Tallahassee Outdoor Activities

At Tallahassee Italian Family Festa, held each year since 2010, Italian and Italian-American culture is celebrated in all of its forms. Bocce tournaments, a Madonnari sidewalk-chalk art competition, and a silent auction are just a few attractions, and spectators can fuel up with gelato, meatball sandwiches, and Italian beer and wine. Italian cars and motorcycles gleam in an exhibition, showing off their sleek surfaces and revving their motors with an Italian trill. There's also a children's area where kids can participate in face painting, a grape stomp, and other activities.

Proceeds from the festival benefit Florida State University's international travel programs and CIAO! Italian Club Tallahassee.

Golfers drive, chip, and putt their way across Hilaman Golf Course, a 30-year-old, par 72 layout that spans 6,333 yards of player-friendly terrain. On most holes, players look out onto wide, unobstructed fairways that invite them to swing freely with their driver or steer their golf cart blindfolded. Water comes into play on multiple holes—a small pond sits directly in front of the fourth green, and holes 11–16 strategically wrap around two large water hazards to make the back nine slightly more challenging. The course complements its 18 holes with a restaurant that serves up sandwiches and salads, a driving range for golfers to hone their game, and four tennis courts where players can learn how to hit short irons off of asphalt.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 6,33 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 70.7 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 123 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Scorecard

Equistarre Horsemanship’s head instructor, Analese, doles out lessons on the fundamentals of horseback riding from atop a galloping lectern as she leads students across 15 acres of rustic green pastures. After a childhood spent among steeds at her family's boarding facility, Analese continued to indulge her lifelong passion for horses as a trainer, rider, and competition judge before earning a degree in equine science from the University of Florida. She brings her wealth of knowledge to Equistarre Horsemanship, where she introduces students to her stable of personable horses before accompanying them on rides across the ranch’s scenic landscape. During lessons and trail rides, students practice basic techniques and learn to read subtle horse signals, such as "May I have a carrot?" and "That's not a radio dial." When not leading rides out into the meadows, Analese cares for horses in a boarding area that features nine stalls, two storage areas, and a large bay for grooming.

Gravestones peek up from the 70-acre field—just one of the defensive playing structures warriors can duck behind to avoid that colorful, game-ending splotch. Elsewhere amid Blackwater’s multiple courses, they scale castle walls, find refuge behind stacked tires, and let out intimidating war cries while attempting to bounce between inflatable structures. Players fire off rounds of RPS-custom field paint from semiautomatic rifles, using downtime between games to refill CO2 bottles and 200-round hoppers at Blackwater’s on-site shop.

The par 3 executive course and two-tiered driving range at Cross Creek grant golfers of all ages and abilities ample space to perfect swings and short-game finesse. Nine crenshaw bentgrass greens allow for a relatively brisk round that frees up the rest of the day for polishing drivers and watering divot gardens.

Though the short layout makes play a relatively stress-free affair, water borders many of the bermuda-grass fairways and frequently swallows up errant shots. Both the course and the driving range feature overhead lights that click on once the sun goes down, allowing for evening excursions around the course or late practice sessions on the range's mat and grass hitting areas.

At My Golf Tally, the dedicated staff strives to help golfers improve their game with private lessons and men's and women’s clinics. The golf gurus’ abilities range from analyzing swings to recommending clubs that can correct slices, hooks, or Charles Barkley-like swings. To supplement instruction, the staff also corrects swings with customized club fittings and club repairs.