Fun filled activities for everyone to enjoy
One of the many great things about Hauli Huvila is that you can come here to do what you want: be it relaxing in the shade and reading your favorite book, jumping into the Kings River for a cool swim, playing a game of foosball in the recreation room, a game of volleyball with a group of camp guests, partaking in offsite activities including golfing, and hiking at the National Parks. Here are some of the popular activities to enjoy during your stay at Hauli Huvila.
Relaxing
While many might think that relaxing is not really an activity, here at Hauli Huvila relaxing is an important activity. We all need to unwind and simply enjoy the nice weather while lounging around with nothing to do. Be it sitting around and talking with friends, family, and camp guests, laying out by the river and enjoying a nice glass of wine or beer while reading your favorite book, listening to your favorite music, or simply taking a nap. Let go of all your worries and stress, recharge your batteries by relaxing at Hauli Huvila.
Enjoying the Kings River
The Kings River is a major river of southern central California and it is very popular at Hauli Huvila. The river water level changes throughout the year depending on the snow melt from the Sierra Nevada mountains, as well as the when the upstream dams release more water for irrigation. Throughout the year the river water levels can vary anywhere from a low of only a few feet deep all the way up to 10 to 15 feet deep.
Swimming
Regardless of the depth, you can always take a swim in the river, either jumping in when it is high or walking in when it is low. It always feels refreshing, especially when coming directly from the sauna. In addition to swimming in the river, when the water level is low, many camp guest will bring their chairs and lounge in the low river water and beaches. Relax and soak up the warm sun while the cool refreshing river water flows through your legs.
Raft Floating
When the river is higher the water will be moving along faster and this is the best time to get your rafts out and go floating down the river. If you enjoy taking a nice leisurely float on the river for a few hours then bring your inflatable raft to Hauli Huvila. We even have an air pump to inflate your raft and a trailer to haul several rafts upstream to be dropped off for a great group floating experience. You can either go upstream and float down to Hauli Huvila Depending on how far upstream you go, you can float anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. Or simply float from Hauli Huvila downstream to Reedley Beach in about 2 hours, as long as you drop off a vehicle there ahead of time or arrange a pick-up. Either way, it is a very fun and tranquil experience that can be enjoyed by everyone. Don’t forget to bring a water-proof camera for some great photos.
Games
Hauli Huvila is all about having fun and we have several gaming activities for everyone to enjoy. From the indoor foosball and games available in the recreation room, to the outdoor games that everybody can enjoy together including volleyball, the popular Finnish game of Mölkky, to our own Boot Toss and more.
Mölkky
A classic Finnish outdoor throwing game that involves throwing a wooden pin a.k.a. the “mölkky” to knock over a series of wooden pins about 3 to 4 meters away. The pins are marked with numbers 1 to 12. As the player knocks over the pins, the number on the pins equals the points that are added up, after each throw the pins are lifted up again in the exact location they landed. The first one to reach exactly 50 points wins the game, however scoring more than 50 penalizes the player’s score back to 25 points. You can always count on a couple of games of mölkky happening at Hauli Huvila. Once you get the hang of it, it makes for a fun game to play with family and friends or camp guests.
Volleyball
There’s nothing more fun than gathering a large group of camp guests to play game of volleyball on the grass court under the sun and along the Kings River. Our volleyball games always make for a good competition and fun family activity that everybody can enjoy. Often once a game gets going it will start to draw in a crowd of spectators to cheer on the teams as the games heat up.
Ping Pong
Get your paddles and reflexes ready for some intense and fun matches. Play singles, doubles, round the world, or make up a new game. Ping pong is always a fun to play.
Foosball, Games, and Cards
Inside our recreation room we have a foosball table where 2 to 4 players can play the classic table based game of soccer, or football as it is more commonly known to Finns. Both the kids and grown-ups often get into a good exciting and competitive match of foosball which can be a lot of fun to watch. In addition to the foosball table we’ve got various board games and of course playing cards to play inside or on our swing chairs just outside the recreation room.
Dancing
Once the sun has set and dinner has passed, the night comes to life at Hauli Huvila. Many camp guest gather in our recreation room to hang out with friends and family to celebrate their holiday weekend. The Finns are known to party it up and have a good time, and dancing is no exception. It is a popular fun activity that everyone enjoys. In addition to popular dance songs you probably know, you’ll often hear a selection of old classic and new Finnish pop and dance songs playing. It makes for a unique Finnish experience to dance to Finnish music!
Offsite Activities
There are many things to do at Hauli Huvila, but it can also be fun to enjoy some offsite activities available in the areas in and around Reedley, California. Here are some a few of the more popular offsite activities.
Golf
If you love to golf and tee off first thing in the morning then bring your clubs to Hauli Huvila! We are have beautiful golf courses only a brief drive away from the camp. The closest course is Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club about a 15 minute drive south from the camp, then going to the north from Hauli Huvila for about 20 minutes you’ll reach the Sherwood Forest Golf Club. Giving you a wide variety of golf courses to enjoy during your stay. We even have our own special Hauli Huvila golf and games event weekend, usually taking place on the first weekend of August. We have a large group of golfers come out for our annual golf tournament. Golf your best game on that weekend you can win an award in classic Finnish style!
California National Parks
About an hour drive from Hauli Huvila you can experience some of the most majestic parks along the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. The closest directly east of the camp is the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, which features the famous giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, one of the largest trees on Earth. Then driving north east you arrive at the Sierra National Forest, and going a little further will lead into the famous Yosemite National Park. These magnificent parks make for excellent day trips and provide a wide range of beauty and activities to experience including hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, fishing, bird watching, cave tours, sightseeing and more. Guest often love to plan a nice morning hike and enjoy a picnick lunch in the parks before heading back to Hauli Huvila for dinner.
Fruit Picking
Fruit and nut farming is a large and vital part of the Central California regional agriculture. Reedley is surrounded by various fruit and nut farms with fields of trees bearing cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, pomegranates, almonds, and several others. Depending on the time of year, there are opportunities to experience fruit picking. There is nothing quite like getting out there and hand picking the freshest fruits. Then you can share with friends and family to enjoy perfectly ripe and sweet fruits like cherries, plums, or peaches. In addition to picking, local farmers will often drop off a few cases of fresh picked fruit to Hauli Huvila for our guests. These are free for everyone to share and enjoy.
