What a great race!! I love when triathalon and other endurance races are combined with camping,…read moremusic, and a weekend of family fun!! I didn't get to bring my boys with me last year but I'll definitely be bringing them in 2026! Already signed up for the 70.3 relay and the sprint tri the following day...and if my 8 year old wants to do the night time 5k, I'm all in!

Wildflower is a triathlon unlike any other…read more I've done spring, olympic, and 70.3 triathlons and I was on the board and President of the SF tri club. We have a deep relationship with Wildflower. We send 100+ people every year for the last 10 years to the race and we also host a training weekend a couple of weekends before the race. The race is hot and hilly for most people. It's not ideal for a first timer but we send our newbies there anyways. You won't find another race where thousands of triathletes will camp at the race and that has the party feel of Wildflower. It's like Woodstock and Burning Man meets a triathlon race. I HIGHLY recommend Wildflower.

(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!

I've been attending this event since 1996, and I wouldn't miss it for the world! I started out…read morecamping but as I've gotten older, there is nothing like having a RV at Wildflower.

Happy 30th Birthday Avia Wildflower Triathlon!…read more It was my 3rd time returning to Wildflower and I was really looking forward to the challenge. I anticipated that this years event was going to be a little more over the top than previous years since they were celebrating their 30th year anniversary. Sure enough, the festivities and the race did not disappoint. The multiple races that take place over the weekend always run so smooth. Whether you're doing the Mountain Bike course, Long Course or the Olympic, it all runs so seamless and without error. Since it was a big anniversary, it seemed that lots of triathletes came to the area to compete and celebrate this milestone with TRI-California. The park was packed with people and the transition area was pretty full of bikes--more than I've ever seen. Plus, Long Course sold out a month or two before the event. Like previous years, I took part in the Olympic Distance Triathlon and this year and it was still the tough course it had always been. Just because I wanted to make it that much more difficult, I did it with the FLU! You got that right...a fever, headache, body aches, cough - it wasn't pretty. I still completed the race but I didn't get a PR, that's for sure. Loved the race, loved the course, loved the finishers medal, finishers towel...loved everything about the weekend (except that I got sick). I don't recommend ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER doing Wildflower when not feeling 100%. But, I got my finishers medal and I get bragging rights that I conquered the hills of Wildflower even with the flu holding me down. I'm looking forward to seeing you in 2013!

We had visited Paso Robles for the first time after a year of quarantine. Since we had kids with us…read morewe had decided to take them horseback riding. We reached out to The Work Ranch and spoke with Kelly Ranch to see if she would take us for a ride on her horses. This horseback ride was the highlight of our trip! What's amazing is that you go for a ride through the Work Family owned Acres of land that is absolutely gorgeous out there riding through the hills. Since the 1880s, the Work family has owned and operated the 12,000-acre ranch. This is a personal tour with no other people outside of your group. The horses are beautiful and very well taken care of. At the end of our ride, The Ranch family asks for you to sign their wall of guests that have visited along with a pin to put on the map where you came from. Very cool! I know this is not a part of the visit but Kelly Ranch shared some of her home made ice cream made at the ranch: she also makes her own butter and yogurt. This ranch is legit! The Work Family Ranch has been around longer than other horseback riding locations and it's amazing that they do it on their own breathtaking land. Also, The Work Ranch do events to raise money for charity. Thank you Kelly Ranch for taking us out on your day off and taking us out for a ride at the last minute. Because of you, my kids now have a nice memory of our first vacation in over a year and first trip to to Paso Robles

What a fantastic afternoon! Kelly was such a great guide for our sunset horseback ride! I rode…read moreHoney, others in our group road Duke, Buster and Bonnie. The horses were very gentle but responsive. Everything was very casual, informative and we loved hearing stories about the ranch. We would highly recommend this! Please, please support these good people who are doing good works.

Where do I start?…read more Our experience at Paso Robles Pastures was super fun and made for a memorable time! Our family often goes horse back riding on our local California road trip adventures and this particular experience was by far the best. Often times we have observed our riding guides to have a somewhat tough, rugged demeanor, which is expected of cowboys and cowgirls in order to have a strong command over their horses (and the group they're guiding!). This time, our guide Kayla was so sweet and warm to both the kids and horses alike, and our time with her, although unexpected, really made for an enjoyable experience. Our reservation inquiry over text was answered quickly, and we were accommodated on the same day (not sure if this is standard or unusual for this establishment). I texted back and forth with Vanessa who provided clear directions and detailed payment information. Another positive note was that Paso Robles Pastures also offers riding opportunities for younger riders, 8 years and under. Often times our youngest child has to stay behind but this time he was able to enjoy a ride as well. As far as professionalism, value, experience and communication, Paso Robles Pastures is a solid 5 stars! Thank you Kayla! Thank you Vanessa! We will be back!

Called in the morning, wanting lessons for the family, the fit us in the same day, we all had a…read moreblast, their land is beautiful, great staff!!

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.

My favorite lake for one my grandpa helped dig out the lake. It was news to me I didn't know it was…read moreman made so now it's my favorite. Yes I camp other places I love the area and it gets very hot wish we had more tree coverage so with that said bring a pop up or two. You never know what kind of wild life you will see and walk hike with caution rattle snakes blend in super good. I made the mistake of brushing my teeth with the water spicket one year so don't do that unless you want to get sick my stupidity. If you like fishing make sure you have a fishing license we went down to the lime one year with a kids like two year old fishing pole and a child hook and some lame person said we had a fish net and called the rangers on us and they all came looking for a net looked in my backpack in my truck in our ice chest in the back of my truck acting like we had done something wrong it was a huge embarrassing moment for them because they came In hot like I was a criminal with my wife and to young kids and the only thing was a trash bag that I collected trash people left around apparently they had a video of this so called net and the ranger told me after looking a this video that they must have mistaken a net for a trash bag. It's was super lame like I understand they have a job todo but the way it was handled in the beginning was not professional with kids around. Other then that I've always have had a great time in the heat we even went when the lake was dried up on the Harris creek side and camping one year and it rained we still had a great time. Yes it's not super party like as year in the past and that's ok you want that behavior drive up the road to the next lake. I wish they still had the little store but that closed up sadly. They need more people camping to get that open again.

First timer and it was a good time! It wasn't crowded and neighbor campers were very nice and kind…read more Easy check in into the lake. We had a big group and accommodated all of our needs. The only thing I wish this lake/campground had were actual bathrooms and some shade. I've read that it was manmade but you would think they would consider building actual restrooms and/or shade even fake trees for shade. Otherwise, the lake was a gorgeous spot and the area was clean. I would definitely come back with other families but be more prepared with shade or head when the weather is slightly cooler lol. Highly recommend when you're in the area!

Our friend group was staying nearby for the weekend and thought this experience would be fun. We…read morewere right. We learned a lot about the family passion that led to the opportunity of even being able to peek at these majestic animals. Tip: bring a big bag of carrots, maybe 2. The Clydesdales look for those snacks and will give you a lot of attention in return. We brought a lunch from a nearby shop and ate it while we were pulled in the trailer. The entire time was pleasant. I recommend it and the kids around us were so happy. Great idea!

What an awesome experience. Let me start by saying this was my best friends idea and I just went…read morealong for the ride literally. I was amazed on how much I ended up loving it. They send you pretty detailed instructions for the tour. Once you arrive, you park outside the gate, then they come get you so you can follow them into their massive property. They are great with providing instructions for those who are nervous and even those who are experienced. Just the right amount of time for the group to go on the trail ride, take photos and enjoy the outdoors. There's a nice stop where they take amazing photos of you and the view. There's porta potties at the ranch so if you need to go try to go beforehand.