Fun Things to do in Stockton, Lodi and San Joaquin County

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Stockton Arena

Stockton Entertainment

Stockton Haggin Museum

Pixel Pony

FFill Your Days With Exciting Stockton/San Joaquin Things To Do

The San Joaquin Valley has outstanding recreational opportunities.  All the communities are within close proximity to world famous scenic attractions including the California Coast, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. The communities offer many local recreational opportunities such as professional sports teams , an olympic size ice rink, and the Delta, which provides thousands of miles of waterways for water skiing, sailing and other water activities. There are also many opportunities to enjoy music, theater, dance, literary events, and other cultural and entertainment activities throughout the year. Stockton has its own symphony and opera company and hosts the popular Asparagus Festival annually.

Arenas

• Stockton Arena The Stockton Arena is located in the California Central Valley between Sacramento and Fresno. The Arena defines the city’s downtown waterfront redevelopment program, including the Sheraton Hotel which houses room and condominiums, 45,000 square feet of retail space and a seven-level parking structure.
  
  The Stockton Arena Features: • 8,600 – 12,000 seats, based on configuration • 24 Luxury Suites • Club Level with 344 Club Seats • Full rigging and stage equipment • Four sided Daktronics video display and scoreboard • Distributed house sound system • Easy load-in and load-out • Ample backstage amenities • NHL regulation ice sheet (85’x200’) • 5,000 square feet of conference space • Ticket office and computerized ticketing system 



• Stockton Oak Park Ice Arena The Oak Park Ice Arena opened in 1970, replacing Stockton's previous arena that ceased operation at the San Joaquin County fairgrounds. The arena's ice surface is 85 x 200 feet and has seating for 350 spectators.
  
  The Admiral's Room, is equipped with a wall covered with full-length mirrors. In addition to being used on weekends for birthday parties, the Admiral's Room is popular for dance classes and also available for rental.

Events

• San Joaquin Events Calendar Browse through an arts and crafts fair or sample local wines at a harvest festival? Throw out a line in a fishing competition, or attend a Broadway theater production? There’s a San Joaquin California event for everyone. Discover a variety of Stockton events downtown -- including live theater and music, art and antique galleries. Come for a day, a week, or longer, and enjoy all that the San Joaquin Communities have to offer.



• Weber Point A star downtown attraction, the Weber Point Events Center is rented throughout the year for festivals, concerts and a variety of community celebrations.
  
  Enjoy the facility's interactive water feature, colorful children's play area or simply stroll the promenade and enjoy the panoramic Delta view. Nearby DeCarli Waterfront Square, McLeod Lake Park, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza are also available to rent for special gatherings.

Museums:

• Children's Museum of Stockton, 402 W. Weber Ave, Stockton, Ca - This museum provides an interactive environment in which children can learn about the world. Kids can explore a miniature hospital, a fire truck, a police car, a helicopter and more, Workshops in art, dance, music and science are offered during the summer. Call for a schedule.
• The Haggen Museum. 1201 N. Pershing Ave. Exhibits include decorative arts, 19th century paintings by American and European artists, and one of California's most extensive collections of Native American baskets. The vehicle gallery includes 19th century fire engines. Early industrial and agricultural equipment can be seen in Holt Memorial Hall, which was named for the Stockton industrialist, Benjamin Holt, developer of the Caterpillar tractor. The Jennie Hunter rooms and parlors are reminiscent of the Victorian age, while the Pioneer room traces Stockton's development from the Gold Rush to the 1980's, and a gallery of storefronts re-create an early 20th century California Town. The California Room highlights the region's impact on the state's history.
• Historical Museum The San Joaquin County Historical Museum is located outside of Lodi, California. It was established in 1966 through an agreement between the County of San Joaquin and the San Joaquin County Historical Society. The museum has over 40,000 square feet of exhibit and work space. Our collections have grown from a few hundred items from the estate of William G. and Julia Harrison Micke to over 50,000 items representative of the development of San Joaquin County agriculture and history. The museum was accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1973.>
• Snake Museum

Nightspots

San Joaquin / Stockton Nightspots: Nightspots are places that are open late at night and that provides entertainment (as singers or dancers) as well as dancing and food and drink; "don't expect a good meal at a cabaret"; "the gossip columnist gets his information by visiting nightclubs every night"

Parks:

Oak Grove Regional Park
• Caswell Memorial State -The park is located along the Stanislaus River near the town of Ripon, California. The park protects a fine example of the threatened and still declining riparian oak woodland, which once flourished throughout California's Central Valley. Caswell is home to several endangered animal species, including the riparian brush rabbit which is not known to occur anywhere else.


• Dos Reis County Park - Tucked in along the San Joaquin River, Dos Reis features 26 R.V. campsites with full hook-ups and shower facilities - 890 W. Dos Reis Rd., Lathrop (Off Interstate 5 just west of Lathrop). (map)
• Mandeville Tip County Park
• Manteca Waterslide - The Manteca Waterslides and Oakwood Lake campground officially closed their doors on Sept. 26, 2005.
• Meyers Park
• Micke Grove County Park - A gem with plenty of amenities, this 258-acre oak tree park features Micke Grove Zoo - 11793 N. Micke Grove Rd., Lodi (Off Highway 99, west of Armstrong Rd. exit and follow the signs). (map)(Micke Grove Photo Gallery)
• Mossdale Crossing: A large, two-lane boat ramp with floating dock is the striking feature of this park, located between Tracy and Manteca off I-5. Mossdale's ramp offers access to the San Joaquin, Middle and Old Rivers. Shaded picnic areas and a children’s playground complete the facility.19091 S. Manthey Rd., Lathrop. (Map)
• Oak Grove Regional Park - 180-acre park situated in a beautiful oak-forest setting has features the whole family will enjoy - 4520 W. Eight Mile Rd., Stockton (Directly east of I-5 at Eight Mile Rd.). (map)
• Stillman Magee Park: Offering the last public access to the Mokelumne River before the city of Lodi, Stillman Magee - 23801 N. Mackville Rd., Clements features water rafting and swimming, picnic tables, barbecues and fishing at the river's edge. (map)
• Westgate Landing:(located along the San Joaquin River), boasts 14 R.V./tent campsites (no hook-ups available), 15799 N. Glasscock Rd., Lodi (North of Highway 12 near Terminous). (map)
• Woodbridge Wilderness Area:  1/4 mile of Mokelumne River frontage, this park is accessible from River Meadows Drive in Woodbridge. This natural area features a riparian environment where fishing enthusiasts catch Trout, Black Bass and Catfish.- 301 E. River Meadows Dr., Woodbridge (Map)

Performing Arts

• Ballet of San Joaquin A profession ballet company with performances throughout the year. The annual Nutcracker Ballet has become an annual family tradition in Stockton.
• Bob Hope Theatre The recent renovation of the Bob Hope Theatre has created a wonderful space for the citizens of Stockton to enjoy not only local arts productions, film, dance, comedy and Broadway type entertainment, but also the latest in top name musical entertainment. The following link provides access to technical information to help make any event successful.
• Stockton Chorale The Stockton Chorale is a not-for-profit community organization located in Stockton, CA whose goals include bringing a wide variety of good choral music to the Stockton Community.
• Stockton Civic Theatre Stockton Civic Theatre is an important part of San Joaquin County’s history and future—a regional showplace for great works of performing art that influence and enhance the lives of the residents of California’s Great Central Valley.
• Stockton Symphony The Stockton Symphony regularly performs works by noted living composers. Recent seasons have featured new works by Ron Caviani, Max Simončič, David Conte, jazz legend Dave Brubeck, David Chaitkin, and Christopher Brubeck, who joined the Stockton Symphony as composer-in-residence in 2005 through a grant from Music Alive—a joint project of the American Symphony Orchestra League and Meet the Composer. The 2006–07 season featured Max Simončič's world premiere exploring Stockton’s local heritage, and the return of Christopher Brubeck as composer-in-residence, again with a grant from Music Alive, to create an imaginative world premiere using prose and poetry penned by local high school students.
• Stockton Opera In 1968, Warren and Marietta Atherton had a dream of bringing opera productions to the Stockton Community. Former Stockton Symphony Director, Kyung Soo Won, Dr. Arthur Holton, founder and long time director of the Stockton Chorale, and Dr. Lucas Underwood shared this vision, and together with the interest and support of the community the Stockton Opera Association was born. The first full-scale production, La Traviata was presented in April of 1969. The director and conductor was Lucas Underwood.

Radio & TV

• Strongest Stations near Stockton As part of the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto television market, Stockton and San Joaquin County is primarily served by stations based in Sacramento, but may carry some San Francisco Bay area television stations' airwaves

Restaurants

Stockton Macaroni Grill

Stockton Weberstown Mall

• San Joaquin / Stockton Restaurants Stockton has a large variety of locally owned and top franchise restaurants to choose from.

Shopping

• San Joaquin / Stockton Shopping has literally hundreds of retail facilities, several large grocery stores, shopping malls, home and garden centers, hotels, and wonderful restaurants to browse through or eat at. There's something here for everyone... Stockton has two malls and a regional shopping center offering Kohls, Dillard's, Macy's, Sears, Gottschalks, and JC Penney Department Stores. There is also a host of specialty shops like Best Buy, Toys-R-Us, The Gap, Dress Barn, Petsmart, Bath and Body Works, Lane Bryant, Bed Bath & Beyond, Foot Locker, Hallmark, Disney Store, Barnes & Nobles, Old Navy, Pier One, Babies R Us, Borders, Party City, Famous Footwear, Hot Topic, Linens-n-Things, TJ Maxx, Victoria's Secret, The Limited, American Eagle, Talbot's, and much more!

Sports

• San Joaquin / Stockton Sports - Stockton is home to the Stockton Ports Professional Baseball Team, which play at the waterfront Stockton Ballpark, the Stockton Thunder Professional Hockey Team, the California Cougars Professional Indoor Soccer Team, and the Stockton Lightning Professional Arena 2 Football Team which all play at the 10,000 seat waterfront Stockton Arena. Stockton Ports Baseball

Things to Do

• The Clever Planetarium features a Spitz 512 prime sky instrument nicknamed Herman, which projects the stars on a 33 foot aluminum dome. This instrument can show the sky of any datexpast, present or futurex from any location on Earth. All the motions of the planet Earth can be simulated and accelerated so that days, years, centuries or a millennia can be made to pass before the viewers’ eyes in a matter of minutes.
• Delta Waterways (photo)
• Golf  San Joaquin County is also home to many beautiful private and public golf courses including Brookside Country Club, Home of the Canadian Tour Northern California Classic, The Reserve at Spanos Park, Stockton Golf and Country Club, and the City of Stockton Public courses, Swenson, Van Buskirk, and Lyons.
• IMPACT Teen Center
• Parachute Center Parachute Center, P.O. Box 423, 23597 N. Hwy. 99, Acampo, Ca. Ph. (209) 369-1128; Fax: (209) 366-0235
• Micke Grove Zoo: Micke Grove Zoo is a five-acre Zoo with mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates. Micke Grove Park also features a Japanese Garden, San Joaquin County Historical Museum, Funderwoods Amusement Park and picnic shelters in a beautiful oak grove setting>
• Movie Theatres
• Pick your Own.org
• Sailing on the Delta
• Winery Tours The Central Valley, California's agricultural heartland, is actually 2 valleys that stretch almost 500 miles down the center of the state. The Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley are bordered on the east by the Sierra Nevada Mountains and by the Coast Range to the west. The total acreage under wine grape cultivation in the Central Valley dwarfs all other California regions

Transportation to San Joaquin

• Transportation. Get acquainted with farmland, prairies, deserts, rivers, and mountains by riding the California Zephyr train along the Central Valley's breath taking landscape or fly into one of three major airports, all within the Central Valley. Stockton alone is serviced by five regional bus lines and one major bus line. There are six taxi cab companies, five limousine service companies. three interstate highways, six California State highways, four passenger train systems and of course the Port of Stockton with a Deep Channel all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge

Where to Stay

• Hotels, Motels & Inns. The Stockton area has a very large selection of hotels and motels to choose from, Many have convenient access to Interstate 5

About Our San Joaquin Communities

• San Joaquin County Communities

Beyond San Joaquin

• Northern California Getaways
• Skiing

Stockton recreation has undergone a tremendous expansion and has aggressively revitalized its downtown recreation. Projects in the downtown area along the waterfront include an indoor arena, baseball stadium, hotel. The arena hosts four major sports teams: California Cougars Soccer, Stockton Thunder Hockey, Stockton Lightning Arena2 Football, and the Stockton Ports Minor Baseball Team, (see sports page), Stockton is also constructing retail and entertainment centers at the gateways of the city. The 16-screen City Centre Cinemas was completed in December 2003.