NorCal is calling for Fall

Fall trips to Napa Valley or California’s nearby agricultural heartland can mean milder temperatures, cooler mornings, fewer crowds and better rates.

Silverado Resort, a long-time Napa Valley resort that sets the standard for golf in the region, and the Cache Creek Casino Resort offer a three-course opportunity that can complement a visit that also features winery tours, scenic drives or hikes, and excellent food.

Silverado Resort

The Silverado Resort, in the heart of Napa Valley wine country, offers two golf courses and a spa and food services that can make it an ideal long weekend getaway or home base for weeklong Napa excursions.

Silverado’s two 18-hole courses – North and South – both offer challenge and beauty, but the North Course is the cornerstone. The course just hosted the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship in mid-September, which the U.S. Ryder Cup team flooded with entries to use as a warm-up for the Cup at Bethpage Black two weeks later.

The North Course opened in 1966 after being designed by Robert Trent Jones II. The course balances well the tug-of-war between being friendly enough for resort guests of all golf abilities, while being able to ramp up the challenge when the pros arrive.

The greens are pristine, and depending on weather conditions, can roll extremely quickly. They are similar to greens at The Broadmoor’s famous layout in Colorado Springs, even if they lack The Broadmoor’s deceptive reads. Putting off Silverado greens is a threat that begins on the first hole. Bunkers are a major defense of the course; they crowd many greens with steep walls that are just short of needing the revetted walls of sod common at links courses.

The South Course is slightly shorter but retains the identical pristine conditions and played back-to-back, the two courses offer a great golf anchor for a long weekend.

On both courses, the pride-and-joy of the halfway house is the locally cherished burger dog – a hamburger shaped like a hot dog served in a bun.

Silverado’s courses are available to guests at the resort, and the resort has been ramping up the quality. The complex is dotted with rooms and condominiums, some of which are not for rent. The resort coordinates bookings for 343 rooms and recently worked with owners of 280 of them to put through a complete refurbishment in early 2025. The newest rooms are pristine.

“We wanted to embrace the original heritage and just make it a little bit more contemporary,” said William Santos, the resort’s general manager. “The feedback that we’ve had so far has been fantastic.”

Over the next year, the resort is moving ahead with a refurbishment of its spa – across the street from the main campus – adding more fitness and outdoor activity space. The campus is dotted with pools for hot days, but the spa has the adults-only fitness pool as well. A complete racquet complex is a short walk away. Next, they are renovating the main public restaurant on the grounds, which serves as the main dining for guests as well as a post-round pit stop.

The Silverado Resort is owned by Denver-based KSL Capital Partners and Arcade Capital, which bought it in 2022 and is leading the renovations and changes. The golf courses are managed by Troon, and visiting golfers will get the seamless and pleasant experience that Troon provides.

“We have this tagline, ‘Where the good life becomes great,’ “ Santos said. “It encapsulates the wellness, the sports and the leisure in every possible way. So from the wellness side, you know our spa facilities, the grounds and the nature all blend in very well. So if you’re looking to get away, read a book, kind of be out where there’s no traffic and and have a nature experience, you can have that here on this property. If you’re looking out here to have a sports experience, you can have that with our 10 tennis courts, three bocce ball courts. Six pickleball courts and then the golf.”

Cache Creek

To reach the Cache Creek Resort and Casino and its Yocha Dehe Golf Club, visitors wind through some of the most productive farmland on earth. Nestled in the Capay Valley just west of Napa and east of Sacramento, the resort features gaming, golf and a growing wine and food tourism experience.

The course itself is more than worth a visit, whether it is the primary destination or a respite from the gaming tables.

Yocha Dehe is an 18-hole valley course surrounded by hills, which are used to provide epic tee shots on some holes and stunning views on others. The hillsides are covered almost exclusively with native grasses, which turn a golden color in the summer. Vineyards also run up against some holes.

The golf experience is overseen by Director of Golf Will Foust, a former assistant professional at The Ridge at Castle Pines near Denver.

First-time players should take a moment and climb to the back tees on No. 1; the tee box is the highest point of the course and the views are spectacular.

The resort course this spring was in perfect condition and the design uses the valley’s native grasses and well-placed bunkers to challenge players. Fairways are generous for the most part. The front nine is mostly straightforward holes with greens protected by bunkers and fairways lined with young trees. The back nine brings more of the course’s ponds and creeks into play.

No. 13 is a par 3 that brings it all together. Playing up to 254 yards from the back tees, the fairway is lined with vineyards on both sides and an enormous bunker complex in the middle of the fairway. The golden foothills lie in the distance and driving the green is a must for a good score.

Off the course and outside of the casino, the resort complex’s amenities include a growing agri-tourism component. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation has been adding amenities to the complex throughout the Capay Valley and manages vineyards, olive tree and almond tree groves, and markets the products through the Seka Hills brand. The facilities include an Olive Mill and tasting room.

How to Get There

The Northern California golf region can be reached from Denver with daily 2.5-hour flights into either San Francisco or Sacramento. Flights can be found for around $200 before baggage fees.

Where to Eat

Off-course options include:

Napa: Bistro Don Giovanni (Italian), Grace’s Table (French), The Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch (American).

Cache Creek Resort: The casino perimeter is lined with good restaurants but the top is the C2 Steakhouse.