In 1954, the Oakdale Saddle Club held its first professional rodeo, keeping the name the Oakdale Clover Round-Up. By, 1957 the name of the rodeo officially changed to the Oakdale Rodeo.
Barrel Racing, Rodeo Dance, Oakdale Rodeo Parade on Saturday morning. The parade features, a grand marshal, horses, local businesses, bands, classic cars.
Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo Grounds 1624 East F Street Oakdale, CA 95361 209-847-4083
Held in the hills above Redding in the mountain town of Burney. The impressive volcanic Lassen forests, with small town events like Burney Basin Days draws tourists from near & far.
Parade, fireworks, craft fair, breakfast and lunch, car show, bed races, horseshoe throwing competition and a cornhole tournament. Plenty of great camping all around this location. The few local motels fill up fast during summer months.
Ferndale to Arcata – 50 mile route Humboldt County, California
Kinetic Sculpture Race is an organized contest of human-powered amphibious all-terrain works of art. The original cross country event, the World Championship Great Arcata To Ferndale Cross Country Kinetic Sculpture Race
Also called the “Triathlon of the Art World” because art and engineering are combined with physical endurance during a three-day cross country race that includes sand, mud, pavement, a bay crossing, a river crossing and major hills.
Visit agriculture’s past by learning about tractors, engines, equipment, and more. Antique Equipment Auction will be held south of Farm Credit Dairy Center. Tractor & truck parade. Kids Tractor Pull, Pony rides, Tractor rides.
International Agri-Center
4500 S. Laspina Street
Tulare, California 93274
(located right off Highway 99)
Pacific Islanders of the San Francisco Bay Area offer talents in music & dance during this 2-day festival of arts. Entertainment highlights include Pacific Islander music as well as Polynesian dance. The festival will also feature arts & crafts vendors, island cuisine, educational exhibits and workshops, and games for the kids! Located at the San Mateo County Event Center.
One of the largest FREE music street fairs in California. Over 90 live music acts on 7 stages, 4 beer gardens, Giant Carnival rides and 300 craft & food vendors.
Two day Music Festival covers many blocks of Adams Avenue, only a few miles from downtown San Diego. Held in late summer near 35th Street to 32nd Street. Adams Ave Street Fair is Southern California local fun.
35 years running, held each year on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, in between Main Street and Venice Boulevard. Promotes the vibrant creativity that makes the funky community of Venice Beach so unique. The long running street festival is best known for an array of local artisan crafts, live music, DJs, good food and entertainment. Activities and areas are designed to complement the eclectic, cutting-edge mix of over 100 boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, bookstores, design firms, coffee shops, clubs, salons, and much more along the famed bohemian-chic shopping district of Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Annual event; September
One day event
310-570-7059
5k run/walk on Saturday and a Kids Banana Split Eating Contest. Enjoy a day filled with fun, food, live entertainment, and exhibits. The event benefits the National Academic Youth Corps, which provides art and educational programs for young people in Sacramento, as well as over a dozen other worthy local charities.
Stockton Asparagus Festival San Joaquin Asparagus Fest
A 3-day, multi-event, food, and entertainment festival, which celebrates asparagus. Live music, cooking, wine, beer, crafts. Bring your family and friends and enjoy Asparagus Alley, Deep Fried Asparagus & Asparagus Ice Cream, Craft Beer and a Wine Pavilion, Kids Zone with carnival rides and games, monster truck rides, vendors, and much more.
San Joaquin County Fairgrounds
1658 S Airport Way
Stockton, CA 95206
Three weekends of fun, music and merriment. An authentic re-creation of an English Summer Faire. Visit an exciting, vibrant village where you can experience a joust, strolling entertainers, stage performances, beautiful handcrafts, delicious food and drink, children’s area and the spirit of the days of William Shakespeare and the Renaissance.
Meadow Park
41276 Park Ave.
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
If you find yourself traveling through the giant Mojave desert during the day, keep Calico Ghost Town in mind. Whether you are headed to Vegas or Utah, you can always take a “stretch break” from the freeway driving, to see the historic cemetery, grab a bite to eat or browse gift shops. Calico is an old, abandon, mining camp turned into a commercialized theme park – just a few exits after Barstow, on Interstate 15.
Numerous festivals are held annually at this historic silver mining camp in the desert.
FEBRUARY Calico’s California Days
educational displays about California’s history, games and contests for the entire family, live entertainment, a chuck wagon chili cook-off and more.
SEPTEMBER Calico Days
a weekend experience revisiting life in the Old West during the 1800s. We line up gun-fighting shows and musical entertainment along with other festivities, including a miner’s triathlon, burro race, costume contest, pie-eating contest and loads of activities for the kiddos.
OCTOBER Calico Ghost Haunt trick-or-treating, costume contests, pumpkin carving, kids’ carnival tent, live entertainment stage shows, scare sets and haunted attractions; plus a Campsite Decorating Contest.
DECEMBERHoliday Fest decorated for the holiday season, this iconic ghost town features dining, shopping and costumed characters, as well as live music
May also be known as Pulky’s Pool in hot springs books.
Hilltop is a new found favorite and one of the more scenic spots for a soaking tub in this region. Sitting out in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by marsh lands, this remote hot springs is a hike-in destination. No paved road, nor paved trail. The mountain and sky views from this tub are splendid, and if you time it perfect, you may have the place to yourself.
From US Highway 395 @ Benton Crossing Road – drive approximately 3 miles (passing dirt road Whitmore Tubs). Once you’ve crested a small hill, look for a gated dirt road on left, which leads a short ways, back through the sagebrush, to the parking area.
GPS coordinates: 37.6455, -118.8001
The dirt parking lot is adequate enough to handle a dozen vehicles, and this place is so well known, that it gets a fair amount of traffic at any time of year.
Rumor has it that Hilltop is one of the most visited hot springs near Mammoth Mountain; probably due to the proximity to the paved road. Cars and trucks, camper vans and RVs will be coming and going at all hours of the day and night. So consider yourself warned!
Gate and fence separate the parking from the trail, which leads a quarter mile (often over wooden plank boards) through alkali fields – out to the cement tub.
Only one, small makeshift bench next to the pool – and no tables, no seating, no facilities; Bring tarps, towels, ice chest and camp chairs (if you plan to stay a while).
Plastic PVC pipes and control valve adjust water flow and temperature. If the valve is left ON (wide open) overnight, the small tub will be too hot to soak in the following morning.
Camping options are pretty limited here. A small clearing for a tent, next to the parking lot; and one decent parking spot, large and private enough to call a camp site (at the dead end, past the parking).
The Eastern Sierra corridor of US Hwy 395 is far enough away that it cannot be heard from this spot.
BLM gate at the paved road entrance reads: road is closed seasonally – assuming you can walk in during snowy winter months.
Hilltop is one of several primitive hot springs in this immediate region. See Mammoth Hot Springs for more choices.
The Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains run the length of US Highway 395, through most of the eastern side of California. Mammoth mountain is a volcano, so naturally hot springs come with the package. These hot tub destinations listed here are mostly part of the Long Valley Caldera, an ancient volcanic table land. North of Bishop and near the snow ski destination towns of June Lake and Mammoth, California in Mono County, California.
(This region is not to be confused with Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, nor the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota.)
Backroads Camping is allowed throughout Inyo National Forest, but there is private ranch lands mixed in w/ public lands. Respect property boundaries, and speed limits around gates and intersections.
Camp sites are not located next to the soaking tubs. A few may be within walking distance. Parking is often limited at these remote, public use hot pools. Total Escape TIP: Behind Lake Crowley: abundant, free camping – wide graded dirt roads (RV and passenger car suitable). Inyo National Forest Map is recommended.
Eastside of Highway 395
Casa Diablo Hot Springs near the Mammoth exit, is a location noted on most maps, but this seems to be the geothermal power plant for the region. If you are looking for hot springs tubs to soak in, you’ll need to get off the main drag for those beauties, way off the highway.
On to dirt roads
Hot Creek
Inyo Forest Road #3S45
Hot Creek Hatchery Road
(near Mammoth Airport)
Minimal dirt road driving. A very popular spot where hot springs are located within the big creek, so you can feel cold and hot water flowing by you. Scalding can occur near vents underwater, so use caution when wading. Large parking lot overlooks the soaking area and creek canyon. Swimsuits required.
Benton Crossing Road
leads east, around Lake Crowley, to the small town and camping resort and inn of Benton Hot Springs
Inyo Forest Road #2S84
Benton Crossing Road
This rural intersection at US Hwy 395 is known for the little green church on the corner. Turn east off the highway on to this road > BENTON CROSSING.
Pull over, get out and stretch. Look at your maps, get the GPS out and then start your exploring. First timers might be able to find a soaking tub within half an hour, if you don’t get lost. Or get stuck in a muddy spot, which is easy to do at night.
Hill Top Hot Springs
Latitude: 37.6642
Longitude: 118.7883
Elevation: 6873′
also known as – “Hilltop, Pulky’s Pool”
Willy’s Hot Spring
Latitude: 37.6591
Longitude: 118.8425
also known as – “Wild Willie’s, Crowley Springs”
Inyo Forest Road #2S07
Whitmore Tubs Road
a major graded dirt road that leads north off of the paved road, becomes Owens River Road and connects back to US 395 many miles to the north.
Several primitive hot tubs can be found on dirt roads in this region, which lead off the main paved road. At night these remote pools can be hard to find – with no signage, no street lights and pitch black darkness. Plus the mud bogs and grassy fields all around make the landscape difficult to navigate. If you plan a nighttime arrival, then plan to drive in slowly around the pools, have your GPS handy and look for steam in the air. Cut your headlights if you see other cars or people, and proceed slowly.
Be considerate of others and friendly. Do not litter. Do not crank up music. Wait for others to finish soaking and do not rush anybody. Give others space and privacy to get dressed.
Crab Cooker Hot Springs
Latitude: 37.6633
Longitude: -118.7995
Elevation: 6857′
also known as – “Fleur de Lys”
Shepard Hot Springs
Latitude: 37.6668
Longitude: -118.8025
Elevation: 6940′
also known as – “Shepard Springs”
Rock Tub Hot Springs
Latitude: 37.6474
Longitude: -118.8080
Elevation: 6990′
also known as – “The Rock Circle”
Little Hot Creek
Latitude: 37.6902
Longitude: -118.8424
Elevation: 7000′
Inyo Forest Road #3S138 high clearance vehicle required
Whitmore Hot Springs
904 Benton Crossing Road Mono County Park w/ public swimming pool & day use fee
Phone: 760-935-4222
also known as – “Whitmore Tubs, Whitmore Springs”
Minarets at Mammoth
The Backside
Inyo Forest Road #3S11
Minaret Summit Rd
This wilderness region is located the on the west side of Mammoth Mountain, accessible by the paved Minaret Summit Road, which closes due to deep snow and is generally only open during summer months.
Red’s Meadow Hot Springs
developed campground w/ wooden sheds for baths: showers & tubs.
near Devil’s Postpile National Monument
Latitude: 37.618
Longitude: 119.074
Elevation: 7000′
also known as – “Red’s Meadow Hot Showers”
Iva Bell Hot Springs
remote, wilderness; hike-in hot springs.
south of Mammoth & Rainbow Falls, via trail #2622
Latitude: 37.532
Longitude: 119.025
Elevation: 7400′
also known as – “Fish Creek Hot Springs”
