Things to Do in Albany
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
Local artist and glass master Dan Watts opened the doors of MorArt more than a year ago with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that attracted the likes of actress Tippi Hedren of Hitchcock's The Birds fame. After the confetti settled and the balloon outlines of Hitchcock's silhouette popped, Lincoln City was left with a haven for hands-on glass making.
Dan teaches the arts of glass fusing, mosaic building, and glass painting during one-on-one sessions or group classes. Equipping students with the tools, materials, and knowledge necessary, he lets them roam free to breathe life into their own refractive creations. Though he remains on-hand for advice, instruction, and assistance, the onus lies on each individual to create a masterpiece worthy of mantel display. Once students finish, Dan fires up his kiln's bedchamber so that each piece can stay and solidify overnight. Masterworks can be shipped for an additional fee, delivered express via the studio's catapult, or picked up from the store along with a few pieces of Dan's original work.
RR Saddle Club helps connect humans without the means to own horses with equine friends and also hopes to rescue horses that are stuck in unsavory situations. Nestled in the heart of the Santiam River Valley, the club's barn houses gentle steeds who carry riders on guided trail rides through the club’s 200-acre property, past wildflower-strewn meadows, into the foothills of mountains, and through thickets of fir and maple. Visitors can also schedule pony parties for youngsters or sign up for lessons to learn the basics of riding and how to signal horses to trot, canter, and fly.
Diamond Hill Paintball's two outdoor fields evoke historical battlegrounds for tournament-style and recreational play. A net encloses the regulation NPPL speedball course, whose symmetrical layout of inflatable bunkers is designed for intense competition. The rec-ball field's mounds and muddy foxholes help conceal casual players as they advance and protect feral canvases from the Technicolor volley. A unit of paintball veterans ensures safe, fun play at all levels, and distributes safety gear to accompany Tippmann 98 rental markers.
Tucked away in the foothills of the Western Cascade Mountains, Camp Dakota Camping & Adventures flouts the constraints of gravity with high-flying adventures that test participants’ skills, stamina, and propensity to scream at high altitudes. Suspended steel ziplines whiz above the forest canopy as squirrels wave from nearby branches and passing meadowlarks pause for fist bumps. Teamwork trumps individual heroics on the high-ropes course, whose elevated, threaded obstacles sway precariously above the distant ground.
The aerial odyssey doesn’t stop there. Instructors supply safety harnesses and words of encouragement before leading the way to a vertical rock-climbing wall. Replete with slim footholds and perturbed mountain goats, the wall poses a challenge to climbers of all abilities, who take solace in the added safety of fully automated belays.
The fishermen could carry their bounties off in coolers, but by the time the boat reaches the marina, each angler stands clutching a fat salmon for all bystanders on the dock to see. After posing for photos and recounting the battle with the day's largest catch, the anglers drop by the on-site cleaning shop to have their hauls filleted, packed, and readied to take home.
Barbara and Jerry Powell—a third-generation fisherman with more than 50 years of experience—charter ocean adventures like these year round to fishing destinations such as the inner reefs of Yaquina Bay. Aboard USCG-inspected and certified boats, the Powells' team outfits anglers with well-maintained equipment to hook deep-sea creatures such as halibut, shark, and Aquaman. Alternatively, captains take parties into tidal waters to catch bay crabs, or journey out toward open waters on whale-watching cruises.
The crew at Captain's Reel Deep Sea Fishing recommends guests check out the trip-preparation and FAQ pages before they head out. Guides can also furnish one-day licenses to those who lack the proper documents.
For the past decade, Coast Guard–licensed master captain David Stiles has crisscrossed Oregon’s Pacific Ocean in his Dory motorboat, leading fellow fishermen along routes ideal for hooking fish including tuna, sea trout, and halibut. Up to five passengers, including children and adults, can clamber aboard for aquatic adventures, exploiting onboard troves of fishing and safety gear rather than shopping for their own equipment or luring fish into the boat by doing the Worm.
