Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course was built in the late 1960s alongside the master-planned community that Boise Cascade began developing in southern Lake County in 1968. The design belongs to William F. "Billy" Bell Jr., the architect of San Diego's Torrey Pines, and it remains the only 18-hole championship course in Lake County. When Boise Cascade exited the project, the development's amenities passed to the Hidden Valley Lake Association, and the association still owns it today, keeping the course open to public play year-round, rain or shine.

On the course

The par-72 layout plays 6,647 yards from the Blue tees (73.0 rating, 128 slope) and splits into two personalities. The front nine runs long and relatively level across the valley floor, while the back nine climbs into hilly, oak-studded terrain where elevation does the defending. Thirty-two bunkers and two acres of ponds — home to resident otters — punctuate 135 acres of turf, and the signature 15th tumbles 250 feet from tee to fairway with Mount St. Helena filling the horizon.

Who it suits

The course sits at 19210 Hartmann Road off Highway 29, about 30 minutes north of Calistoga, and welcomes daily-fee players every day of the year except the rare snowstorm. Six rated tee options, from 6,647 yards down to 5,364, keep things playable for every skill level. A 7.5-acre driving range, practice greens, a 7,000-square-foot pro shop and Mulligan's 19th-hole restaurant round out the facility, and PGA professionals offer private, group and junior lessons. Carts are asked to keep to the paths on par 3s and around greens.

Hidden Valley Lake suits golfers pairing a round with a Calistoga or Clear Lake getaway, value-minded players willing to drive past the Napa Valley crowds, and anyone curious what a Billy Bell routing feels like without a resort price tag. Bring extra balls for the back nine — and pause on the 15th tee, where the rules ask you to wait for the group ahead and the view makes the wait easy.

Architect: William F. Bell · Opened: 1970