Davis, CA Outdoor Activities

For four generations, the Cutter family has tilled the land and reaped the harvests of Countryside Farms. The farm opens its gates to strawberry picking in the early summer months, and to cherry picking in June. As the seasons evolve, so do the attractions. When pumpkins reach their peak of ripeness, which is right before they turn into carriages, the farm hosts fall-themed attractions including hayrides and corn mazes. In addition to growing different crops, the farm houses a variety of friendly animals—Quackers the duck, Thanksgiving the turkey, and Dewey the horse, to name a few.

The Stockton Indoor Sports Complex celebrates fast-paced sports and recreation with public-skate sessions, roller hockey, and roller-derby contests. During public-skate sessions, adults and kids lace up old-fashioned quads or in-line skates and glide around the center's hockey-rink-sized floor. Add a couple goals to the floor, and it's ready for youth- and adult-hockey leagues or indoor-soccer matches—the complex's only skate-free activity aside from bathroom breaks and oft-discouraged handstands.

For those who prefer to spectate, the Port City Roller Girls zip around the track on select days, shouldering opposing teams into the boards as they entertain fans during grueling roller-derby matches. On special occasions, the rink's private party rooms are available for birthday parties replete with pizza, hot dogs, and soliloquies lamenting the fleeting nature of one's youth.

Guided by the watchful eyes of master falconer Kate Marden, West Coast Falconry introduces avian enthusiasts to eagle owls, falcons, and hawks through an apprentice course, educational demonstrations, and aerial displays of predatory birds hunting. Various excursions give small groups of participants up-close interaction with the birds, enabling them to explore natural avian habitats and observe the predatory birds in flight, hunting, and while picking up their dry cleaning. Gloved game chasers can also try casting and calling owls, hawks, and falcons to and from their fists.

Washoe Creek Golf Course challenges golfers of all stripes with two distinct, scaled-down, nine-hole courses sculpted into the hillsides of southwest Cotati. Cleaved through brambly native grasses and cattail-lined waterways, the emerald links challenge clubbers with topsy-turvy fairways and smug flagsticks that were formerly Olympic javelins. Clubbers hoping to mold their short game or net their first hole-in-one can rip divots at the nine-hole, par 3 course, and those looking for a more multifaceted golf experience can loop the longer links of the executive course, which earned its name due to the naturally sprouting cubicles that line its fairways.

Each of Balloon Over Napa Sonoma’s FAA-certified hot air balloon pilots maintain a perfect safety record in their gentle, slow flights over the Napa Valley, even after logging thousands of in-flight hours for private and commercial licenses. Though they've tamed thermals over five continents, each has returned to the valley to showcase local winery estates on ever-changing tours that never follow a set path, but instead follow the whim of the breezes. Other guides take passengers on chauffeured limousine rides to visit those same vineyards to sample their wines at the ground level to avoid forcing winemakers to test out their accuracy with a fire hose. :m]]