10 reasons to visit now
1. Yocha Dehe Golf Course at Cache Creek Casino Resort
Plenty come for the gambling getaway and the robust list of shows (including, of late, Vanessa Williams, the S.F. Comedy Competition finals and mixed martial arts fights). Others come for the relatively new and professional-grade golf course. Less than 10 years old and meticulously maintained, the CC’s course is both challenging (7,100-plus yards) and equipped to empower challengers (carts are GPS-enabled). A visit to the elevated first tee for the Eagle Eye hole provides enough perspective to get it, given the views of the entire water-accented spread. 14455 Hwy. 16, Brooks. Green fees start at $64 midweek, $79 weekends. (530) 796-4653, www.yochadehegolfclub.com.
2. Berryessa-Snow Wilderness
The diversity of activities rivals the diversity of species. The to-dos include hiking, biking, rafting, kayaking, hunting, fishing, birding and wildlife watching. The biodiversity extends from serpentine willow to wild tule elk to osprey to river otters to butterflies to black bears to half the state’s dragonfly species to one of the largest U.S. populations of wintering bald eagles, all loving the oaks and creeks and (when there’s moisture) snow. After years of lobbying, this 100-mile-long stretch of wilds was made the country’s newest national monument in July; in fact, more and more people call Yolo County “the gateway to Berryessa-Snow.” The destination covers 330,780 acres running from nearly sea level around Lake Berryessa in the south to 7,000 feet up in the northern Snow Mountain Wilderness. (530) 350-2599, www.berryessasnowmountain.org.
3. The Davis Farmers’ Market
There are a number of local farmers’ markets, but only one is among the oldest — and best — in the entire United States. USA Today was on the right track voting it ninth best in the country, but many who know it would rank it even higher, thanks to the sheer selection of certified organic produce, meats, chicken, seafood, wine, eggs, honey, baked goods, flowers, plants and gifts, all raised, grown by or made by the seller. The market fills Central Park every Saturday year round, rain or shine, as it has for 40 years. Its birthday, in fact, approaches. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Central Park, between B and C streets and Third and Fourth streets, Davis. www.davisfarmersmarket.org.
4. The Mondavi Center for the Arts
Visitors can swing the huge log into the giant gong out front and unleash a sound that shakes eardrums. Same can be said of the performances inside, only they reverberate in artistic souls too. The stated goal here: “To present a rich program of diverse artists and thinkers in public performance and as the basis for education and engagement programs on our campus and in our region; and to steward and sustain a state-of-the-art venue for artists and audiences.” A loaded fall and winter performance schedule does precisely that, and includes Mavis Staples and Joan Osborne (Wednesday, Sept. 30), Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club (Oct. 7), Handel and Haydn Society (Oct. 17), Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (Oct. 30) and Pink Martini (Dec. 6). 1 Shields Ave., Davis. Ticket prices vary. (866) 754-2787, www.mondaviarts.org.
5. Monthly art strolls
Galleries and a range of other businesses show art, with several artists receptions plus an impressive amount of hosted food, drink and entertainment. There’s a reason this is a very well-attended, prominent part of the Davis Downtown promotional group’s inspired push for local buzz. If that doesn’t fit the schedule, Woodland First Friday does a similarly stimulating event a week earlier every month. Davis: 5-10 p.m. second Friday of the month (individual business hours vary), between First and Fourth streets and B and I streets, (530) 756-8763. www.davisdowntown.com. Woodland: 5:30 p.m. first Friday of the month, Main Street, (530) 297-1900. www.yoloarts.org.
6. Meat-Buying Days at UC Davis Meat Lab
Learning is rarely this tasty, or protein rich. The department of animal science’s Meat Lab harvests 600 to 800 head of cows, pigs, sheep and goats annually, producing extra-lean ground beef, homemade pork sausage and custom-cut whole animals. Every Thursday and Friday a corner of the 5,000-square-foot lab — which includes coolers, processing space, cutting room, analytical lab, freezers and classrooms — opens for popular sales. 1-5:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday. Building C, Harold Cole Facility, on the south edge of the UC Davis Loop, directly south of Meyer Hall across La Rue Road, Davis. (530) 752-7410, https://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/facilities/meat.htm.
7. Winters Fourth Friday Feasts
Each month the little historic town’s main drag — anchored by the famous De Vilbiss Hotel, old enough to experience the infamous 1892 earthquake and burly enough to survive it — throws open its doors and sets up tables for a family-friendly street fest that pulls in live music, street-side dining, after-hours shopping and wine tasting with Berryessa Gap and RootStock, all while the Buckhorn Steakhouse team spitroasts an entire pig. 6-9 p.m. (8:30 in winter) last Friday of the month. Main Street between First and Railroad avenues. Winters. Free. (530) 795-2329.
8. UC Davis Arboretum
No fewer than 17 gardens range in theme from California foothills to South American to East Asian, and each includes a ton of interpretive signs that help make it a living and leafy museum. Its many paths, including a 3½-mile loop, draw walkers, joggers and bicyclists. Lawns at the west end near Peter J. Shields Grove (and its 80 types of oaks) are perfect for games and picnics; more picnic tables appear behind Putah Creek Lodge and in the Redwood Grove. Better yet, it never closes, and admission is free. The new east end and its trellises, benches and sculptures — one made of welded shovels — now connect the huge complex of gardens to downtown Davis. Open 24 hours. Off Interstate 80 east, take Highway 113 exit toward Woodland, exit Hutchison Drive, turn right, at second stoplight take right on La Rue, follow Garrod Drive to right. Free admission; $9 parking weekdays, free weekends. (530) 752-4880, www.arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
9. Woodland Opera House
The venue represents quite a production itself, what with the historic intrigue of the original 1885 design that ran a whopping $28,000 in 1885, and its $2 million rebirth in 1980. The productions these days focus energy on the stage, with “Into the Woods Jr.” giving Brothers Grimm fairy tales such as “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Rapunzel” a modern twist. “Into the Woods Jr.” runs through next Sunday, Oct. 4, with “Steel Magnolias,” “Miracle on 34th Street, the Musical” and “Romeo and Juliet” following with a dozen shows each, with a few Disney Winnie the Poohs and Folkloric Latino de Woodlands sprinkled in. 340 Second St., Woodland. Tickets start at $16 for adults, with discounts for students, seniors and groups. (530) 666-9617, www. woodlandoperahouse.org.
10. Art and agriculture
The Yolo Arts Council is now in its ninth year of providing farm visits for artists through its Art and Ag project, recognized by the National Endowment of the Arts as a model program for “creative placemaking.” From February through October, the project gives artists the opportunity to visit the county’s working farms, orchards and vineyards to create a work of art. You can preview the works from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at 625 Court St. in Woodland. On Nov. 6, the Art Farm gala, a juried show and silent auction takes place at the Hotel Woodland, 436 Main St. Enjoy food and wine, rub elbows with the artists, and help raise funds for the YoloArts Art & Ag Project, the Yolo Land Trust and the Yolo Farm to Fork Foundation. Gala tickets from $30. (530) 309-6464. www.yoloarts.org/ box-office.