Suscol Headwaters Park, in the hills between Napa and American Canyon, is now much easier to reach. A new parking lot at 1700 North Kelly Road opened Oct. 24. On Oct. 22, about 50 people braved the rain to dedicate 5 miles of Bay Area Ridge Trail through the park. Supervisor Belia Ramos and Ridge Trail Executive Director Kirsten Tobey spoke at the dedication.
Getting there
The lot is open sunrise to sunset, and parking costs $6 per car, the same as at neighboring Skyline Wilderness Park. From the lot, an access trail climbs about 3 miles into the main part of the park. The full route continues about 11 miles to Skyline. The Register reports the lot is 3.4 miles from American Canyon City Hall and 7.3 miles from Napa City Hall.
The park
Suscol Headwaters covers 709 acres and tops out around 1,500 feet. It is open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians on trails including Suscol Ridge, Chance the Cowboy, Zane, Buckaroo and Perdita. Until now, most visitors came in through Skyline Wilderness Park, which keeps 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours in fall and winter.
How it was assembled
The land was bought in two pieces: 411 acres for $900,000 in 2015 and 298 acres for $2.6 million in 2017. Part of the money was Caltrans mitigation funding for California red-legged frog habitat, tied to the widening of Highway 12 in Jameson Canyon. The park first opened to the public in 2020.