NVL things to do
ENJOY NAPA VALLEY An Insider’s Guide to the Napa River’s Hidden History
BY ELIZABETH SMITH
A
fter having spent over a year in intermittent isolation due to the pandemic, the appeal of being in Napa Valley includes not only visiting worldclass wineries and restaurants but also a longing to spend more time outdoors in the area’s temperate Mediterranean climate. In 2013, Napa native Justin Perkins found a way to do just that when he launched his 20
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outdoor tour company, Enjoy Napa Valley. Enjoy Napa Valley was the brainchild of Perkins’ passion for his hometown’s natural beauty and history and offers a plethora of ways to explore Napa’s great outdoors through guided or self-navigated tours by bicycle, paddleboard, kayak, or gondola. For the adventurous explorer, bicycle, kayak, and paddleboard rentals are also
available. Tour options include the Napa River History Tour, Standup Paddleboard Eco-Tour, and Napa River Gondola Cruises, which Perkins schedules in two-hour increments- the first hour as the guided tour and the second to allow guests to leisurely explore and paddle on their own. In the early years, Perkins quickly learned that Napa’s history went beyond
