Sanger, CA Outdoor Activities

The nine holes of River Creek Golf Course are spread across the same granite-streaked foothills occupied by Yosemite National Park, which lies just 30 miles to the northwest. Snowcapped Sierra peaks hover above the trees as golfers contend with a John Hilborn–designed layout that welcomes golfers into its embrace with a 542-yard dogleg first hole, the longest on the course. Once players have holed out on the birdie-prone 349-yard ninth, they can head to the clubhouse, checking clubs at the door and instructing golf carts to sit and stay. Inside, the café and bar menu slakes hunger with lunch options, such as hamburgers, caesar wraps, and quesadillas, as well as beverages, including fountain drinks and premium beer.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par-36 course
• Total length of 3,152 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 68 from the back tees
• Course slope of 128 from the back tees
• Fives sets of tees per hole

Everyone can buy up to five of today's Groupon (a total of 10 tickets), so round up ballpark fanatics of all ages for a Saturday-evening outing to the open-air Chukchansi Park, which plays host to the Fresno Grizzlies before they grow to the heights of gentle yet surprisingly man-sized San Francisco Giants. Backdropped by the downtown skyline, night games spring to life under a spectacular night sky. During slow innings or unusually long pop flies, take your anxious youngsters down for a few games at the park's Fun Zone, where kids can train like real-life baseball players by riding the carousel, rolling down the inflatable slide, and practicing in the pitching and batting zones.

At MetalMark Climbing & Fitness, a staff of fitness enthusiasts help guests scale 12,000 square feet of climbing terrain and 2,000 square feet of bouldering. Visitors can learn the basics or get a refresher during Intro to Climbing classes, which are offered multiple times every day. Alternately, guests can participate in one of many fitness classes they offer including yoga, Zumba, and indoor cycling.

A golf ace at the club professional level of the PGA, Lance Johnson spruces up golf swings with morsels of advice culled from 17 years of teaching experience. Formerly head golf pro at two golf clubs, Lance possesses enough swing-honing savvy to adjust his teaching approach for each client, helping them conquer unique goals such as eliminating a chronic slice or revising the rules to allow for gunpowder-assisted drivers. Lance operates out of the lush expanse of Escalon Golf Course, where he conducts focused swing analysis at the driving range and imparts more strategic, mid-round advice at the golf course. Pupils without their own set of sticks can use a set of Lance’s during lessons, saving them the hassle of molding irons out of titanium-plated wax.

For more than a quarter-century, the Fresno Home & Garden Show's organizers have canvassed the Central Valley to collect and concentrate the knowledge of scores of building, décor, gardening, and landscaping professionals. As homeowners browse booths and, blueprints in hand, consult with vendors on planned projects, master gardeners talk about sustainability and vegetable gardening, and landscaping competitions determine which artists can construct the largest molehill-based mountain.

The next time you're on the roof of a five-story building, look down at the ground, and you'll get a rough idea of just how high people climb at Touchstone Climbing. The gym's seven locations feature lead walls that rise as high as 50 feet off the ground, though height isn't the only dimension that makes the space feel immense. Each spot has at least 11,000 square feet of climbing terrain, not to mention as much as 3,000 square feet of bouldering.

To prevent newcomers from feeling intimidated by the magnitude of the environment, the gym holds introductory classes. During these sessions, participants learn the basic techniques they'll need if they want to conquer the gym's crack systems and boulder problems. The classes are also an opportunity for students to scope out the terrain features at each location, such as Diablo Rock Gym's steep prow, which juts out crookedly like a thumbs up from a dizzy ballerina. While they're at it, the visitors might notice something else: the social nature of the gym. As the San Francisco Chronicle recounts, the fact that lead climbs require two people means that climbers are constantly asking around for new partners and chatting back and forth as they ascend.

Each location also boasts a weight room, cardio machines, and a studio space for everything from yoga to spinning to core classes.