Things To Do In Santa Maria
The Wine Line
Hop On, Hop Off Wine-Tasting Tour from The Wine Line for Two or Four (Up to 35% Off). Six Options Available.
Choose between Santa Barbara or Paso Robles for your tour, then hop off the shuttle only at the wineries you want to visit
Santa Maria
$140 $99
All-Day Paintball Package with Equipment Rental for 4, 6, or 12 at Paintball International (Up to 89% Off)
Paintball International
Multiple Locations
$160
$19
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Paintball Package Two, Four, or Eight at The Shack (Up to 51% Off)
The Shack
Santa Maria
$50
$25
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1-, 6-, or 12-Month Gym Membership with Two Personal-Training Sessions at Custom Workouts (Up to 72% Off)
Custom Workouts
Santa Maria
$279
$79
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Select Local Merchants
At Boomers!, thrill-seeking families and fun-enabling friends can attack a variety of appealing attractions, including mini golf, batting cages, bumper boats, and the button-mashing joys housed inside the exhilarating game room. The Vista location entertains families of sharpshooters with a blacklight-illuminated laser-tag arena before little ones climb and crawl through the Kidopolis play area. The El Cajon and San Diego locations let rivals celebrate the spirit of competition as they fly past each other in speedy go-karts or have a snail-paced Ferris wheel race at the kid's county fair. Unlimited pass holders at the El Cajon location can also scale the 32-foot-tall climbing wall, which, like America, enables citizens to climb to the top via myriad routes.
The Wine Line wants to change the way you tour California wineries. Rather than relying on regimented schedules and a set itinerary, it gives you the freedom to hop on and off a shuttle to experience new varietals at your own pace. In Paso Robles, well-versed drivers service more than 30 West Side, East Side, and downtown wineries. In Santa Barbara, they cruise along such hallowed grounds as Foxen Canyon and Los Olivos, offering about 30 wineries from which to choose. No matter where you are, you can opt to prolong your sips and wait for the next shuttle, which returns approximately every 40 minutes.
For all its contributions to the wine industry, it's hard to believe that Core Wine Company is just a two-person operation. One half of that family owned operation is David Corey, whose first position in the industry was as a pest-control advisor. He eventually moved from protecting the grapes to producing them himself, and in 2001, he founded Core alongside his wife, wine-pairing expert Becky.
Together, the Coreys have concocted several different labels, including Core, Kuyam, and Turchi. Each of those labels features a different background story, and each bears Becky's original artwork and loving fingerprints on its labels. The Coreys share their creations at their Old Town Orcutt shop, where they frequently host events, such as educational tastings of an extraordinarily wide range of wines on the second Wednesday of every month.
In a field of weeds, dirt, and brush, players sprint between paint-splattered wooden barriers while colorful orbs whiz past. As combatants post up behind giant tractor tires and industrial tubing to settle on plans of attack, refs keep watch to ensure safety and fair play. When off the battlegrounds, teams can prep for future matches by gearing up at the pro shop, which stocks paintball markers, masks, and apparel.
Twenty years ago, Dan Hilker and Gary Ford decided they could make beer better. It was a bold idea, and one they set about proving by crafting their own bold brews, eventually forming Santa Maria Brewing Co. After two decades, thousands of bottles, and a heaping of local notoriety later, the duo has in many ways done what they set out to. Gary has now retired, leaving Dan to partner with Byron and Karen Moles, who have helped expand the business and train a new generation of brewers.
As part of the brewery's wider offerings, Dan and crew opened the Nipomo Tap Room. The taps here flow with Santa Maria Brewing Co favorites from their classic, hoppy California pale ale to their rich, wintry chocolate porter. The bar also serves a limited food menu, but a planned kitchen expansion will make room for chefs to prepare full lunch and dinner menus and to wear the tallest hats they can find.
Even while running the Studio Grill in Hollywood, Ardison Phillips committed himself as an artist and a winemaker as well as a restaurateur. He bolstered the grill's menu by adding his own private-label wines in 1976, and their popularity with diners inspired him to found McKeon-Phillips Winery in 1982.
The winery continues to embrace Ardison's legacy by crafting single-vineyard wines with the same dedication to approachable New- and Old-World flavors. Although the selection emphasizes Bordeaux-style wines, including single-varietal bottlings of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, the current winemaker also experiments with robust Nebbiolo and silken Pinot Noir.
Besides creating crowd-pleasing wine, the staff also pays homage to Ardison Phillips's work as an artist by adorning each bottle with vibrant, impressionistic labels. The tasting room even functions as a gallery, featuring a rotating display of works by local artists and extraterrestrial postmodernists.