1-Get away: Temecula Valley midweek
Less-busy weekdays mean potential conversations with Temecula Valley Southern California winery family-members, women's jackets winemakers; more attention in Old Town Temecula, Promenade Temecula. Most Temecula hotels/motels/resorts offer special (better-than-weekend) rates Sunday-through-Thursday; see VisitTemecula.org for special offers.
2-Discover: Temecula Valley Southern California's De Portola Wine Trail
Taste award-winning premium-wines at boutique-wineries (Cougar, Danza del Sol, Gershon Bachus, Keyways, Leoness, Oak Mountain, Robert Renzoni). Most: family-owned, open-daily. Make reservations: local, wine-country tour-and-transportation companies. Visit again in spring for "Big Red Fest."
3-Explore: Old Town Temecula Tasting Trail
Palate-pleasing establishments abound; experience Temecula Olive Oil, Old Town Spice Merchants, Old Town Root Beer, Old Town Sweet Shop. Visit again in spring for "Taste of Temecula Valley."
4-Indulge: Temecula Valley spa treatments
With signature, vine-based massage-and-body rituals, GrapeSeed Spa means vintage relaxation. Spa Pechanga is for rejuvenating (hot-stone massages; nourishing wraps). Murrieta Day Spa is a pampering escape (manicures, pedicures). Inquire about seasonal specials (rose-facials, peppermint foot-massages).
5-Shop: Promenade Temecula
One-hundred-seventy Promenade Temecula specialty-shops include sought-after Macy's, H&M, Lemonchello, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Apple. Dine: Lazy Dog Café, P.F. Chang's, Yard House. Block-buster movies: Edwards 15 Cinemas.
6-Experience: Pechanga excitement
Pechanga Resort & Casino (Western U.S.'s largest) features poker-tournaments (54-tables), 130 table-games, 3,800 Las Vegas-style slot machines; top-name concerts (Ringo Starr, Dierks Bentley); 9 award-winning restaurants.
7-Take flight: Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country hot air balloon
Float serenely at sunrise with Grape Escape, California Dreamin', D&D Ballooning, Magical Adventures; majestic vineyard, rolling-hill views.
8-Shop: Old Town Temecula
Pedestrian-friendly, Old Town Temecula includes 60+ specialty stores. Women love The Farmer's Wife; charming, Temecula Lavender Company's products; Old California Lavender's lotions, oils. Browse Granny's Attic for collectibles, antiques, vintage-clothing. Dine alfresco: Front Street, Palumbo's, Soro's, Sweet Lumpy's. Dessert: Robin's Nest. Return for Bluegrass Festival, Street Painting, Hot Summer Nights, Quilt Show, Winterfest events.
9- Horse-drawn carriage or 1914 cable car tour: Temecula Valley So Cal Wine Country
A Temecula Carriage Company or Temecula Valley Cable Car wine-country ride, wine tasting, and picnic is sublime.
10-Savor: Temecula Valley So Cal "off-the-beaten-path" award-winning wines
Local tour-and-transportation companies help make for relaxed tours of off-the-beaten-path wineries. Most: family-owned, open-daily. Calle Contento Road has Briar Rose, Falkner, Lumiere. Others on roads-less-traveled: Doffo, Foot Path, Palumbo, new Lorimar Winery.
11-Hike and picnic: Santa Rosa Plateau
Get sandwiches/picnic goodies to-go (Campini's, E.A.T. Marketplace, Temecula Valley Cheese Company) then head to 9,000-acre Ecological Reserve (sunrise-to-sunset, daily). Inquire at Visitors Center (Tuesday-Sunday): seasonal-happenings. Most hiking-trails: easy-to-moderate. Wheelchair-accessible: interpretive-nature trail, vernal-pool trail. Small songbirds winter-over in oak-woodlands. With good rain, miraculous vernal-pools linger.
12-Explore: historic Old Town Temecula
At Temecula Valley Visitors Center, pick-up Old-Town-map self-guided tour that includes circa 1890 Burnham Store now The MERC (entertainment/art venue); 1914 First National Temecula Bank, now The Bank Mexican Restaurant. Explore They Passed This Way monument; Temecula Valley Museum exhibits; Mission Revival-style Civic Center; Luise?o-basket artistry-inspired fountain.
13-Golf: Temecula Valley vacation-worthy courses
Celebrate-the-game at Arthur Hills-designed Journey at Pechanga (Golfweek, GOLF Magazine top-course); par 4, Hole 6 has largest California elevation drop (175-feet). Dick Rossen/Ted Robinson, Sr.-designed Temecula Creek Inn has Golf Digest's "Places to Play" 4-star rating. Ron Fream-designed RedHawk is Golf Today's 7th-best, California public-course. Ted Robinson-designed/P. Dye-updated Legends is rebounding to its Southern-California's-best-golfing-experience glory. Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed Golf Club at Rancho California is on "Best Public Courses" lists; Ted Robinson Sr.-redesigned Pala Mesa is Golf Digest highly-rated.
14-Shop: Lake Elsinore Outlets
Shop 50+ discounted/factory stores like Bath & Body Works, GAP, Guess, OshKosh, SKEECHERS, Vans.
15-Make it: A Temecula Valley Celebration
Temecula Valley Southern California is ideal to celebrate birthdays, bachelorette parties, special occasions – and "the more, the merrier." Most Temecula hotels offer special-midweek (better-than-weekend) group-rates Sunday-through-Thursday with 10 guestrooms-or-more; contact Visit Temecula sales, 951/491-6085.
***Information is believed accurate but may be subject to change.
The Temecula Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, the region's official tourism marketing organization and resource for visitors is online at VisitTemecula.org; "Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country" on Facebook; and @Visit_Temecula on Twitter. Open 7-days, Temecula Valley Visitors Center is in Old Town Temecula, Third Street/Mercedes, next to Temecula Civic Center. For information/assistance, call 888/363-2852, 951/491-6085.
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