Hospitality plus: A championship golf course and pet day care services are among the many delightful amenities at Rolling Hills Casino.
 

There’s a gold nugget in the long, often boring trip up Interstate 5. Almost midway between Los Angeles and Portland on I-5 is Rolling Hills Casino, an oasis offering more than just gambling.

One extra feature is its John Daly-designed, 18-hole championship golf course, which opened in 2007.

The weekday twilight fees begin at 2 p.m. and are $45, but remember, the early afternoons here can be pretty hot, take advantage of daylight savings time and go later. Call ahead to book a tee time.

Another feature is the Clear Creek Sports Club, operated under lease on tribal land. The club offers upland game and duck hunting, some wild boar and fly fishing, and sport shooting.

Two hotels, Ramada and Vagabond, have partnered with the casino. The Vagabond is connected directly to the casino, separated by a youth arcade. The Ramada is across the parking lot.

While most Rolling Hills customers are local, up to half are people traveling through on I-5, said Scott Chandler, player development manager.

“It’s the perfect place for travelers to stop overnight,” Chandler said.

A unique draw is the casino’s free, air-conditioned pet day care, open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s proved so popular, Chandler said, it’s being expanded.

“We’ve had some strange pets in here,” Chandler said. The pet day care has watched over a goat, and even a pet grasshopper caught by a young girl traveling with her grandparents.

“We want to keep people from leaving their pets in cars on hot days,” he said.

Rolling Hills’ “travelers lounge” offers truckers and RVers showers, a hair stylist, laundry and Internet access.
 
Travel tip: One-way, the 160-mile trip is about 2½ hours from
downtown San Francisco at
noncommute time. Plan a stopover here while on a longer trip up I-5.

Rolling Hills opened in 2002. It employs about 500 people, making it Tehama County’s largest private employer.

It’s owned by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, who’ve lived in the area for generations. The tribe was able to acquire about 2,000 acres near Corning in 2000 for a reservation; a small part of that land is the casino site.

Besides the fees it pays to the state, the tribe also donates about $1.4 million a year to the community.

“They grew up here; it’s their hometown too,” Chandler said.

Rolling Hills Casino
Where: 2655 Barham Ave., Corning; on Interstate 5, exit Liberal Avenue and head west
Phone: (888) 331-6400
Web: www.rollinghillscasino.com
Slots: 773
Tables: 12
Extras: Two hotels, pet day care, entertainment, golf, hunting and shooting, fly fishing, RV park, travelers lounge, arcade