Sports and the Outdoors
Lake Yosemite Regional Park. At this park surrounding a 387-acre irrigation reservoir, you can boat, swim, windsurf, water-ski, and fish. Paddle boat rentals and picnic areas are available. N. Lake Rd., off Yosemite Ave., 5 miles northeast of Merced, Merced, California, 95340. 209/385–7426; www.co.merced.ca.us. $6 per car Mar.–Oct., free Nov.–Feb.. 7:30 am–1 hr after sunset.
Castle Air Museum. You can stroll among dozens of restored military aircraft at this outdoor facility. The vintage war birds include the B-25 Mitchell medium-range bomber—best known for the Jimmy Doolittle raid on Tokyo after the attack on Pearl Harbor—and the speedy SR-71 Blackbird, used for reconnaissance over Vietnam and Libya. A recently arrived star is an aircraft that from 1974 to 2006 was known as Air Force One whenever it transported the U.S president. Castle Airport, 5050 Santa Fe Dr., 6 miles north of Merced, Buhach Rd. exit off Hwy. 99, Atwater, California, 95301. 209/723–2178; www.castleairmuseum.org. $10. Apr.–Sept., daily 9–5; Oct.–Mar., daily 10–4.
