• Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive. The City's performing and visual arts center, opened in October 1990, houses the 800-seat Hofmann Theatre, the 300-seat Margaret Lesher Theatre, the 130-seat Knight Foundation Stage 3 theatre, the, offices and rehearsal space. Pretty impressive for a suburb, but not exactly The Met.
 • Lindsay Wildlife Museum, 1931 First Avenue. A wildlife rehabilitation and educational center that focuses on native California wildlife and natural history. The museum exhibits live, non-releasable native wildlife. Founded in 1955, the museum operates the oldest and one of the largest wildlife rehabilitation hospitals in the United States, treating more than 6,000 injured and orphaned wild animals each year.
 • Old Borges Ranch, 1035 Castle Rock Road. The former ranch of early Walnut Creek pioneer Frank Borges is the home base for Walnut Creek's Shell Ridge Open Space activities. The ranch complex includes a blacksmith shop, numerous outbuildings, and farm equipment displays. It also features a barn and covered trellis available for group reservations. The Borges family home, built in 1901, houses historical displays of the early 1900's. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Great place to go if you forgot or always wondered what growing up on a farm was like, or if you were inexplicably transported through time to the present when you were struck by a purple lightning bolt and are desperate for a taste of home in the 19th Century.
 • Ruth Bancroft Garden, 1500 Bancroft Road. Preserving an exceptional example of American garden design, The Ruth Bancroft Garden demonstrates the beauty and excitement possible in a water-conserving landscape. Internationally recognized as one of the finest private gardens in North America, The Garden was the first in the United States to be sponsored by The Garden Conservancy. My guess is this is probably not the top on your list to do.
 • Shadelands Ranch Historical Museum, 2660 Ygnacio Valley Road, (925) 935-7871. Built by early Walnut Creek pioneer Hiram Penniman, this 1903 redwood-framed house is a showcase for numerous historical artifacts, many of which belonged to the Pennimans. It also houses a rich archive of Contra Costa and Walnut Creek history in its collections of old newspapers, photographs and government records. The museum is on the National Register of Historic Places and belongs to the City, but is operated by the Walnut Creek Historical Society. Not part of the "official" description is the Shadelands growing collection of local smells, each smell maturing and gaining new flavorful dimensions with each passing year.
 • Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society. A permanent, 1,800-square-foot model train layout. It includes an HO-scale train set with more than 4,300 feet of track on over 175,000 ties and over 340 turnouts
 • Sugarloaf Open Space*, 2161 Youngs Valley Road, off Rudgear Road, (925) 944-5766. This is a 177-acre open space in the southern part of Walnut Creek. Visitors can enjoy amazing ridgeline views, scenic trails and a walnut orchard. There are also Picnic areas and restrooms.
 • Boundary Oak Golf Course*, 3800 Valley Vista Road, Golf reservations: (925) 934-4775
 • Golf Course Pro Shop (925) 934-6211. This is an 18-hole municipal course overlooking Walnut Creek.
 • 680/24 Junction. This amazing network of freeway flyovers and unders is architecturally amazing. Unfortunately you can only appreciate their beauty as you pass by at 80 miles an hour. Locals still remember the good old days before CalTrans took a decade to fix the bad design that led to countless backups deep into the suburbs.