20 Fun Things To Do In Paso Robles, California

The multiple wineries, vineyards, and wine tasting rooms of this city are famous around the region for their unique blends and original tastes. Visitors to the area are assured an amazing time tasting wine with friends and family in all the local tasting rooms and wineries that they want to visit to.

Some wineries in the area that are popular choices among locals and visitors are Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery, Eberle Winery, LXV Wine & Pairings Downtown Tasting Room, and others. These places serve the best original and signature wines manufactured in their own vineyards, which are available for visits too.

In a city as historic as this, horseback riding has to have a very strong impact. This city has been known to be a hotbed for wild horses in the 1800s. Presently, several ranches around the city offer horseback riding classes and trails, which offer visitors a great opportunity to sightsee the city on a horse; guided or unguided.

Some of the more popular ranches in the area include Central Coast Trailrides, Paso Robles Pastures, Work Family Ranch, Twin Rivers Ranch, Z Ranch Farmstay, etc. Thess ranches also offer food and lodging for customers who want to enjoy their time in a more rural setting, which is, of course, the true essence of this city.

One of many Paso Robles attractions to indulge in is the Sensorio Field of Lights, which is a multi-acre walk-through atmosphere experience that uses more than 100,000 LED lights along with sounds that visitors can interact with through their movements. This is truly a spectacle that everyone should try at least once when in the city.

Moreover, they also host independent artists and exhibits every once in a while, to spruce up the lightshows, offering visitors more variations of artists as well as the art. The field of lights also includes 17,000 wine bottles filled with optic fibers that light up the area and give it a very other-worldly feel.

Situated in the heart of the city, the Adelaida Road features some of the best wineries in the area, where visitors can taste some of the best wines to suit the palates of men. This road also features various restaurants and hotels for visitors to enjoy along with the wine. The road itself stretches for 13 miles and offers an amazing landscape for visitors too.

Adelaida Road features some of the best wineries in California, some of which are Villicana Winery, Alta Colina, Wild Coyote Winery, Daou Vineyards & Winery, Adelaida Cellars, and Halter Ranch Winery, all of which serve visitors with the best wines as well as some of the best food to go with those wines. This tour is a must for visitors to the city.

The city also features a team game of sorts in the form of a scavenger hunt walking tour, which offers visitors to solve clues and complete the hunt in the heart of the core city. This scavenger hunt is made for visitors to have fun and immerse themselves in the city’s history and culture at their own speed.

Moreover, the “game” gives visitors time to make pit stops at restaurants and wineries in order to enjoy the local cuisine and also to sightsee around the city while enjoying the game with their family and friends. This is one of the most recommended activities to do in the city and one of the core attractions of Paso Robles.

If you want to experience this incredible city, a hot-air balloon ride through the air overlooking the whole city is what you should go for. Balloons Over Paso is a business owned locally that offers hot air balloon rides over the city once a day for you to enjoy the breathtaking views of the city with your family and friends.

The balloon ride features amazing views of the city, views of the numerous vineyards that line the city floors with the color green, champagne toasts and breakfast at the end of the ride, and a desire to explore the city that you just witnessed under your feet from the sky. These balloon rides are very safe, as they are operated by veteran pilots.

Since this city is big on wines and wineries, another fun activity to pander in the city is taking the Vineyard Drive Tour, which sees multiple vineyards, wineries, bars, and hotels for visitors to experience this amazing tour with family and friends. The drive also offers guided tours where visitors can dive into the history of the city.

The Vineyard Drive Tour goes through some of the more famous vineyards and wineries in the city, namely Clos Solene, Dilecta, and Thacher, all of which house the best wines in the region. The tour also goes through the Pasolivo and Kiler Ridge Olive Farms, two of the oldest and best producers of olive oil in the region.

This city in California is also quite popular for its hot springs and houses numerous natural springs that are believed to induce therapeutic effects on humans. These hot springs are scattered all over the city, offering unique services and an atmosphere for visitors to enjoy on a lazy afternoon during their vacations.

This city is known as “California’s oldest watering place,” eluding to the history this place shares with the natural hot springs found in the region. Some of the more luxurious and popular hot springs venues in the present include the River Oaks Hot Springs Spa, Paso Robles Inn, and Franklin Hot Springs, which offer some of the best services in the city.

The city is also home to the Vina Robles Amphitheatre, which features classic California decor entangled in contemporary grace. This runic and beautiful amphitheater opened to the public in 2007 and hosts world-class musicians, comedians, artists, and magicians during the months between April and October every year.

Before being repurposed into an amphitheater, this space was originally a vineyard and winery in the late 19th century but was transformed into a performance stage in the 2000s and still holds some historical artifacts for visitors to see. Featuring an outdoor Greek-style stage that allows audience members to experience the talent on stage firsthand, this amphitheater is a marvel to look at.

Another trail that is available in the city is called the Downtown Paso Winery Trail, which features a contemporary atmosphere for visitors to taste their wines while enjoying the company of family, friends, and strangers at the wineries on this trail. This is one of the busiest trails in the city and is known by almost everyone who visits the city.

Visitors are served amazing and unique blends of wine in the downtown area, which is the core of the city’s business. The walking trail includes some wineries like Cloak & Dagger Tasting Lounge, VIP at the Derby Tower, Hope on Park, Tank Garage Windery, CaliPaso Tasting Room, and Tudor Tasting Room, which are known to deliver the best wine and atmosphere in the city.

The city houses the Estrell Warbirds Museum, which is one of the best aviation museums in the area for aviation enthusiasts to visit. This museum houses large collections of military aircraft and vehicles restored locally since the establishment of the museum in 1984. The museum also includes some military memorabilia and civilian aircraft as well.

The museum usually acquires its aircraft through donations or scavenging. The museum is not that big but is a fun place to spend some time getting to know more about the history of aviation as well as the effects military vehicles and planes had in the wars of the past.

Yet another museum on the list, the Paso Robles Pioneer Museum, features some of the history of the city from the 19th and 20th centuries and showcases the pioneers of the city in full display. The museum aims to educate visitors about the history of the city as well as the city’s impact on the development of the country as a whole.

This is a must-visit on this list as it encapsulates the spirit of the city from days long past till the present. The museum is free and is operated through generous donations that visitors can offer while there. Also, it features historic artifacts and photos from around the city, as well as war memorabilia, to keep visitors engaged and intrigued.

If you ever think to yourself, “What to do in Paso Roles California?” The one place that you should definitely visit is the Zoo to You Animal Conservatory, spread out across 12-acres of land for the animals to live on. This conservatory houses over 160 animals from all over the world in an attempt to conserve their lives as well as educate people about such animals.

This zoo features animals such as monkeys, porcupines, giraffes, goats, eagles, big and small cats, and many other species of animals. They aim at providing a home for the displaced, abused, and abandoned wild animals around the world, educating people about the need for conservation of such animals in the wild.

The Mission San Miguel, which has been a Roman Catholic mission in operation since 1797, is a historic yet underrated landmark situated in the heart of the city. This location features a very picturesque area with multiple beautiful buildings, including a church that is surrounded by amazing gardens.

There are numerous activities that await visitors on this mission to quench their thirst for living the history of this city. Visitors can attend mass, and even engage in educational programs and events organized by the church every day. This obscure and scenic spot is also available for weddings, birthdays, parties, and such, offering visitors plenty of activities and things to do in Paso Robles California.

Just like the hot air balloon tour, another way to take in the vastness and core of the city is by taking one of many helicopter tours that various tour operators in the city provide. This aerial experience allows visitors to feel the Californian air and see the picturesque vineyards, landmarks, mountains, and landscapes the city is nestled in.

These helicopter tours also feature, you guessed it, wine to go with the scenery and the vistas of the Californian central coast. Some operators that offer such tours include Sinton Helicopters and Del Rio Aviation, which both offer helicopter tours of the city with some of the best wines of your choosing.

If you are ever hungry in the city, there is one experience that will satisfy both your stomach and your mind. The Tin City is explained as “an evolving industrial maker market,” which doesn’t say what it truly is but gets the point across. This spot is a haven for connoisseurs of food, wine, beer, and spirits. This place has everything you need for a dining table.

Visitors are bombarded with some of the tastiest and most fulfilling food and wine from all over the city. The Tin City also features an outdoor shopping complex for visitors to fulfill their shopping desires while making sure they find all the attractions in Paso Robles.

Some of the most amazing experiences and wines that you can find in the city are found by doing a walking tour of the city. This is a walking history tour of the whole city, along with pitstops for food and wine, that educates the visitors about the city’s history and culture. This tour also includes tours of museums and historic streets.

The Walking Tour aims to tell the whole story of the city, including the pioneers and trailblazers that the city has seen over its immense history. The tour guides offer insights into the city, its wine, its food, its people, and its culture and history from the Wild West days.

Another peculiar place that lies in the heart of the city is Sculpture Garden which features over 100 sculptures created by local and international sculptors and artists as well as other forms of work of art. They even offer spaces for picnics, parties, and gatherings in the vicinity for you to enjoy the art with your family and friends.

The garden also houses a winery for you to enjoy the art in a fusion of art and wine. They also offer tours of the whole place and live music and food trucks every Saturday and Sunday. This place is a mixture of everything the city is proud of, making it the perfect place to visit to absorb the spirit of the city.

The city also features one of the more unique and picturesque natural areas in the region, the Carrizo Plain National Monument. This obscure part of the region features amazing scenes of nature as well as the rare chance of privacy in the busyness of California.

Moreover, the monument features Soda Lake, which is a normally dry lake bed and one of the more scenic features of the plain. It is the largest remaining alkali marshland in Southern California as well as the only closed basin within the seaside mountains, giving visitors a sense of awe towards the location’s natural formations.

Finally, the last thing on the list but not the last thing to do in the city is shop around at the local farmers’ market. The farmers market in the city offers visitors the freshest of the local produce grown near the vineyards and wineries in the city. The market offers fresh bread, meat, veggies, fruits, etc., made by the locals for you to enjoy while in the city.

The market also offers, obviously, wine made by the locals who do not own wineries or places to freely advertise their goods. So, they sell it here. You are bound to find something that you like in the farmers market for you to take home as a souvenir or to experience in the city with your wine.