Vast mountain ranges, wilderness areas and an 840-mile coastline provide almost unlimited opportunities for outdoor adventures in California. On a typical day on the coast, you might see a hang glider take flight over the sparkling Pacific Ocean, kite surfers gliding over white-capped water and a variety of boats sailing in harbors and bays.
The state’s mild climate and natural wonders make it fertile ground for sports and recreation enthusiasts, thrill-seekers and innovators. In fact, the sport of mountain biking got its start on the trails of Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais.
Whether attendees want to take to the skies, explore terra firma or venture out on the water, awe-inspiring activities are readily available.
By Air
Soaring over California’s Wine Country while looking down over vineyards and hills from the basket of a hot-air balloon isn’t something groups will soon forget.
“It’s such a cool experience,” says Gabriel Gundling, co-owner of Napa Valley Balloons (www.napavalleyballoons.com). “It’s going to be the one memory of a trip that everyone will think back on and remember they were having a lot of fun.”
Hot-air balloon rides over Napa Valley are early-morning experiences—in the calm, stable air just after the sun rises. Flights are followed by a champagne brunch. Corporate banners can be strung on the basket and group photos can be taken during the flight. The largest of the balloons holds 16 passengers and Gundling’s company has handled as many as 70 people simultaneously.
Planners can augment the experience with other adventures. Napa Valley Balloons works with local outfitters, including Getaway Adventures, to follow the hot-air balloon flight with a guided bicycle ride, including a mountain biking trip through vineyards. Participants visit wineries to sample some of Napa’s best wines and then enjoy a catered picnic lunch.
Taking off from a cliff along the Pacific Ocean and gliding along air currents with the rugged California coast below is an indescribable experience, says Paris Williams, owner of California Hang Gliding (www.californiahg.com) of San Rafael, Calif.
“You can’t put it into words. It’s liberating—another dimension of freedom,” she says.
Williams accompanies novice hang gliders on their flights and can arrange for groups of three or four to try hang gliding at two spectacular Bay Area coastal locations: Fort Funston in the southwestern corner of San Francisco and from the western flank of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County. On a clear day, with only the cool whoosh of air and miles of coast below, participants inevitably bond over the experience, according to Williams.
“You can bring a picnic and cheer people on and have a great time while people take their turns,” she says.
In San Diego, Torrey Pines Gliderport (www.flytorrey.com) also offers hang gliding and larger group events that include instructional tandem flights from the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
“We have a great outdoor area for any size group,” says Jeremy Bishop, spokesman for the company.
The experience includes a 20- to 25-minute flight over the coastal cliffs, the mansions of La Jolla and miles of beaches below.
By Land
Bumping along in a four-wheel-drive vehicle on a rutted road in the California desert—perhaps miles from the nearest cell phone reception spot—is a sure way for groups to get away from it all. Palm Springs-based Desert Adventures (www.red-jeep.com) has been conducting such programs for years, but beginning this month the company is expanding its group options with a three-hour Jeep tour into the Indian Canyons.
“It’s quite different from our other tours because you’re going to areas of a lush palm oasis,” says Kimberly Nilsson, spokeswoman for the company, adding that guided hikes can be arranged.
“These are great areas because you actually have year-round streams with cool water coming down,” she says.
The company’s best-known program is a tour of the San Andreas Fault, which takes participants down a deep canyon and visits an old trading post or mining ranch.
Any group activity in Yosemite National Park (www.yosemitepark.com) is bound to be a success because the stunning beauty and massive scale of Half Dome, El Capitan and the peaks of the Sierra Nevada bring people closer, says Kenny Karst, group services manager for Delaware North Companies.
“The topography and nature are so unique that you’re not going to get the same experience of a big-box hotel,” he says. “Being in Yosemite invigorates your inner being and thought process. Groups take that experience away and hopefully apply that in their regular work days.”
A variety of group activities are available in Yosemite, with rock climbing among the most adventurous. Guides take groups on entry-level rock-climbing excursions, starting with gentle sloping granite just off the valley floor. Saddle trips and white-water rafting excursions also are available on the Merced River. One unique experience is an overnight cross-country ski trip to spectacular Glacier Point, where the visitors center is transformed into a ski hut in winter.
“We can do a guide-led overnight trip for 14 people to Glacier Point,” Karst says. “It’s a beginners’ trip because the trails are groomed and it’s a relatively flat and easy 10-mile trip in and back.”
Elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada, groups can head to Lake Tahoe and ride up 2.4 miles in the Heavenly Ski Resort Gondola (www.skiheavenly.com) and take in the jaw-dropping panoramic views of the lake. In summer, they can rent out Tamarack Lodge, the new 14,720-square-foot restaurant and lodge at the top of the summit, and go tubing. It’s a fast and fun adventure that leaves people breathless, according to Russ Pecoraro, spokesman for Heavenly.
“It’s the largest tubing hill on the West Coast,” he says. “Groups can rent it for an hour and have a blast.”
Participants glide down a 500-foot-long hill with a 65-foot vertical drop.
On the Water
This summer, a new company, Bay Voyager (www.bayvoyager.com), started San Francisco’s only bay tour featuring Navy Seals-type large rigid inflatable boats (RIB), which can accommodate up to 12 people. The boats provide greater access to less-traveled corners of the bay and can be customized for groups. A tour may feature history and stories of the bay, visiting former mooring sites of abandoned Gold Rush ships and traveling under bridges and around lighthouses.
“Although other bay tours offer passengers a resplendent experience, we felt there was a need to provide more intimate and individualized tours that travel farther than any other tour on the bay,” says Charles Jennings, president of the company.
One unique Bay Voyager adventure is an overnight trip to Angel Island, where participants camp under the stars, enjoying views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, and explore old military posts and the new Angel Island State Park Museum.
Taking groups out on the water for evening receptions and the like may be routine for planners, but in San Diego there’s an exciting twist.
Next Level Sailing (www.nextlevelsailing.com) offers trips on the 80-foot America’s Cup race yacht Stars & Stripes, which formerly belonged to yachtsman and four-time America’s Cup winner Dennis Conner.
Groups can enjoy harbor views and sunsets, learn the history of the sailing race and take turns as deckhands, hoisting the sails or helming the wheel. It’s an introduction to a sport that will be getting lots of attention in the next two years as the America’s Cup comes to San Francisco Bay in 2013.
