Legendary Napa Valley sign could be moved for safety reasons

The legendary sign that welcomes wine enthusiasts into the Napa Valley region could be moved due to safety concerns for tourists who stop to take pictures at the location. 

Due to its dramatic backdrop and location, the Welcome to Napa Valley sign on Highway 29 between Yountville and Oakville sees some five million people stop and take snaps against it. It is one of two identical signs that were made out of carved redwood and erected in 1949, according to an article in the Weekly Calistogan from 1967, with the other located at the northern end of the valley near Calistoga.

But now the sign is so popular that officials are looking at moving it to a safer location as visitors often cross the busy highway in order to catch a good shot and some cross railroad tracks to gain access to the vineyard.

According to local news, the Napa Valley Sheriff’s Department have “expressed concerns about congestion in the area” and are looking at relocating it.

The signs were created to bring awareness to the-then relatively unknown wine area, when there were only a few wineries in production, and the current location of the debated sign was donated by the Mondavi family in the 1970s.

Another location was recently considered around one mile south, but this failed to materialise. It is understood that negotiations are now ongoing with an unknown land owner on a nearby site.

Shawn Casey-White of the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition told ABC7 News: “We’ll be working closely with the Napa Valley vintners, the county, the city of Yountville and everyone in the surrounding area to decide what’s best for the sign and best for the community.

“We’ll have a series of five meetings the last week of January and the first week of February and then we’ll reconvene those community meetings in March.”

The news comes as the Coalition is also expanding its active travel access for walkers and cyclists throughout the trail, which will run from Vallejo to Calistoga and go past the sign.