West Hollywood, CA Outdoor Activities

Adventure Helicopter Tours parades sightseers about the skies above Los Angeles for aerial appreciation of the city's many landmarks. The outfit hosts 12 separate tours around southern California, including those that fly over the homes of celebrities, providing ample opportunities to pass judgment on their backyard barbecuing skills. Other options include a romantic sunset excursion, and a route that flies past the Hollywood sign. Every passenger on an Adventure Helicopter Tours excursion enjoys window seating and a two-way MP3 stereo headset for easy communication with fellow sightseers.

Los Angeles Oktoberfest invites visitors to celebrate the changing seasons with two days of traditional Bavarian revelry. Hosted by Bob Guiney from ABC's The Bachelor, the festival invites attendees to fill their glass steins with any of the 19 available German beers and purchase hearty platefuls of bratwurst, giant pretzels, and strudel. Live bands lead traditional, sing-along drinking tunes, a Bavarian dance group performs for joyous audiences, and a strolling accordionist weaves through the crowds while playing familiar German melodies. In addition to bidding on sports memorabilia at the silent-auction table, patrons can also test their arm strength by competing in the stein-holding competition, which rewards the winners with lifetime admission to the Los Angeles Oktoberfest and a brand new pair of steel biceps to replace the old, used-up ones.

Inspired by The Amazing Race, CityScape Adventures—held across the United States—entangle race participants in webs of 12 puzzles and challenges in citywide races to the finish line. Participants compete in teams of two, using their wits, teamwork, and underground network of mutant-turtle spies to complete the tasks given at the start of the race. The 12 challenges take the form of puzzles, riddles, and clues that guide treasure hunters to a specific location within the city, where each team must complete a special task using only their cleverness and muscles. Players can also use the Internet, and the winning team is usually the one that best leverages its resources. The first team to successfully complete all tasks and vault over the finish line will receive a prize and assembly line of high-fives.

Experienced instructors at Billy Camarillo Cutting Horses tailor classes to horses’ dispositions and riders’ goals. Although they offer beginners lessons in basic Western-riding techniques, the staff specializes in training more advanced horsepeople in cutting, a fast-paced equestrian sport in which the rider attempts to separate a single cow from the rest of its herd. To facilitate cutting practice, live cattle graze on the premises 95% of the time, and students practice on a mechanical cow famed for its iron-flavored milk during the remaining 5%. The full-service facility also provides room and board for many patrons' steeds, and Billy himself takes in young colts in need of starting.

Featured on Gizmag and UrbanDaddy, SkyTechSport Ski & Fit’s interactive skiing and snowboarding simulators let users hone carving techniques in ideal, virtual environments. The simulators' panoramic 3-D screens can display either endless slopes or finite downhill stretches, complete with optional slalom flags and cheering sections populated by selfless yetis. Onsite trainers oversee sessions, correcting technique as cyber skiers practice holding skis parallel, edging skis, and maintaining their balance in the face of lifelike g-forces.

Former Olympic bronze medalist Lloyd Eisler oversees the LA Kings Valley Ice Center's day-to-day operations, which include public skating sessions, private lessons, and hockey leagues designed for youth, adult, and special-needs players. Thanks to extensive renovations in the fall of 2011, the facility now sports a sleek lobby with energy-efficient lighting. The two-rink facility hosts birthday parties and runs a well-stocked pro shop where you can get hockey sticks and helmets or sharpen your blades after skating across the parking lot.