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DOUBLETREE HOTEL SELECTED FOR OWAC’S CONFERENCE, BOOK NOW
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DOUBLETREE HOTEL SELECTED FOR OWAC’S CONFERENCE, BOOK NOW
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Thanks to efforts by Janet Fullwood, DoubleTree by Hilton Sacramento has been selected for OWAC member lodging during ISE. DoubleTree is offering OWAC members a discount rate of $119 + tax. (rate expires December 17).
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Located at 2001 Point West Way in Sacramento, this hotel is close to Cal Expo and has very nice rooms with coffeemaker and small refrigerator. The price includes complimentary wi-fi, outdoor pool, fitness center access, reduced on-site parking fee, shuttle service to/from the airport and CalExpo, and pet-friendly rooms. Breakfast can be takeaway from the coffee bar downstairs, or full buffet breakfast. After we have an accurate headcount, we will make a group reservation for dinner at Twigs in the DoubleTree for Saturday night, January 20.
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For reservations, access https://group.doubletree.com/gijv09 in your browser or call 916-929-8855 and mention ISE group code 904. With free cancellation 24 hours prior to arrival, there’s no reason not to book now.
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OWAC will hold its Conference in conjunction with the annual International Sportsmen’s Expo, California’s largest sportsmen’s show, January 18-19-20-21, 2024, in Sacramento.
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ISE organizers had initially offered a free booth for OWAC to represent the books, photographs, and professional works of its members, However, OWAC has politely declined this offer because members responded that rather than running an OWAC booth, they preferred to meet with exhibitors and attend the numerous lectures and educational sessions offered throughout the four-day Expo.
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The OWAC gathering takes place on Saturday afternoon, January 20 at 5:00pm at the DoubleTree Sacramento hotel. The agenda will consist of the annual business meeting, election of new board members and officers, and discussion about the future of OWAC, to be followed by a social hour. Afterwards, at 6:30pm members and their guests are invited to a no-host dinner at the DoubleTree’s Twigs restaurant. Dinner is at their own expense but complimentary wine will be served courtesy of OWAC
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BENEFITS FOR OWAC MEMBERS
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In addition to re-connecting with old friends and colleagues, the tie-in with the ISE offers many benefits for OWAC members:
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- The OWAC Conference is free.
- Press Passes will be accepted for free admission to the ISE. (OWAC will provide one, should you need it)
- The only personal expenses are for travel, accommodations, and meals. OWAC has arranged discounted hotel rooms for $119 + tax.
- The event is not hosted by a tourist board, so there’s no obligation to send thank-you notes or write about the destination and its activities.
- ISE exhibitors cover varied activities for outdoor enthusiasts not only in California, but also Canada and Mexico as well as elsewhere internationally. Exhibits cover outdoor recreation opportunities ranging from archery to Zodiac inflatables, fishing to game hunting, camping to hiking, and more.
- ISE, California’s largest Sportsmen’s Show, typically draws 300 to 600 leading resorts and lodges, outdoor-product manufacturers, boat dealers, regional and specialty retailers, hunting and fishing guides and outfitters, national and local conservation organizations, state and federal government agencies, and nonprofit groups. Other attractions are outdoor seminars, hands-on demonstrations, and speaker presentations. Boats, campers, and vehicles will be on display.
- Sacramento is easy to access by major freeways from both northern and southern California.
- The Expo provides a great opportunity to network with vendors and tour operators to research story angles and arrange bookings to cover upcoming assignments later in the summer.
- The January dates do not conflict with early-season fishing and hunting seasons.
We need an accurate head count for planning purposes. Please advise Carrie Wilson, OWAC President, of your likelihood of attending Saturday’s 5:00pm meeting at the DoubleTree, and no-host dinner January 20--“Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe” - [email protected].
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Will attend OWAC meeting at DoubleTree Saturday at 5:00p : “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe”
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Will attend no-host dinner at DoubleTree Saturday at 6:30p: “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe”
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I hope these incentives will entice you to attend our first conference in several years. Looking forward to all our members coming together in Sacramento in January.
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U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon Commends OWAC’s Outdoor Writing/Photography High School Awards
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U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon Commends OWAC’s Outdoor Writing/Photography High School Awards
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When I met U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon at a book fair last summer in Sonoma, I told her about the high number of poetry entries in this year’s OWAC’s annual California High School Outdoor Writing/Photography Awards.
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Her eyes lit up. She congratulated OWAC for this program and explained that it tied in with her partnership with the National Park Service to install poetry in all the nation’s parks, including National and State Parks in California. She says she hopes poetry—including the writings of our high school students—will deepen people’s relationship with nature and stimulate them to want to enjoy the outdoors.
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Limon fell in love with the natural world growing up in Sonoma surrounded by forests and mountains. Her poems about nature address the urgency in combating the climate crisis and stress the importance of choices that society makes. She emphasizes that poetry can both inspire and transform people. Her work is part of the upcoming National Climate Assessment report to be presented to President Biden and Congress.
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Appointed U.S. Poet Laurate in 2022, Limon is the first person in that position ever to be named to a second two-year term, and will serve to 2025. She is the first Latina to be Poet Laureate. In addition, Limon was recently named one of 20 recipients of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, sometimes called “the genius grants.” The honor comes with an $800,000 stipend with no restrictions.
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Although she now lives in Lexington, Kentucky, Limon often returns to Sonoma to visit family and friends . During these California visits, she has expressed interest in staying in touch about OWAC’s 2024 Outdoor Writing and Photography awards—with a keen interest in the poetry submissions.
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If we receive a sufficient number of poetry entries in the upcoming Outdoor Writing/Photography High School Awards Contest, I plan to ask Ada Limon to be one of the judges.
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California Outdoors Hall of Fame Nominations Open
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North and South Pole explorer Doug Stroup was inducted to the Hall in 2005
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Nominations to the 2024 Class of the California Outdoors Hall of Fame (Hall) are now open through November 30.
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The Hall honors persons who have inspired thousands of Californians to take part in the great outdoors and/or conservation and who have taken part in outdoor adventures of paramount impact.
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2023 inductees included big wave surfer Bianca Valenti, kokanee salmon advocate and tournament angler Gary Coe, stillwater fishing guide Jay Fair and cycling safety advocate and innovator Alan Kalin. Previous inductees have included such renowned outdoorsmen and women as John Muir, Galen Rowell, Ansel Adams, John Reginato, Jedediah Smith, Jack O'Neill, Yvonne Chouinard, Nic Fiore, Jackie Douglas, Hans Florine, Paul Bonderson, Jr, and Alex Honnold. Numerous outdoor writers have also been honored by induction, including several past and present OWAC members.
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Anyone can nominate a candidate for the Hall, including the candidate themself. To submit a nomination, visit https://www.cohof.org/nominate. Nominations must be received not later than Nov. 30. The Induction Ceremony occurs annually at the International Sportsmens Exposition in Sacramento. The coming ceremony will occur during the OWAC Annual Meeting on Jan. 20 at 1 p.m.
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Contact OWAC members Tom Stienstra, John Poimiroo or Bob Semerau for more information about nominating an outdoorsman or woman for this high honor.
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Yosemite’s El Capitan delivers joy, peril and life lessons
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Granite cracks fill the dreams of rock climbers, and nowhere do they find better ones than Yosemite National Park. Climbers yearn to jam their hands and feet into them as they ascend towering walls, and none more attractive than El Capitan. Of course, if the cracks are too tight to securely grip, or if protection like bolts and pitons are unavailable, then long falls are possible, sometimes 100 feet or more.
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A good pendulum swing makes hearts pound, too. Faced with steep and featureless rock, climbers anchor their rope to bolts, descend to the rope’s ends and run back and forth, “swinging like yoyos,” to reach distant ledges.
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Climbers Errett Allen and Mike Corbett braved these hazards while climbing the famed El Capitan. Then a December surprise kicked their adventure into another gear.
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An icy rainstorm soaked the climbers and halted progress on their fourth day. By the time they hastily set up a hanging shelter, they were drenched and nearly hypothermic.
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Worse yet, “we discovered that all of our bivvy gear was soaking wet! We had been careless about packing it that morning,” recalled Allen. The men wrung out their wool clothes, put them on and rubbed their numb hands and feet for warmth.
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As the sun set and temperature dropped even more, they found their sleeping bags and jackets were no longer wet. “They were now frozen lumps of ice, completely useless,” Allen said. “That night was the longest and coldest bivouac of my life… Sleep was impossible.”
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Climbing El Cap fulfills the lifelong dreams of many; triumphant shouts echo from the mountaintop often during the climbing season. But not everyone who attempts the 3,000-foot granite monolith succeeds, and some who do reach the coveted summit grapple with mountain-sized adversity along the way.
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Allen and Corbett faced more difficulty than most when they attempted a route called New Dawn. The two had years of experience, 200 pounds of gear and a sunny forecast but still had to fight for their lives. Frigid rain was just the beginning as snow arrived on the sixth day, immobilizing them again.
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Because their pendulum traverses delivered them to an overhanging part of the mountain, “retreat was completely impractical.” They could not simply rappel to the ground because their rope could not reach that far; the line would end in mid-air.
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Friends shouted encouragement from El Capitan Meadow below and offered to get help. More than a few would have accepted, but Allen and Corbett declined. “We shouted back that we were okay and didn’t want a rescue,” Allen said.
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Weather cleared on the seventh day, raising the climbers’ spirits. Then hope turned to terror as sunshine loosened ice above which crashed down around them. “Blocks of ice two to four feet thick and as long and wide as railroad boxcars began to peel off the rim. They would flip over and over like playing cards, making an incredibly loud and dreadful whoosh with each flip… They smashed into the wall with great force breaking into thousands of pieces which showered the forest below,” Allen said.
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Finally, they pulled themselves onto the summit on their eighth day. “Though tired, sore, hungry and weak, we were completely elated at having survived and accomplished our goal through so much adversity,” Allen said. Few El Cap climbers have achieved a harder-won victory. All that remained was a final night in the freezing elements and an eight-mile descent hike through deep snow.
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El Cap has a way of dealing out unexpected challenges, as countless climbers will attest.
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In 1958, Warren Harding led a team which labored 47 days to achieve the first ascent of El Cap’s sheer face. A final push through a cold night brought the exhausted group to the summit on Nov. 12. “El Capitan Conquered,” cheered one newspaper, though Harding himself was more modest: “It was not at all clear to me who was conqueror and who was conquered… El Cap seemed to be in much better condition than I was.” The pioneers named their new route The Nose, as it divides the mountain’s wide face vertically down the middle.
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Some climbers focused on speed. In 1975, three climbers summited in just 15 hours, the first ascent in less than a day.
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Up to this point, big wall climbing involved pitons and what climbers call direct aid, which means pulling and standing on gear to assist in upward progress. Then free climbing, in which climbers scale just the rock and use gear only to protect falls, came into vogue even on large objectives. Two climbers made El Cap’s first free ascent in 1988.
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Yet with these achievements came great loss. According to a Yosemite study of climbing from 1970 to 1990, 51 climbers died from traumatic injuries and four perished from hypothermia in those years. At least 57 more would have perished without fast help from Yosemite Search and Rescue. More than 100 accidents caused at least 50 broken bones and a far greater number of sprains, cuts and bruises annually during that period.
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By the 1990s, climbers were combining speed and free climbing, and ascended El Cap both in a day and free. The Nose became ever more popular, as ascents increased from one every few years to multiple parties per day. The route’s excellent rock quality, scenery, ease of approach and historic significance make it perhaps the most coveted climb in the world.
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“When I first arrived in the valley, my jaw dropped to my knees. I didn’t know anything like that could exist in the world. It was way more impressive than anything I had seen up to that point in my life,” Kaufman said.
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Finding El Capitan especially magnetic, Kaufman and Bernard set their sights on The Nose. A third climber also named Noah offered to join their team; he claimed to be an expert who had climbed the wall before. “Perfect!” Kaufman thought.
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Like most groups, the three planned a multi-day effort and brought food, water and overnight gear in a haul bag, which climbers call a pig. By this era, climbers had mostly abandoned pitons, which mar rock over time. Instead, they placed less damaging forms of gear, like spring-loaded cams, in cracks for protection.
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“We had a really fun day climbing the Stoveleg Cracks,” Kaufman said, referring to a popular section. “We were leapfrogging and taking turns leading. I learned how to jumar (to ascend a fixed rope) and the three of us were getting our systems down... The climbing was immaculate and world-class.”
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As the wall steepened, the team’s supposedly most-capable member seemed to falter. About halfway up the wall at a spot called Eagle Ledge, Noah began a moderate lead, protected himself with a cam in a crack, but seemed “scared and intimidated,” Kaufman said.
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Then Noah fell. That should not have been a problem, as he was roped. But while leading, he scraped the rope against a sharp edge. His fall weighted the line against the knife-like granite and instantly broke it. For a heartbeat, Noah plunged toward seemingly certain doom. However, against all odds, he landed beside his teammates on tiny Eagle Ledge, just one foot wide, uninjured and even unaware of his nearly-impossible luck.
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Kaufman, horrified, immediately secured his partner with a sling and carabiner. “We had this long moment of silence while we all visualized him falling a thousand feet and becoming a ketchup smear on the slabs below,” Kaufman said. “Noah’s shirt was off and I could see his heart pounding as he put it together. Then he knelt at the belay and started sobbing… I think it was a miracle if ever I saw one.”
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Though Noah wanted to descend, the team regrouped and continued, overcoming more typical challenges. These included running low on food and water, dropping gear, and hauling “the pig” through obstacles like rock constrictions called chimneys. Finally they reached the summit.
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“We were psyched when we got up there. We took pictures and gave high-fives. It was definitely a bonding experience,” Kaufman said. After descending, “we went straight to eat and spent all the little money we had on a carpe diem, mega dinner. This experience was an exciting story to tell in the dining room though there were some climbers who never believed it. People began calling me ‘Catching Noah’ and him ‘Falling Noah.’”
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Traumatic as it was, the ordeal gave Kaufman more confidence and self-reliance. “That first big wall was the ultimate trial by fire for me, and I thought I’d never do another one, ever. The Nose was the most crazy, horrible, amazing, and way-too-intense experience I’d ever had. But of course I went back and I’ve done a bunch of big walls since. Now that I know what I’m doing, they’re a lot more fun.”
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Achievement and danger both seemed to magnify in the last decade.
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Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson labored seven years to free climb El Cap’s absurdly-difficult Dawn Wall. The route’s crux (hardest section) is a horizontal traverse across rock with only the tiniest holds for fingers and toes, spaced far apart and sharp enough to draw blood when gripped. Caldwell and Jorgeson practiced this 15th pitch (a section of climbing about the length of one rope) hundreds of times before succeeding. The men’s final push up Dawn Wall triumphed over 19 days in 2015, drawing international attention and even a White House shout-out from President Obama.
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That was a tough act to follow, but in 2017, Alex Honnold answered with an even more unthinkable feat: El Capitan’s first and only free solo ascent. After years of preparation, he climbed the Freerider route without a partner, rope or any protective gear. Honnold’s self-imposed challenge required him to climb perfectly or die, caused his girlfriend to break into tears, and astonished the world.
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Those jaw-dropping exploits became commonly known through the beautifully filmed “Dawn Wall” and “Free Solo” movies. By spending nearly as much time on the wall as the climbers, filmmakers gave the general public its best look ever at big wall life. Climbing’s popularity grew even greater.
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For an encore, Caldwell and Honnold teamed up in 2018 to shatter The Nose speed record, sprinting up in a mind-boggling 1 hour and 58 minutes. Typically, climbers work in pairs and one leads while the other remains anchored to manage the rope. But speed climbers ascend simultaneously, greatly increasing both their pace and danger. If either partner falls, the rope will probably pull the other down also, and their plunge may be long before their gear stops them, if it does. Caldwell and Honnold did not fall, and together set a record that may stand for a very long time.
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Increased interest in climbing and the dangerous techniques climbers adopted brought a rash of serious accidents. Since 2000, a dozen fatalities occurred on El Cap alone. An especially bad year was 2018, when one climber broke both legs, another broke her spine and two more fell to their deaths. All four were highly experienced, with hundreds of El Cap ascents between them.
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Some sustain injuries or worse through risks which threaten anyone even near the steep mountain. A party dropped a haul bag in 2016, breaking the arm of a climber below. Rockfall, described as “the size of an apartment building,” killed a climber and injured another in 2017. A fist-sized rock hit a climber sleeping in a hammock in 2021, fracturing his skull.
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However, a large majority of climbers either ascend, or sometimes retreat, safely. Yosemite estimates 25,000 to 50,000 climber days annually, resulting in about 100 accidents and 15-25 rescues per year. That would mean that more than 99 percent of climbs end without problems.
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Yet, 121 climbers died in the park since 1905, including 32 on El Capitan.
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All but five fatalities occurred since Harding’s team pioneered The Nose in 1958. Most El Cap accidents occur on the easier sections where climbers may be overconfident.
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Climbers could and should reduce the accident rate, Dill wrote, by anticipating and preparing for the multiple dangers they could face. Wearing helmets, bringing enough water, carrying rain gear, studying descent routes, rappelling properly, and placing protective gear even on “easy” terrain are a few of his suggestions.
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“At least 80 percent of the fatalities and many injuries were easily preventable. In case after case, ignorance, a casual attitude, and/or some form of distraction proved to be the most dangerous aspects of the sport,” Dill wrote. “Climbing will always be risky. It should be clear, however, that a reduced accident rate is possible without seriously restricting the sport.”
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Cathie Yun and Julie Wang, who climbed The Nose in 2022, seemed to embrace the planning and caution that Dill endorses. Before their attempt, they improved their fitness and skills with months of training and practice runs on the wall’s bottom half. Then they scheduled their adventure for June, when favorable weather was likely. “We are team ‘safety first,’” Yun said.
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Wang declared the Stoveleg Cracks “the best pitches ever.” Completing the King Swing maneuver (a wild pendulum traverse) led to “whoops and delight.” One by one, the pair negotiated well-known challenges like the Great Roof and Changing Corners pitches. They spent their nights comfortably on ledges, dining on pad thai and making video calls to friends. A few miscues, like a short fall, a dropped phone and “rope shenanigans,” caused no serious problems as they summitted in four days.
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Supporters welcomed them at the top with hot stir fry, pineapple and champagne. “We feasted, we hugged, and we were so so happy, feeling all the feelings,” Yun recalled.
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Avoiding the near-death epics of the Allen and Kaufman parties, Yun and Wang enjoyed “the experience of a lifetime.” Perhaps their successful adventure best illustrates why people don’t just dream of climbing El Cap, and risk their necks trying, but actually enjoy it when they do.
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El Cap has provided the author some memorable moments, though I have less experience on the mountain than the others named in this article. After discovering Yosemite climbing in 1994, I enjoyed several short and moderate routes on the mountain’s base like Little John, La Cosita, and Moby Dick.
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Naturally, I felt the mountain’s pull to climb higher, and the obvious place to start is on its easiest route. The East Buttress leads up 1,400 feet from the top of the large talus slope. Though it presents little difficulty to advanced climbers, the route was quite challenging for me. The first time I attempted it, I fell near the bottom and landed on a piece of gear, leaving a bruise on my hip that reminded me of my error for weeks.
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Later I tried again with an English partner who I met in the climbers’ mecca of Camp 4. We hiked to the base in darkness and roped up at dawn. This time I climbed better on the chimney where I fell before. The third pitch provided the crux, ten feet of nearly featureless granite which climbers must ascend on toes and fingertips. Also memorable was a traverse high on the route which, though easier, risks a heart-stopping pendulum swing thousands of feet above the valley floor. We traded leads on a perfect summer day. Finishing that route felt great, demanded a celebration of pizza and beer in Curry Village and marked a highlight of my modest climbing career.
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Part of me wants to climb something bigger, and though I’m now in my early 50s, I haven’t ruled it out. I’m not put off by the danger, even if I should be, which I regard as significant but acceptable.
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In that regard, I seem to be in good company. Record-breaking climbers like Hans Florine and Emily Harrington both recovered from El Cap injuries and returned to climb the mountain again in recent years.
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Another who bounced back is Becca Skinner, niece of free climbing pioneer Todd Skinner, who died in a 2006 rappelling accident. “I swore I would never climb again. However, six months after the accident, I was drawn back to the rocks,” she recalled. “Climbing will always be a part of who I am. It’s rooted in the depths of my soul.”
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If even those who experienced injuries and lost loved ones keep climbing, those who haven’t suffered such losses seem even less likely to turn away.
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Among hundreds who summited El Capitan in 2022, a father and son duo gained the most attention. The pair relied on two guides to lead a four-day climb and anchor ropes which the Bakers ascended with jumars. Sam Baker, the eight-year-old son, became the youngest climber yet to ascend ropes up Yosemite’s signature mountain. Father Joe Baker gushed with pride on social media and multiple news outlets.
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Some members of the climbing community criticized the decision to expose a child to such danger. Yet the elated Bakers seemed unmoved.
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“It feels like we’re above eternity up here,” said Joe.
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“It was awesome and I’m the youngest to do it,” said Sam. “In a few years, I’m going to come back and free climb it.”
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Travel scams come in various forms
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So. Another learning moment in our world of scams and con artists.
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Trying to confirm some flight and baggage information on an upcoming flight. I Googled "United Airlines Customer Service". The number that appeared was 800-864-8331. A young woman, Glory, answered the call. Long story....it was a scam number and not United Airlines. In the process of our call, she told me my return flight had been cancelled. You can imagine the anxiety I felt to hear this since I hadn't been notified by my travel agent or the airline. I don't remember the rest of the call, but told Glory I would contact my travel agent and ended the call.
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I immediately reached out to my travel agent, Neil Thakur, at Fare Buzz. He was able to check the information and confirm that, in fact, the flight hadn't been cancelled. The scammed call, Glory, came from somewhere in Cuba. What other information they might have gleaned from me, I don't know - luckily I didn't stay on the call or provide any additional personal information.
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If you're traveling and you get a call from the airline telling you your flight has been cancelled - HANG UP! Words of advice from Neil. The airline will never call you. They will either text or email you. This world is full of scumbags looking to take advantage of everyone and everything. They have more time than any of us can imagine. We must be on the alert at all times. And, of course, elderly people are often the easy victims of these scams. You can always check the airline's website My Trips page to confirm status of future flights. It’s been so long since I've traveled by air, this had never occurred to me.
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I've been working in the travel and tourism industry for most of my professional career. It's exhausting trying to navigate systems - air travel in particular. It used to be so easy and comfortable. They continue to blame everything on COVID, but the service was starting to decline even before that was an issue. For the first time in many, many years, I used a travel agent. I am so grateful that I did and that they - I should say HE/Neil - have provided the most outstanding customer service and given me valuable information to keep us safe on our journey.
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Oroville Wildlife Area new California Watchable Wildlife Viewing Site
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Before settlement, the area was typically riparian in nature. Wildlife abounded and some of the earliest explorers were fur trappers. The river alluvium was worked by miners from 1848 to 1857. The combination of available water, riparian vegetation, and grasslands in the adjoining alluvial fans made it suitable for livestock grazing. Permanent agriculture with small orchards and irrigated pastures developed until 1898 when gold dredging operations began. The dredging continued until 1952, leaving the land unusable except for small amounts of fishing and hunting afforded by the ponds and their riparian edges.
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The approximately 11,800-acre Oroville Wildlife Area is primarily riparian woodland habitat along the Feather River and grasslands around the Thermalito Afterbay. Warm water fish species (largemouth bass, bluegill, green sunfish, channel catfish, and black crappie) can be found in the numerous dredger ponds and the Thermalito Afterbay. Salmon, steelhead, shad, and striped bass can be found in the Feather River.
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Wildlife species seen in the area include coyote, badger, fox, bobcat, porcupine, osprey, white-tailed kite, egrets, woodpeckers, and warblers. There are good populations of coyotes, deer, dove, quail, and waterfowl, and fair populations of squirrel and rabbit.
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Two important diversions were constructed on what is now the wildlife area, and then removed when construction of the Oroville Dam eliminated the need for them. Materials removal for construction of the dam began in 1963. During construction, biologists were influential in preserving wildlife values and creating habitat with potential value such as ponds, lakes, and islands. In 1968, the property was designated as a wildlife area by the California Fish and Game Commission.
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The shooting range is for rifles, pistols, shotguns, and archery and is open from sunrise to sunset. There is no rangemaster.
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On this special weekend, Oroville celebrates the thousands of spawning salmon that annually make their way from the ocean back up the Feather River. Environmental education, music, salmon tasting, tours of the hatchery and fun for kids and adults highlight this FREE event. Crafts, beer garden and food trucks on the downtown side festivities. Fish Hatchery tours and exhibits conclude at 3pm.
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September 23, 2023
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Price: FREE - check online for any other fees and more information.
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Feather River Fish Hatchery, 5 Table Mountain Blvd.
The Feather River Fish Hatchery will be open for this year's festival! Learn everything there is to know about salmon by taking a free tour of the hatchery. Watch the salmon jump over the fish ladder and get up close with them at the viewing window. There will also be a mobile fish exhibit, nature related booths, live animals, and food available.
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Food Court & Beer Garden Hosted by Feather Falls Casino & Lodge and Feather Falls Brewing Company
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Lower Oroville Convention Center Parking Lot, 1200 Myers St.
In the lower Oroville Convention Center Parking Lot there will be a variety of food for you to try out from local vendors, food trucks, and the well-known BBQ Salmon made by the Oroville Optimist Club. Pair your meal a delicious drink from Feather Falls Brewing Company or margaritas served by the Native Sons of the Golden West.
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Throughout the day you can view live entertainment from local bands. Show us your moves on the dance floor!
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A variety of vendors will be in the Lower Convention Parking Lot, along Montgomery Street, and in the Kingdom Community Church Parking Lot. Get a head start on holiday shopping while checking out our vendors and learn more about our local businesses!
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Salmon Festival Motor Mania
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Throughout Historic Downtown Oroville
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to start your engines and head to Downtown Oroville on September 23rd for the Salmon Festival Motor Mania! As the town welcomes back the salmon, we welcome all of you to join us in showing off your ride!
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Pre-Registration is open for the Salmon Festival Motor Mania. Click Here to pre-register your vehicle.
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Downtown Oroville Activities
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Throughout Historic Downtown Oroville
Come on down to the beautiful Historic Downtown Oroville for a variety of activities and things to see. The stores and restaurants that are a part of the Downtown Oroville area will be open for business with a variety of items and food to check out.
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The Oroville YMCA will be open for restrooms and a cooling center. They will also have local groups performing inside and the LPO Alliance Band will be running a snack bar.
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The Oroville State Theatre will be hosting nature videos provided by the Department of Water resources. These videos will feature the natural wonder of the Feather River basin and a free to watch.
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The Feather River Senior Center will be serving their delicious chicken salad croissant sandwiches and ice cream tacos.
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Kids Zone
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Upper Oroville Convention Center Parking Lot, 1200 Myers St.
The Father's House Church and Oroville Christian Faith Center will have plenty of activities for your children to participate in. There will be inflatables, water activities, and face painting.
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for detailed guides on how to navigate and use the site.
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