For six years, the only way into Napa County's 709-acre Suscol Headwaters Park has been through the back door of another park entirely. That could soon change, as Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District officials push forward on a long-planned parking lot and trailhead off North Kelly Road meant to give the sprawling property its own front entrance.
The park sits on land the Napa Open Space District acquired in two separate purchases, 411 acres in 2015 and another 298 acres in 2017, according to the Napa Valley Register. It officially opened to the public in 2020, but as Napa Outdoors notes, visitors currently reach it only through Skyline Wilderness Park, entering via a gate along the Napa Solano Ridge Trail.
A Dedicated Entrance Off North Kelly Road
The district's so-called Phase 2 plan calls for a new entrance, an approximately 0.75-acre parking lot, and a trailhead on North Kelly Road across from Camino Dorado, according to a project document from the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District. The lot is designed to hold roughly 24 vehicles, including two ADA spaces, plus about four additional horse-trailer spaces, the same district document states.
Once built, parking there will cost $6, and dogs other than service animals will not be permitted, per the Napa Valley Register's reporting. The park still has no potable water or restrooms, according to Napa Outdoors.
Bids Received, Contract Still Under Review
Progress on the actual construction has moved through the district's board in recent months. A district agenda packet shows the district received six bids for the parking lot work in June, ranging from $420,064.68 to $740,528.00. Board members were weighing whether to award a contract of up to $420,064.68 to Vaca Valley Excavating and Trucking, Inc. to build the trailhead parking lot and related infrastructure, the same agenda packet shows.
To cover the work, the district increased its fiscal-year 2026-27 construction budget for the North Kelly Road lot from $400,000 to $600,000, citing additional costs tied to the build-out, according to the agenda packet. The Napa Valley Register has reported that the parking area could be built next year, though that timeline was described in the paper's own reporting rather than confirmed by the district.
Trail Mileage Figures Have Shifted Over Time
How much trail the project ultimately delivers has been described differently across several years of planning documents. The 2024 Phase 2 proposal called for roughly 18 miles of natural-surface, non-motorized, multi-use trails, according to the district's project document. That figure differs from an earlier account in the Napa Valley Register describing a grant-funded project that would create 14 miles of trails, and from the district's own June agenda packet, which reported that 6.9 miles of new natural-surface, multi-use trail had actually been constructed at the park. The available records do not clarify whether these numbers reflect different phases of construction or changing scope over time.
Much of the project's funding traces back to a $1.2 million state grant, the Napa Valley Register reports. Before the district could move toward construction, it also had to clear an environmental review: the district's project document states that officials tentatively determined the Phase 2 project would not have a significant environmental effect once mitigation measures were applied, and announced its intent to adopt a subsequent mitigated negative declaration. Written public comments on that determination were accepted through December 7, 2024, according to the same project document.
For now, hikers, equestrians, and other visitors hoping to explore Suscol Headwaters still have to route through Skyline Wilderness Park's gate to reach the property. Whether the North Kelly Road entrance opens on the timeline floated by the Napa Valley Register, or how the final trail mileage will shake out once work wraps up, remains to be seen.
