New Year, New You, Napa Valley Awaits.

Ahhh…that hard-to-describe lightness and joy we feel at the promise of new beginnings. It’s an exciting feeling – the anticipation that goes hand-in-hand with exploration and new adventures. And, the start of a new year often poses a perfect time to get started with something new. Come along to explore all the things to do in Napa Valley, because here, there is so much to discover and experience. Say cheers to the year ahead and to discovering something new for you!

Get Skilled

Always finding yourself serving as the go-to source among your friends when it comes to wine recommendations. Then, consider taking your skills to the next level by enrolling in a wine education course at the Napa Valley Wine Academy. With over 30 fun, informative modules, learning about wine (and sampling some, too) has never been easier.

Enjoy experimenting with foods and unique ingredients? Try a hands-on cooking class led by professional chefs at PLAYTE Kitchen and The CIA at Copia. Using seasonal produce directly from the school’s farm, novice “chef” students can learn techniques and recipes. After your session is complete, invite your friends over to impress them with your new kitchen prowess.

Looking to have an “only in wine country” chef experience? Look to wineries like Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford that offer scheduled cooking classes hosted by winery chefs throughout the year. This is your chance to enjoy world-class wine and a meal prepared by your own masterful hand.

Get Active

Staying in Napa Valley at the start of the year but don’t want to wait to incorporate an active start to your new year? No problem! With many, many options to get active, you can start just about anywhere. In fact, the Napa Valley Vine Trail is an awesome paved and car-free pedestrian path which is ideal for walking, running, skating, and cycling. Anywhere you decide to drop in on the path is perfect – safe and clean, and, did we mention the views? Well, those are outstanding!

For long-distance runners looking for a unique destination to compete in a marathon, the famed Napa Valley Marathon offers an incredible race route along the Silverado Trail from Calistoga to Napa. Take in scenic views of vineyards and world-renowned wineries on the shuttered road for a quiet Sunday morning race. Register for the Napa Valley Marathon, Half Marathon or 5K taking place March 2, 2025, to make it a weekend of running, sipping, and savoring!

Maybe you need to ease into the active lifestyle. That’s great, too! With an e-bike from Fat Tire Bike Rentals, you only exert a tiny bit of effort. The rest of the “work” is handled by these battery-powered rides. And, the team at Fat Tire will even bring the bike to you! So, go ahead and stay on the Vine Trail or pick any other great spot in Napa Valley to start riding into your new lifestyle.

Get Adventurous

Ready to test yourself in 2025 and try something new and exciting? How about a beautiful and perfectly orchestrated hot air balloon ride that takes you to new levels…figuratively and literally! With Balloons Above The Valley or Napa Valley Aloft, hop “on-board” one of the large baskets and get carried away. You’ll enjoy a bird’s eye view of the beautiful vineyards, hills, and valley plus, you can maybe check something off your bucket list of adventurous endeavors.

When’s the last time you rode a bike with a famous Napa Valley winemaker? The Vine Trail Adventures “Ride With A Winemaker” tour offers the opportunity to cycle with a winemaker who makes the region their home and learn about various aspects of winemaking and viticulture. The ride typically includes cycling through the different terroirs of Napa Valley, barrel tasting, vineyard visits and ends at the winemaker’s tasting room, Olabisi Wines, in charming downtown Calistoga.  The tour can be customized to be an easy and flat 4 – 9 miles, a moderate 9 – 20 miles or a challenging 20 – 35 miles (e-bikes are not permitted on any ride). 

If you prefer staying closer to the ground, consider another type of adventure. With Napa Valley Paddle, you can get outfitted with a paddle and a board and work your way down the Napa River. While not strenuous, don’t be fooled by this seemingly “easy” activity – it requires balance and will definitely give you a good core workout!

You can also indulge your senses with a Napa River ride complete with a musical and memorable taste of Venice. Experience an authentic Venetian gondola with Napa Valley Gondola. Tours are always private, can accommodate up to six guests, and are a great way to experience the natural setting of the Napa River. Enjoy a glass of wine, Venetian songs, and glide into the new year without a worry in the world. 

Fresh air abounds! Our premier wine country destination has many amazing state parks and hiking trails, with oak and redwood forests, mountains and rolling hills, creeks and open spaces, and stunning vista viewpoints. Use our trail finder to discover the best places for hiking in Napa Valley.  

With plenty of open spaces and most of the region designated as a protected agricultural preserve, Napa Valley has so many hiking trails and awe-inspiring views to explore.  

Beginners will enjoy the 2.7 mile Alston Park Loop with vistas of the western hillsides of Napa, or Calistoga’s History Trail through Pioneer Cemetery in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. Las Posadas State Forest, southwest of Angwin, is great for avid bikers and hikers. Experienced hikers can enjoy hikes through 5,200 acres at Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen while atop the highest peak in Napa County, Mount Saint Helena.

Get to Eating Better

At House of Better located at Dr. Wilkinson’s Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs in Calistoga, the Creative Director, Trevor Logan, takes healthy food options to the next level. This is the place where wellness and happiness meet and even though the menu is inspired by comfort foods, you can take comfort in knowing that there is no guilt associated with these delicious meals. House-made aguas frescas, kombucha on tap, wellness tonics and adaptogen teas are designed to detox and hydrate.  House sangria, agave wine margaritas, wine-based cocktails and spritzes, local beer and of course our curated selection of Napa Valley's finest wines will help you relax and retox.

Napa Valley is full of farm-to-table dining options, thanks to our farmer’s paradise year-round climate and ample outdoor areas for fresh gardens and orchards, which local chefs and restaurants highlight on hundreds of menus. Experience local, sustainably grown and farm-fresh plates at restaurants including Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch, The Grove at Copia, Violetto at Alila Napa Valley, Brix Restaurant and Gardens, Lucy Restaurant and Bar, and three-Michelin-starred The French Laundry, of course. 

Pickup baguettes and truly “unexpected cheddar” thanks to Nova Terra’s plant-based creamery, featuring hand-crafted vegan cheeses that are a true testament to culinary creativity! You can find these cheeses in retail locations throughout Napa Valley, including Jeffries General in Downtown Napa and Hudson Greens & Goods at the Oxbow Public Market.

Have you decided that, with the start of this new year, you were going to eliminate certain ingredients from your daily diet? Perhaps you're a pizza lover but going gluten-free is a goal. Fear not! At Azzurro Pizzeria e Enoteca, the GF pizza dough and pastas are delicious. Numerous eateries across the valley offer GF options and breads, so you will never feel like you’re missing out. Eat well and feel great – bon appétit!

Get Centered

Make this your year to get grounded…even while you’re on vacation. On Saturday mornings, beginning in May and running through November, Harvest Inn in St. Helena offers a morning wellness practice for both visitors and resort guests. It doesn’t get more serene than this – practicing yoga in an idyllic setting among the vineyards and redwood trees.

If you're seeking even more nourishment for the soul, consider MoonAcre Spa’s Weekend Wellness classes in Calistoga, including guided hikes, yoga, and aqua-cardio workouts.

You can also enjoy stargazing meditation, unique spa treatments, vibrational sound baths, and pool dips – all under a dark, twinkling sky. Various tasting rooms and spas now offer calming moonlit events all over Napa Valley.   When the sun sets at Bardessono Hotel & Spa guests can enjoy various wellness activities through B Spa’s  “Wellness After Dark” offerings. Guided activities include “Sound and Stars,” “Celestial Bathing,” and the “Sacred Space Cacao Ceremony.” Other wellness activities offered in the moonlight include Restorative Yoga, Tai Chi, and Chakra Balancing.   
 
Alila Napa Valley invites resort guests and the community to embark on guided Redwood Forest hikes in Bothe State Park, experience new moon yoga, and indulge in astrology readings after dark.   

Napa’s StudioBe invites guests in for communal sound baths at dusk, using crystal singing bowls, gong, chimes, crystal harps to release stress and reveal rejuvenation.  

And Spa Solage now offers an after-hours bathhouse experience – right after the sun sets – complete with moonlit-inspired cocktails, a unique “after dark” version of their signature mudslide treatment, access to five inviting geothermal pools, and a nighttime cold plunge, all beneath a breathtaking sparkling sky. 

Perhaps you consider yourself a Napa Valley regular or perhaps this new year marks your first time in Napa Valley and you want to mark a number of firsts. Regardless, of the number of trips you have logged or the number of new things you want to explore, something new awaits you here and you deserve to discover and experience it. So, check out what’s new in Napa Valley. After all, it is a new year…and a new you! 

Perhaps you consider yourself a Napa Valley regular or perhaps this new year marks your first time in Napa Valley and you want to mark a number of firsts. Regardless, of the number of trips you have logged or the number of new things you want to explore, something new awaits you here and you deserve to discover and experience it. So, check out what’s new in Napa Valley. After all, it is a new year…and a new you!