Cameron Park, CA Outdoor Activities

Bicycle Plus’s staff, a group of avid cyclists, brings an acute awareness to bike sales and tune-ups, garnering the store a series of awards for excellent bicycle retailing. Veteran mechanics work their magic on ailing frames throughout basic tune-ups and complete overhauls in the service department while finding time to teach curious DIYers how to fix a flat tire with peanut butter during free weekly bike-maintenance classes. The sales team pairs up shoppers with glossy rides from Trek, Specialized, and Colnago using the doctor-devised Body Geometry bike-fitting system to ensure maximum riding comfort.

Everything changed for Bob and Chris Quinlan when they organized a successful pub crawl for their local Rotary club in 2005. The positive reception to their event led the pair to found AppeteasersUSA in 2011, which has since expanded from its initial tour in Folsom to include outings in Northern and Southern California, Washington, and Florida. Across the country, AppeteasersUSA’s savvy guides can be found leading patrons from culinary hot spot to hot spot.

Throughout the four-hour tours, herds of at least 25 tour goers stop at restaurants and bars unique to the area—eschewing chains and large franchises—for 30-minute stints, nibbling on appetizers and noting which kitchen appliances might come to life after the restaurant closes. To wash down savory flavors, patrons can swig discounted drinks at each establishment.

Staffed by experienced professionals and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to the Three Laws of Golfing Robotics, GolfTec’s syndicate of golf training centers grooms games with a five-pronged approach enhanced by technological refinements. Score-shaving wisdom resonates within the walls of the indoor facilities, where certified personal coaches point out flaws and strengths while providing golfers with tips to permanently improve their game from tee to green. By utilizing video swing analysis and motion-measurement software, instructors can assess pupils’ abilities with objective data and a fact-based tact superior to traditional hearsay-oriented coaching strategies. To further enhance performance, GolfTec offers club-fitting services to match each swing profile with its ideal set of sticks.

Bass Lake Golf Course's par-72 course challenges players of all skill levels with up to 5,939 scenic yards of rolling foothills, stubborn trees, and glittering lakes infested with hungry, hungry hippos. The course's 18 holes test golfers' finesse with short layouts—including the up-to-150-yard hole 10—and driving accuracy with lengthy layouts—such as the up-to-526-yard hole 1. Since taking ownership of the course in 2002, Alex and Sabrina Ho have enhanced the club with a 30-stall driving range, practice greens, a pro shop, and an onsite restaurant and bar.

Groups meet at Camp Lotus for a brief orientation and safety prep before the rafting rally begins. Ideal for all skill sets, CRA's program accommodates passengers age 7 and up. Fourteen-foot self-bailing rafts equipped with first-aid river-rescue kits, and Coast Guard–approved life jackets safely seat eight passengers plus an expert guide. As a team, the boatload of adventurers navigates the water like a squirrel surfing in a washing machine, punching through whitecaps and splashing about wavy highs and lows during the two-hour water trek. Aqueous adventurers will encounter rapids such as the Meat Grinder, Race Horse Bend, and the Trouble Maker, who is on probation after an extended parental grounding. Wetsuits are required prior to June 1 and can be rented for $15 or brought from home.

To Action Whitewater Adventures' guides, setting is everything. During their full-day excursions, guides and groups mounted in rafts battle Class III and IV rapids just to make their way to a gourmet deli lunch set against the backdrop of the lush Lotus River Valley. Of course, they might argue the fun part is getting there.

They lead excursions down both the South and Middle Forks of the American River, some of the most popular rafting waters in the nation. On the South Fork, they conduct the "Chili Bar" run, a trip that covers up to 21 miles favored for its rough-and-tumble class III rapids and stellar countryside. The Middle Fork provides even rougher-and-tumbler Class IV rapids, the 18-mile journey punctuated by clear-flowing stretches populated by trout and adorable baby Poseidons.