Cowboy heritage is celebrated year-round at the Oakdale Cowboy Museum. Housed in the historic Southern Pacific railroad depot building, the Oakdale Cowboy Museum offers exhibits, memorabilia, sights, sounds, and smells of the Wild West. With its focus on the land and its people, the museum embodies the past and embraces the future. Items on display include saddles, buckles, ranching implements and memorabilia from pioneer ranching families, as well as rodeo stars Ted Nuce, Jerold Camarillo, Ace Berry and many more Oakdale greats.

So Oakdale's got spurs. It's also got sweets: Hershey Chocolate U.S.A., a division of Hershey Foods, operates a chocolate factory here with a visitor center open to the public. Yes, that Hershey bar you're unwrapping may have been made in Oakdale. The virtual tours given at the center feature Hershey's chocolate and confectionery products, souvenirs and freshly baked cookies. The Hershey Visitors Center is located downtown and open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

As if having a chocolate factory in town wasn't enough, the Oakdale Chocolate Festival was born in 1992, and continues every year on the third weekend in May. Festivities include fine music, entertainment, more than 100 arts and craft booths, and more than 30 assorted food booths all offering at least one item of chocolate.

Other things to do in Oakdale include enjoying water sports on the Woodward Reservoir, just north of town on 3,200 land acres and 2,800 acres of water. It is a favorite of swimmers, fishermen, sail boaters and water skiers. You can canoe from Oakdale down the Stanislaus to the historic town of Knights Ferry, where you'll find the longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi. The Sierra Railroad Station in Oakdale offers year-round dinner trains and, in summer, "rail and raft" trips on the Stanislaus.

Oakdale promises a fun, Western-forward stay in the California Countryside. The city has a great Web site where you can start to plan your visit; see the Info Box for contact details.

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