Bale Grist Mill History Trail
Hike Review:
Instead of driving to the Bale Grist Mill Historic State Park, we walked the History Trail from Bothe-Napa Valley State Park.
The trail ended up being a single track path that goes over a small hill through dense forests of manzanita, oak, and bay trees.
The trail was mostly hard packed dirt, though there were two sections that weren’t—a section that was a bit rocky as it followed a dried up water branch and a section that was a dried stream crossing.
There was not a soul we saw on the trail, though there was a couple that we passed at the mill that we think came from this trail.
For a small trail was limited views, I thought it scenic. Even though there was easily seen fire damage from a few years ago, the trail was pretty, in a modest way.
The few points of interest on the trail (like the site of the first church and cemetery) were a bore.
Picture by Jo.
What I Learned
The Bale Grist Mill was built in 1846 and was restored in the 1970s. It still operates and grinds various grains, which it then sells to help run this park. The funny part is that the flour sold is labeled “Not for human consumption”, because it is not FDA approved—the mill stone is 170+ years old, and who knows what it’s made of (stone?). We bought a small bag and can’t wait to try out what it tastes like!
Friends
We hiked this trail with Jo and Scarlett. The girls especially enjoyed Scarlett’s company and were giggling almost the whole time we were hiking this short trail.
What Happened?
2.5 miles, 1 hr 25 min, 477 ft of ascent
While we were perusing the visitor center, we were told that the Bale Grist Mill was one worth checking out. So, we drove next to the graveyard and hiked to the mill. We first found the site of the church and graveyard to be not-very-interesting.
We did however, find the mill to be pretty interesting. The fact that it still operated on water-power was fascinating—and there’s something about how these large mechanical operate that just captures one’s attention. So interested were we that we bought trinkets and flour from the mill.
Afterwards, we hiked back to our cars (with the return trip feeling so much shorter than the first half, as almost all hikes feel), and drove ourselves to the next destination in Napa.