Is the ongoing California drought a reason not to visit this summer?
March 1, 2014 9:48 AM Subscribe
Is the ongoing drought a good reason to postpone a planned summer trip to Northern California to another year? We were thinking of spending a week around SF/Napa/Sonoma in August. Interested in things like parks/hiking, wineries, farmers markets.
If it was me, I'd still go - but make a backup plan just in case what you want to see turns out to be on fire when you are scheduled to be there.
posted by AllieTessKipp at 10:04 AM on March 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by AllieTessKipp at 10:04 AM on March 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Absolutely not. Go visit. Are you concerned about something in particular?
The only reason to change your plans would be if a wildfire happened to break out in Napa or Sonoma county. In which case you'll be able to find plenty to do in SF and if you still want to visit wine country, head south to Paso Robles. If you're flexible, Monterey and Carmel will fulfill a lot of the non-wine things you want to do. There is great hiking in Marin too (depending on what sort of difficulty level you're looking for).
As an aside: make sure to stop in Healdsburg and drive through Russian River / Dry Creek Valley when in Sonoma county.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:33 AM on March 1, 2014
The only reason to change your plans would be if a wildfire happened to break out in Napa or Sonoma county. In which case you'll be able to find plenty to do in SF and if you still want to visit wine country, head south to Paso Robles. If you're flexible, Monterey and Carmel will fulfill a lot of the non-wine things you want to do. There is great hiking in Marin too (depending on what sort of difficulty level you're looking for).
As an aside: make sure to stop in Healdsburg and drive through Russian River / Dry Creek Valley when in Sonoma county.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:33 AM on March 1, 2014
And farmers' markets might have slightly higher prices than usual, but if you're going to the touristy/chichi ones like the Ferry Building, etc., they're already going to have high prices. So it probably won't make a difference. There will still be a lot of tasty things to buy.
posted by wintersweet at 10:49 AM on March 1, 2014
posted by wintersweet at 10:49 AM on March 1, 2014
Not unless you were planning to make Central Valley farms or boating in the Folsom Reservoir (or similar) a centerpiece of your visit.
posted by salvia at 11:37 AM on March 1, 2014
posted by salvia at 11:37 AM on March 1, 2014
Large wildfires in Napa or Sonoma are extremely rare, and if they do happen, they're not likely to affect the other valley. Visit away!
posted by cnc at 12:03 PM on March 1, 2014
posted by cnc at 12:03 PM on March 1, 2014
No. We always have droughts here and it probably won't be any rainier if you postpone until next year either. Or the year after that, or that.....
While this is factually false and California is currently in the midst of a record-setting drought, wildfires are more likely to affect other areas and even then your odds of running into one on any given day are very low.
posted by drjimmy11 at 12:20 PM on March 1, 2014
While this is factually false and California is currently in the midst of a record-setting drought, wildfires are more likely to affect other areas and even then your odds of running into one on any given day are very low.
posted by drjimmy11 at 12:20 PM on March 1, 2014
Why would it prevent you from coming? The drought generally isn't affecting anyone's day-to-day. I guess they are asking people to water their lawns less and flush less, but if you came here not knowing there is a drought, I doubt you'd notice anything. Everything feels pretty normal. I'd definitely visit if it's something you want to do.
posted by AppleTurnover at 12:44 PM on March 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by AppleTurnover at 12:44 PM on March 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
The drought is for us homeowners (and all the farmers) to worry about… I can't see it affecting a visit. Enjoy.
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:22 PM on March 1, 2014
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:22 PM on March 1, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:54 AM on March 1, 2014 [3 favorites]