying by the pool and napping in a hammock.