Well, I'm surprised this event never received a Yelp review. But, with the majority of oldsters who…read moreattend, I'm not too surprised. I'm going to have to say this event has slid further downhill and this will more than likely be my last after this last visit. The attendance was obviously wayyyyy down and has been going down for quite sometime. This was my 4th or 5th year. This was quite the popular cycling event in the 80's and 90's. But with the Recession, and the older cyclists who made it popular, many of those folks are off the bikes, infirm, (or have passed away). The newer generation of cyclists just aren't 'into' this 'old tyme' event and even the Baby Boomers are tired of the 'same ole'. The young new owners have their hearts in the right place, but with a miniscule staff, they can't seem to get a handle on bringing up the attendance, injecting some 21st century 'mojo' in the event, or adding 'more' for the cost. And the expense are too high for many--as evidenced by the lack of attendance. Back in the 90's you could barely find a place to put your tent. Nowadays, its mostly RVs showing up and fewer tents. This year I was miffed at the lack of any follow up (or follow though) emails to requests (to the email on their website). No responses (nor was any in my spam folder). This doesn't bode well to attendees and is a telling sign of how this event is run. As an attendee, I looked for rides with little to no hill climbing, and had found a 'new' ride in their large ride packet. This particular ride was listed at 935 ft of elevation gain. 38 grueling miles later, my bike mates both had 1200 and 1400+ feet of climbing. Another rider also told me he did the ride and got 1900 feet. Yes, we all make mistakes, but why wasn't this (and other errors on the many ride/roue sheets) rectified at the Registration area, or better yet, with a correction posted on the ride maps prominently posted at the Rally Registration area?. When I politely inquired about the elevation being 'off' I was told by staff that they 'knew about the discrepancy'...and nothing else was done about it. These silly two instances left a bad taste in my mouth for the $170 bucks I paid for this weekend. To top it off, you have to hear traffic all night long from 101, some of the lights don't go off inside the fairgrounds (so you are under parking lights literally). This event is slowly dying and not sure what, if anything will ever revive it. I wish the young owners the best of luck and hope they can figure out how to run things a little smoother and get a handle on some of the silly problems that l encountered.

Of the many bike events I have done, this is by far the most casual and fun of them all. Yes, the…read morestaff is small, but they are extremely dedicated to cycling. There are 25 ride maps each year, and they will go back and find any ride that has ever been in that list in the history of the event if you want to do it, including the centuries. The century is ALWAYS hard in that area due to wind as well as elevation and whatever miles you rode the previous couple of days. There are interesting competitions for just about everyone. There is a great family ride to Star Farms, where you can play in the water and have smoothies and just spend the day. Also, wine tasting rides, sight seeing, and rides to clock in a lot of miles. You can choose to ride a lot or just a little bit, and pick whatever terrain you are willing to navigate. I've used this opportunity several times to shake out camping gear and cycling gear to get ready for the 7-day AIDS ride down the coast, and it could not be better prep. But there is so much more in the area to enjoy, and the cost is still minimal in comparison to other similar century rides and camping events. I don't know how many people attended or how much fun this event was in the past, but I love it the way it currently done. I'll be there whenever Memorial Day Weekend doesn't call me away to something else.

(Half #9, 2015) Wine…read morecountry... Peaceful. Serene. Refreshingly scenic. Inescapably beautiful. Transcendent... While running along fields upon ever-growing fields, whether canopied with vineyards or blanketed with citrus orchards, you can't help but take your time, slow it down and soak it up, breathe deeply... The mustard flowers perched upon the roadside; an occasional, speckled cow minding more its breakfast than your intensions; and the horizon, blue and infinite... These runs require soul...yours. Enough music surrounding you, your earbuds will be fine this time left at home. Over 400 enthusiastic runners rallied in beautiful Paso Robles for its 12th Annual Half Marathon. They arrived not only from all over California, but from Nevada and Tennessee, Oregon and Colorado, Minnesota and Hawaii. They came from Arizona and Ohio and Utah and Washington, from Kansas and Virgina and Texas and Nebraska. Laced-up and eager, runners--ones also harboring deep appreciations for great-tasting California wines, I'm sure--embraced this event as not simply another run, but a vacation. Certainly, the fun wasn't ending upon the finish line. If you've ever been wine tasting around Paso, you'll understand. If you haven't, go. Besides the very cool medal--seriously, I cannot gather up enough!--wine glasses commemorating everyone's awesome achievements were awarded to all. Looks like, along with my medals, I'll be starting another collection! Great job, Paso! See you again next year!

The Wine Country Run in Paso Robles is a great race course! It winds through Central California's…read morebeautiful vineyards. I did my first half marathon ever here in 2009 and loved it (er...I loved finishing)! PROs: 1. Plenty of parking 2. Well organized. They have those little electric chips that attach to your shoes for accurate timing. 3. TONS of water and energy drink stands throughout the race 4. Great scenery 5. Plenty of bathrooms for those who get there early enough (will explain in Cons) 6. Plenty of water at the end of race 7. No rules about head sets. 8. Tons of participants so you'll never be alone on the course. 9. Photographers throughout the race so you can purchase pics later on if they are good (mine weren't). 10. Everyone is supportive and friendly at the finish line! CONs: 1. Long lines for bathrooms MINUTES before the races starts. Get there early because you WILL have to go. 2. Extremely steep (but short) hill right before the finish line. 3. The course is on a road so, at times, there are cars that you need to move aside for (on the brighter side, they distract you from the pain in your legs =D) 4. Takes a bit of time to drive into the parking lot due to the skinny road.

This year was my second time participating in this race. Last year I participated in the half…read moremarathon and this year I chose to be a participant in the 5K. Last year was a little a hectic since it started and ended at a local park and those logistics made it a little difficult This year, however, they held it at the CaliPaso winery. The atmosphere was fantastic this year because there was more than enough parking and it was spread out enough so that I did not feel like I was cramped. The course for the 5K was beautiful and I loved how it went through some vineyards. I also liked how we weren't too far into the city or busy streets. It was also nice to see the medals were in better shape, since my medal for the half from last year was falling apart right when we got it. We will definitely be back next year for it and I will be doing the 5K since I loved the course and the environment of that race!

Located at Ragged hotel on highway one. The beginning of the "nature trail" can be found behind the…read moregift shop. This trail may be a short hike but not a hike that should be taken lightly; tread carefully. You should only do this hike if wearing proper shoes and use to tough steep hikes. This hike has very loose footings and one can easily slip or fall. If you may it to the bottom you'll be treated with a deserted beach: black beach. Best to go during low tide. If the tide is not low, the beach may be non existent. After a storm, you may see a waterfall! Be careful: extremely dangerous hike

Wonderful layout for hunter jumper events. Well maintained and managed. Great stalls.read more

Amazing new world class venue for horse shows! Beautiful state-of-the art facility. Hunters,…read moreJumpers, dressage. My first time here and it truly is great.

Road tripping and decided to check out the town of Templeton, CA. It's a small town next to the…read moreCity of Paso Robles. The Templeton Park is a 3.5 acre park a block away from South Main Street. The park looks to be well maintained and clean. It has big canopy shade trees, green lawns, children's play area, swimming pool, gazebo, group picnic areas with Santa Ana bbq grills, and public restrooms. There are paved walking paths. Great for a walk about. I saw lots of folks seizing the moment and enjoying a blissful summer day. The park hosts community events... farmers market on Saturdays 9am-12pm and summer music concerts to name a few.

Time goes by so quickly and it is so important to celebrate those moments as they flee. Templeton…read morePark proved once again that it is the perfect place for a family event on a recent cold and rainy Saturday. We knew it was drizzling, but hadn't had a message that the party was called off, so we headed up to Templeton Park to meet up with the rest of the family. At first the park looked empty, then we spied a group gathered in the picturesque gazebo in the center of the park. We parked close and walked over to discover our far flung family gathered for a festive birthday. The gazebo! Of course! Great shelter from the rain and room for at least thirty people to mill around. The kids were lining up for pin the tail on Pikachu as we arrived, then they took turns battering a pinata till the candy cascaded to the cement. As the rain came and went, the kids could run in and out of the shelter while we grownups congregated on folding camp chairs or just stood around chatting. We welcomed the rain and were so happy we got to safely enjoy an outdoor event!

We rented two skis from Thrills N Spills for two days, and wish we kept them longer. Tracy was…read morewonderful to work with, fantastic communication, and the skis ran great!! Every time we go up to Nascimento, we are absolutely renting our jet skis from Tracy.

I rented a jet ski at the last minute for our girls. Unfortunately, they were both too sunburned…read moreafter a full day at the lake the day before. The staff were incredibly nice and waived the fees. We will definitely rent from then when we are back for our annual vacation!

My daughter just got back from her fourth year and it's already begging to go again next year…read more There is something so magical for the kids out there, and they are all incredibly well cared for! all of the counselors are incredibly kind, and she especially loves the pool and the hiking. See you next year, Camp Natoma!

My son just got back from session 1. He had a blast! Sleeping under the stars, meeting new…read morefriends, singing songs. Everything camp should be. He plans to attend next year and has said he might want to be a counselor. (He is only 9- he's got a few years to be a camper still!) My sister went to Natoma for years. She and my son compared memories and except for some new songs and food/candy no longer being allowed in care packages, not much has changed in 20 years. The value is fantastic. I'm very happy with the camp (and so is my son!)