Things to Do in Martinez

Golf legend Arnold Palmer, known in the cleated world as the King and winner of the PGA Tour's Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, designed the undulating ryegrass fairways at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. Ranked as one of Golf Digest’s Readers’ Choice Top 50 Public Courses in 2009, the course unfolds scenic views of rolling hills as players give their balls detailed directions, hand them compasses and trail mix, and send them hiking toward the pin. The 12th hole’s pin challenges orbs with one of the toughest locations on the course, and eight sand bunkers guard three sides of the 18th hole’s green. After working up a sweat, swingers can remove their gloves and Kevlar vests and celebrate or commiserate their score at The Grille, where diners gaze out over the greens while munching sandwiches and quaffing beer.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Length of 6,678 yards
• Course rating of 72.8
• Slope rating of 142
• 25 hitting stations at driving range
• See helpful course map and notes

The artists at Wine and Canvas awaken their students’ inner Rembrandts and Van Goghs with classes that pair a featured painting with specialty cocktails and wines. The mobile studio’s monthly calendar includes themed classes in which instructors expound on the nuances of painting Parisian street lamps, Japanese flowers, or Venetian cityscapes. The master painters—many of them local artists—provide step-by-step instructions while students mimic each stroke and periodically dip their brushes into glasses filled with crimson cabernet. Each of the studio’s various drink-friendly venues boasts a specialty libation selected to incite creativity or conversations with fellow painters. When the artistic frenzy concludes, students return home with a finished masterpiece large enough to conceal any wall safe or mirror portal.

The striped barriers hugging the edges of Driven Raceway’s winding track quickly mutate into a black-and-red blur as emission-free electric go-karts zoom around it at speeds of up to 45 mph. Though the vehicles' superb cornering and speedy acceleration respond swiftly to their drivers' actions, the staff also mans electronic controls that can override their commands, minimizing the risk of colliding karts and clashing radio stations. Off the track, the center maintains the racing theme, peppering the mini-golf course with cars that glow under black lights and painting checkered-flag lines on each of the bowling alley's lanes.

Dan Bohn of Capt. Dan Classic Sails is a US Coast Guard–certified master mariner sailing captain who charters sunset and daytime sails aboard the Feral, a 40-foot double-ended wooden sloop. Captain Dan’s commitment to staying as true to the boat’s origins as possible has resulted in a nautically nostalgic vessel that is lit by a few navigation lights, several oil lamps, and the gleam from Poseidon’s eyes. The ship cuts through the water of San Francisco Bay toward sights such as Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge during his BYOB sails.

In Sanskrit, the word “niroga” means “freedom from disease.” Staying true to their business' namesake, the instructors and healers at Niroga Yoga Studio strive to guide students down a path of mental, physical, and spiritual healing. The aforementioned path takes on a literal form in the palatial exercise space—students lie on mats beside a path formed in the floorboards that leads to an image of a blossoming lotus. Beneath spheres of soft light, teachers walk about to offer modifications for poses or inspirational shadow puppets. They hold classes that are meditative, therapeutic, or fitness oriented, and regularly offer separate workshops on stress management and the physiological benefits of yoga practice. A team of massage therapists, which includes shiatsu and acupressure practitioners, also stands by to help to treat any particular issues or injuries.

The nonprofit Niroga Institute, which specializes in transforming the lives of incarcerated youth, underserved high-school students, and cancer survivors, operates Niroga Yoga Studio.