Things to Do in Los Gatos

With a trophy case filled with several awards, such as the Merit Award for Public Facilities from Golf Digest and the GCSAA, Deep Cliff Golf Course earns praise for its bucolic scenery and petite layout that rewards short-game skill. The 2012 season marks 50 years since course architect Clark Glasson unveiled the par 60 course in the Cupertino foothills. With a total length of 3,358 yards, players can easily walk the executive course's six par 4s and 12 par 3s, giving beginners a manageable spot to learn the game of golf and experienced players a relaxing place to sharpen their skills. During their round, players may spot such local wildlife as rabbit, deer, feral caddies, and quail frolicking in the forests or practicing cannonballs into Stevens Creek.

The practice center at Deep Cliff Golf Course presents players with ample space to practice putts on an 8,000-square-foot green and smash golf balls into the net at the 11-station hitting area. Here, players can warm up before a round, work the kinks out of a rusty swing, and figure out which of their clubs are in the middle of an afternoon nap.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 60 course
• Total length of 3,358 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 59.7 from the back tees
• Course slope of 99 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole
• Designed by Clark Glasson

Palm trees aren't normally present when Kristi Yamaguchi turns a triple axel. But that's par for the course at Downtown Ice, where the former Olympic skater has been known to circle the rink in celebration of a chilly San Jose tradition. Each year, Christmas lights wrap around the tree trunks in downtown San Jose’s Circle of Palms, lighting up the ice rink that spreads beneath the trees' fronds. Designed by rink architect Gil Garcia, the outdoor ice arena enables revelers to partake in a beloved winter tradition without being forced to partner skate with yetis. At night, the palms’ twinkling lights join stadium lighting so that skaters can practice their Scott Hamilton backflips all night long. The temporary ice rink is part of San Jose’s Downtown for the Holidays traditions, such as Christmas in the Park and the Winter Wonderland amusement rides.

A prismatic array of glaze bottles and sparkling glass pieces form kaleidoscopic patterns for guests to splash across create-your-own pottery and fused-glass masterpieces. Visitors select from stencils, stamps, and samples or select still frames from their dreams to decorate ceramic mugs, figurines, and fused-glass dishes. Staff members set up and clean workspaces, as well as package kits for home pottery-painting parties. This means artists can focus solely on siphoning their imagination into their project. The studio regularly hosts parties and meetings, to which guests are welcome to bring snacks, wine, or milk shakes made of ground-up poems.

AeroDynamic Aviation owner and chief pilot Zdravko took his first flight at the ripe old age of 2 months. As his baby eyes looked out the window of the DC-3 airliner, watching the houses grow smaller and smaller and the clouds become his companions, the idea of flight bored itself into his mind. Zdravko has now racked up more than 7,000 flight hours—most of them as a flight instructor—and completed taildragger and acrobatics training with Amelia Reid, a pioneer of female flying and the 1960 founder of the location's original flight school.

Together with his fellow FAA-certified instructors, Zdravko shares his passion for flight via sport, private, commercial, and aerobatics training. The staff is dedicated to educating pilots on tailwheel aircraft and teaching true stick-and-rudder flying, which is much more reliable than using leather reins attached to each wing.

Founded by equine expert Sharon North-Pohl, who draws on more than 20 years of experience in training and rescuing horses, Willow Pond Ranch's trainers provide rich educational experiences during lessons and day camps. At the redwood-ensconced ranch’s riding school, students are matched with one of 17 gentle horses and ponies after instructors consider skill level, personality, and quality of whinny. The covered riding arena enables educational trotting even when rabid snowflakes are on the prowl in the scenic foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the horse-rescuing ranch nestles its stables.

At Almaden Yoga, owners Ron Victor and Anuja Chaudhri work alongside a team of instructors to reach out to those who have always wanted to practice yoga but never thought they could. Targeting the mind and body, their classes ensure that everyone, from beginning pupils to experts to expectant mothers, can find a course that suits their needs.

Aside from a way to stay in shape and lengthen limbs, the instructors see yoga as a philosophy for navigating the world. They believe that a combination of postures, focused breathing, and meditation is a method for discovering calmness in any uncomfortable situation, be it an all-night study session or a postapocalyptic decade trapped in a fallout shelter. Their life-changing approach has extended to charity events, such as a sun-salutation event to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and their positive influence on health and mental wellness made them a Talk of the Town winner in 2012.