Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park

The staff was so helpful, nice, welcoming and pleasant. We were taking video for a book and they kept the crowd quiet while we got sounds of the mill running. Thank you so much! Great spot to picnic or take photos. And you will learn a lot!

Grindhouse entertainment. It’s a grind at the Bale Grist Mill, but it’s certainly worth it. It’s the sole surviving water-​powered mill in California. Thanks to doughty preservationists, this state historic park is still open to the public. The tour is informative and fascinating… and the smell of freshly ground barley is sweet&delicious. They sell flours along with cookbooks (such as «Thousand Ways to Please a Husband» from the early 20^th century that blends recipes with a romantic narrative)
Their history exhibit on the «Mysterious Mr. Bale» is interesting. It shows the mill’s storied history, from his widow raising their 6 kids, to how the drought of the 1860s and 1870s turned the Napa Valley into a vintner’s paradise.
Pros–
Excellent tour. The tour guides are helpful&informative, plus they do demos.
The little history museum.
The souvenir shop makes one dream of the 1890s.
The hike there is beautiful, along the creek. Very peaceful.
Cons–
It’s open only on weekends. And get there early.
They have very few parking spots. No wonder most people hike from nearby Bothe– Napa Valley State Park.
Lack of info on local geology. The mill is built on a fault scarp of the West Napa/​Napa Valley Fault… and it’s withstood a lot. It was built to last. It’s only gotten minor repairs&renovations since its beginnings in 1846.
A fascinating step back in time.

The miller and tour guide is a fantastic story teller. My wife and I had way more fun than we thought we’d have. Highly recommended :-)

We recently stopped here to take a break from wine tasting and had a great time. The tour is very informative and runs about 30 minutes or so. Mario, the tour guide, was great. If you are in the area and like history, it is definitely worth checking out.

We hiked to Bale Grist Mill after walking around the cemetery at Bothe Napa Valley State Park. The hike was just under 2 miles and takes you on a narrow trail path through the trees, it was really cool. Coincidentally, once we got to the mill, one of the tour guides and mill operators (Mario) was just showing up early to unlock and prepare for the tours for the day. We hadn’t planned on taking a tour of the mill, but Mario went out of his way to let us in and show us around the mill for our own little private tour. The mill was built in the 1850’s and it was very cool to be able to see how the mill operated back then. The mill still churns out little bags of flour and other grains during the tours that are available for sale (proceeds go to keep the mill operating). Mario was very knowledgeable about not only the history of the mill, but of wineries and all of Napa Valley (it was a part of Mexico back then). I would highly suggest stopping to see the Bale Grist Mill and hope to return myself to take the full tour. Thank you Mario!

This is a «don’t miss» attraction for all ages. Plenty of picnic benches, in the shade. Roomy, clean restrooms. Babbling creek. Personable people who give tours and are so well informed in history, they make it interesting. You can even buy flour that you watched be ground. Nice treat. Open only on weekends.

Do not miss this tour! Mario, our tour guide, was enthusiastic and packed in a lot of information. We visited wineries, took the wine train, etc, but the mill tour was the highlight of our stay in Napa.

Makes for a nice wilderness (y) place to hike, along with a beautiful mill home to polenta grinding, and special events like corn husk doll making and more.

I’ve lived in the valley my whole life and was a bit disappointed that I didn’t know this mill was here the whole time. Our visit was really fun and informative. Our tour guide took us around and showed us how the mill works and told us about its history. We learned that this mill is no longer funded by the state and stays running only by the help of volunteers and donations, so on our way out we purchased a few bags of flour that was made at the mill and promised we’d be back again (with some more friends).

If you like historic places this is certainly something worth checking out. It’s not far of a drive or walk once youre there if you happen to be in St Helena. As something that was once the center of town to grind all sorts of grains, it’s an interesting feat of engineering. From pumping the water and adjusting the stone, it’s cool to see how necessity and socialization is the mother of invention

We went here after visiting Boethe State Park. You can either hike here from the state park, or drive directly there from the park. It is a few miles down from the park. Free parking available.
There is a gift shop where you can purchase souvenirs or opt to take a tour. The tour is $ 5/​person and you learn about the history of the mill and get to see the mill make whole wheat flour or polenta. Pretty neat to see. The tour was about 30 to 45 minutes long.
Each bag of polenta, spelt, buckwheat, etc is $ 5 each. Reasonable price.

one of the most unique and most fun stops during our Napa visit.
take a break from wine tasting and visit this old mill, be sure to take the tour and buy a bag of their amazing and delicious POLENTA!
omg the polenta.
Amazing. Full of info and facts, the staff here is wonderful. You wont regret stopping in.

I am beyond happy that we found this wonderful place. It was a really fun experience, especially if youre into mechanics, history or making things from scratch. It was a beautiful day! The cost is only 5 $, which I would gladly pay more to help a place like this. Then they sell flour inside, only 5 $ a bag. They are all organic, and they have buckwheat, spelt, pastry, bread, and rye flours, then cornmeal and polenta for you to buy. We bought a bunch because we love supporting places like this and I am getting into baking homemade bread. All in all this place was totally awesome. We are really glad we went. The wheel was beautiful. The sound was serene. It is totally worth a visit!

If you live in CA you should know that the brilliant minds in Sacramento have determined that, in an effort to get CA out of another fiscal mess, cutting $ 20 million from the state park system makes sense. Of course this is asinine for a multitude of reasons, and to fully understand why check out
This park is an educational walk back in the CA time machine, led by an amazing and knowledgable miller who both teaches and entertains. Our plan was to swing into the park for a quick visit. Two hours later we left pleasantly surprised at the goodness we had experienced.
If you need a break from tasting (hey, it could happen), put this stop on your list.
Oh, and to Jamie D. who said the tour was overpriced, it’s $ 5. That makes you both cheap and ignorant.

The miller is such a great tour guide! He really knows his stuff — history, physics, and food. It was like being in school again! I didn’t really know what to expect because my boyfriend did all the research, but I was really impressed.
Great place to check out if you’re nearby in Napa. Very affordable ($ 5) and very informative tour that I’d definitely recommend to anyone curious about mills!

I just loved taking this tour. You park your car and walk to the mill through a beautiful path, with streams, little bridges and a lot of green.
The tour fee is 5.00. It is a working mill. It used to be funded by the state parks but no more. So they pay for the maintenance with the milling proceeds.
The tour was thorough and very educational. They actually milled corn for us to see.
If you are into history and into «food from scratch» You will like this place.

Very cool historical site.
Went on a day where they were hosting an elementary school field trip, so we joined a group of 25 third graders in pioneer outfits (so cute) and were given the grand tour.
It was very cool to see the mill in action, and we were able to purchase bags of grain that had been milled on site.
If you are a history dork, or you love low tech engineering or you like stone ground polenta, check this place out!

We are local to the area and wanted to do something random on a Saturday. This was totally fun and interesting! We weren’t sure what to expect but the tour was informative and actually really interesting and engaging. We left with corn meal, semolina flour and a wheat flour, all milled on site. It was great — and cheap! We are two adults with no kids and it was fun for us. But I’m sure kids would dig this also. A great activity for anyone interested in a cool, funky location and some history!

Though we don’t have the same kind of ancient historical monuments that you might find in Europe — we do have some history and it’s worth visiting before it closes down for good!
Sadly, due to cutbacks — this park is only open on the weekends now — this is another great childhood fieldtrip destination. You should stop in if you want to see how the mill works — they have demonstrations and you might even be able to buy some ground flour or corn if they still do that (they did as of a couple years ago).
Great trail and a fun spot to soak in the local flavor.

This weekend was not my first visit to the Bale Grist Mill… and I hope it’s not my last. The mill, run by waterwheel, is open to the public on weekends ($ 3 adult/​$ 2 child)…that is until Labor Day when it is one of 70 California State Parks scheduled to close due to budget shortfalls.
If you are interested in waterwheels (the largest west of the Mississippi according to the operator), history, gears and conveyor belts, baked goods, or just generally how things work… check it out if you get the chance. The mill is open 10 – 4 on weekends only and they give detailed tours taking you outside to see the waterwheel operate, and then back inside (two floors) to see all the things that turn, shake, and move up and down to turn wheat and corn into flour and polenta. My son was fascinated by all the things that whirled, especially the 36 ft. waterwheel and the hand crank corn shucking machine. On the tour you’ll learn the origins of phrases like «run of the mill,» «fair to middling,» and «cock eyed.» You can even purchase the milled goods to take home and turn into goodies.
A short walk from the small parking lot, the mill is set into a shady spot, though it seems to always be hot inside when I’ve been there. Over the years they have restored the mill and today it is nearly completely restored in original working order. They’ve got a one-​room museum type display and a few items for sale next to the milling area. Restrooms up the trail. You can also walk a short distance further up the trail towards the original mill pond (now just a dry hole in the ground). If you follow the mill pond trail 2 miles it connects to Bothe State Park (also on the closure list.) Be certain you know what poison oak looks like… there is loads of it.
The mill operators and supporters hope to keep the mill open by taking it over from the state to operate as a concession. I wish them the best of luck. It really is a piece of history to treasure for future generations.