Welcome to Splat Hill, a safe retreat for small groups such as Christian Youth Groups
and Boy Scouts. Nestled on 40-acres of rolling hills in Yuba County, Splat Hill offers
such diverse outdoor activities as 18-hole disc golf, fishing and paint ball.

“It’s a place where people can run their own program and provide their own food while feeling comfortable knowing they have this beautiful place to themselves,” said owner Mark Brown, a self-described paint ball enthusiast and all-around outdoor junkie.

“We do a great job of providing fun recreation.”

Brown, father of four and devout Christian, knows about fun.

“I love the outdoors and I love fishing,” he said.

“And with three ponds and a stream filled with Rainbow Trout, how could I go wrong?”

He bought the property in 1989 as a weekend escape for his young family. Soon
he began inviting church members to the rustic property for retreats.

“Everybody loved it,” Brown said.

Excited about sharing his Shangri-la, the energetic Brown set his sites on
developing retreat activities for church members.

“The first recreational activity I saw was disc golf,” Brown said. “I went out and
played it and loved it.”

Brown delved further into the newfangled sport, which substitutes golf clubs for specially designed flying discs, similar to Frisbees. Next, Brown met the sport’s founder, "Steady" Ed Headrick, who referred Brown to professional disc golf players in Northern California.

They helped Brown design and install the course.

“Headrick played in our first tournament,” Brown said.

Paintball came next.

“We had played it in Ione, which made me think, ‘this would be perfect for the ranch,’ ” Brown said.

Other activities include basketball and volleyball.

Brown built a lodge and a bunkhouse in 1996 for indoor camping.

But before there was fun and frivolity, the property was overrun with 10-foot high
blackberry brambles, weeds and thicketed poison oak.

“It was a mess,” Brown laughed.

“You could barely see the creek.”

Brown took the overhaul of his property in stride.

“Having a landscaping background gave me lots of ideas for the facility,” he noted.

Brown followed the natural terrain of his land when he developed the paintball fields.

Besides the sporting activities, Splat Hill has hosted cheerleader camps, Boy Scout groups, bachelor parties, and weddings.

Three disc golf tournaments are held annually with upwards of 200 people camping
on the grounds.

“It’s incredible,” Brown said.

“My goal was to provide a safe place for groups to go at an affordable price,” Brown added.

“With an adventure-based weekend, we figured that the youth wouldn’t forget the place
and it would help the groups with their programs – kind of a team building effort.”