Rancho Cordova, CA Indoor Activities

The instructors at Granite Bay Pilates and Yoga lead students through challenging classes to sculpt muscles with ancient southern Asian poses and time-tested isometric exercises. The certified staff guides individual and small-group workouts, emphasizing form and alignment as they impart the basics of yoga’s gentle movements to build balance and flexibility, and Pilates’s controlled, muscle-isolating exercises to develop core strength. During beginners' Pilates workshops, students bask in personalized instructor attention as they practice mat-based exercises. In addition to melting stress with low-impact movements, students can seek relief for their bodies and minds with functional bodywork, performed by certified massage therapists.

"Ornate" and "sweeping" only begin to describe the Crest Theatre, whose rich history extends back to 1912, when it was opened as a vaudeville house. Within its gargantuan auditorium, plush seats perch in subtly curved rows while elaborate lights and a sea-blue ceiling wash the space in ethereal hues. Moviegoers settle into the elegant confines to take in both new and classic films, reading the subtitles in a whisper to stuffed animals that forgot their glasses. Out in the lobby, a richly patterned carpet and bronzed floral motif cover the sprawling space as visitors belly up to the bar and snack on high-quality goodies.

With its views of the city skyline and Tower Bridge overlooking the Sacramento River, it's really no wonder why USA Today selected Raley Field as one of the country's top 10 minor league ballparks back in 2010. The park provides a picturesque frame for the action on its field, where the River Cats have all but dominated the Pacific Coast League this century.

Since moving from Vancouver to West Sacramento just before the 2000 season, the River Cats have claimed four PCL championships, and nine division titles–including six straight from 2005–12. The team also won back-to-back Triple-A championships in '07-'08, around the same time trees began growing River Cats hats instead of fruit. As the top minor league affiliate of the Oakland A's, the River Cats have launched the careers of more than 200 big leaguers. Some of the game's biggest stars have emerged from that group, highlighted by a Cy Young and two Rookie of the Year award winners.

Paul Matsumoto has earned black belts in the striking art of kempo karate, the subtle moves of hapkido, and the stick-fighting form known as arnis, and he incorporates elements of each into the education of his students at WarriorMMA. Starting as young as 3, little would-be warriors study martial skills and the virtues of discipline inside the Warrior Training Center. The program emphasizes important character traits such as confidence and work ethic while laying the foundation for increasingly complex combat skills for more advanced classes. To broaden the horizons of fist and feet, Paul teaches mixed-martial-arts training with an emphasis on the grappling art of Brazilian jujitsu and the devastating knee, elbow, and air strikes of muay thai.

Fright Planet's outdoor theme park acts as a library of the world's most potent phobias. Every year, cast members reimagines its catalog of haunted environs, crafting new sets, props, and characters to prey on guests. Its dedication to genuine scares calls for only the best actors and the most grisly scenery, which is constructed with the help of a former Disneyland artist and a bulldozer possessed by the soul of a 1700s architect.

The 2012 lineup has expanded to include nine attractions—up from last year’s five—in addition to the ScreamMax 3-D movie theater. Though the houses all have distinct themes and decor, they share two factors: a richly painted backstory and a population of live, ghoulish denizens. Staring toys line the shelves at Höbart's Doll Factory, 3-D visuals bring corpses to life in Dead Man's Lagoon, and cornstalks bear bloodstains on Podunk Farms. Other experiences play on claustrophobic fears—Blackout! fills its ghostly halls with complete darkness, and Buried Alive: The Ride shuts patrons into a coffin where they endure a simulated hearse ride, burial, and the chilling sound of worms calling dibs on their body parts.

First known as the Rochester Royals, the Sacramento Kings' lineage dates back to the NBA's first seasons in the 1940s. They claimed the league title in 1951 and have made more than two dozen postseason appearances since, including a stretch from 1999 to 2006 in which they reached the playoffs every year. As a franchise, the Kings had several homes until the '85–'86 season, when they finally moved from Kansas City to Sacramento after years of slipping all over the court in their wet snow boots