Sonoma County, an area in Northern California known as Wine Country, has many wheelchair accessible parks and other accessible recreational activities. Accessible options range from special camps for the disabled to fully accessible state and regional parks.
Camping
Sonoma Coast State Park features 17 miles of beach. This Northern California water is not available for swimming, due to string rip currents, but visitors can enjoy the beach, go fishing and set up camp at one of four campgrounds. The state park is wheelchair accessible. Restroom facilities are accessible, as are three of the four campgrounds: Pomo Environmental, Wright's Beach and Willow Creek. Each campground has at least two accessible campsites and accessible restrooms. Walking trails in Sonoma are also wheelchair accessible, and beach wheelchairs are available for rental. Additionally, Sonoma County Regional Parks are accessible and offer camping facilities.
Scenic Paths
The Bird Walk Coastal Access Path, located in Sonoma County, is wheelchair accessible. Located where the Cheney Gulch meets Sonoma's Bodega Harbor, Bird Walk is an elevated, coastal trail that follows the old levees built in the area. Circling the freshwater pond, Doran Park Marsh and the 800-acre Bodega Harbor, the Bird Walk Path is accessible to wheelchairs, walkers and other disabled visitors. In addition to the exercise the path provides, Bird Walk lives up to its name with thousands of birds visiting the area throughout the year. Several state parks and regional parks also have accessible walking trails.
Swimming
Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular sport. If an individual has full use of his arms, swimming is a healthy activity for people with certain physical disabilities. Sonoma County YMCA has a community swimming pool. Spring Lake Regional Park, part of the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department, has a three-acre swimming lagoon, complete with lifeguards and a small, sandy beach.
Laughter Yoga
The Chair and Wheelchair Laughter Yoga Club of Sonoma County combines the health benefits of yoga and laughter. Open to all people, regardless of physical abilities, laughter yoga is an exercise routine that combines unconditional laughter and pranayama (yogic breathing). According to Laughter Yoga International, the human body cannot differentiate between contrived laughter and real, spontaneous laughter. Practicing laughter yoga has the potential to create the same health benefits as real joy and spontaneous playfulness, according to the organization. Disabled people can benefit from laughter yoga--all it requires is the ability to laugh. Laugh Alone Yoga is also available if the group session is not possible.
Tennis
Making a tennis court wheelchair accessible may require only minor modifications that you are able to do on your own. Removing the net is one way to make tennis more accessible. If you choose to keep the net up, wheeling yourself up close to it will allow for easier access to the ball. Although a specialized wheelchair designed for sports would needed to play competitively, it is possible to play a casual game of tennis on a court in Sonoma County.
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