The Napa Open Space District is celebrating our 20th anniversary this year! In honor of this milestone, we’ve been revisiting bits of our history and journey through to present day in our newsletter and social media feeds. The below was originally published in our March, 2026 newsletter. If you would like to receive the monthly newsletter in your inbox, sign up using the form at the bottom of this page.
Our 20th Anniversary is cause to celebrate and to think of the future, but looking back to our past turns out to be a very good way to tell the story of who and what the Napa Open Space District is.
And in thinking of examples of how to showcase what we’re capable of, and what might be possible if we had more resources, Moore Creek Park springs immediately to mind as the best living example of our work. What we all now know as a thriving and popular multiuse trail network on a permanently protected watershed feeding the City of Napa’s drinking water supply – was very recently none of those things at all.
A Blank Slate and a Vision of What Could Be
In 2008, the future Moore Creek Park was an idea, a vision of a publicly accessible park on ecologically important protected lands east of St Helena.
What began with that idea would transform into a fully developed park with three separate units and miles of multiuse trails. A project that would manage a dense section of forest and tame thickets of invasive French Broom, protect more than 2,100 acres of land that contains Moore Creek itself and much of the direct watershed, connect new recreational trails to the existing network at PUC Forest, and be the final piece in a puzzle nested into 9,000 acres of protected land along the ridges.
Moore Creek Park before it was a park.
A Park is Born
From humble beginnings with the Moore Creek Trail being open for use and volunteers working during weekend-long trail projects, a park rapidly started to take shape. With Dryfoot and Valentine Vista Trails being added, the Moore Creek Unit of the park began to become an actual network of trails, complete with a “top secret” swimming hole added to the list of features to visit.
It wasn’t long before the park began to draw an audience, and by this time the District had also become known to many more people in the community as we increased our activity. The Hennessey Unit was soon opened on City of Napa land bordering Lake Hennessey, opening up the fuller experience of this place with two distinct sections of trails that offer up very different experiences.
Through the years since, Moore Creek Park has almost continually expanded, adding more new trail miles annually and gaining a reputation with locals and visitors alike for the sweeping views, wildflowers, and varied recreational opportunities.
Constant volunteer projects shaped the early years.
Today and Forever
In 2025, the park gained another addition, the 523 acre Phinney Unit, bringing the total acreage to 2,100 acres and protecting the entirety of Moore Creek itself. This addition also connected the Moore Creek trail network to the trail network at Pacific Union College, allowing for expanded recreational activities, longer hikes and rides, and a destination experience for visitors.
This year, we’re set to complete the Yip Trip Trail (formerly Madrone Trail), which will be among the longest in the park and built 100% by volunteer labor as well as starting construction on the Pay the Piper Trail to offer another varied route through the park.
Given that the growth at this park has been essentially non-stop since its inception, we’re excited to see what the future holds. In many ways the crown jewel in our District’s portfolio, Moore Creek Park is a living example of what can spring from the seed of an idea with vision and perseverance.
