Airdrie, AB Outdoor Activities

In a forest of spindly trees and twisted thicket, paintballers slink by gutted Cessna planes and giant tractor tires to find cover behind wooden barriers. These are a few of the props furnishing five fields of play where gamers must employ strategy, teamwork, and quick reactions. After sprinting, diving, and splatter-tagging friends with zipping paintballs, teams can retire to the picnic area to nosh, rehydrate, and discuss future plans of attack.

Seasoned, affable, and PADI-certified scuba-diving instructors staff Caribbean Dreams Diving, which offers personalized programs for training would-be underwater explorers of all skill levels. In-pool dive training is available for every age bracket starting with 8-year-old bubblemakers. Once you've gained some experience, instructors can help you prepare for Open Water certification, sans floaties, at some of the area's most beautiful and lucid bodies of water, including Forgetmenot Pond and Lake Minnewanka. They also teach the PADI Dive Master course and schedule refresher courses for experienced divers.

The course at Boulder Creek demands both strength and control as players knock dimpled orbs about the 6,963-yard Ron Ehlert design. Each challenger must remain wary of the terrain’s most prominent feature: the 30 acres of water that confront play on 14 of the 18 holes. Despite the daunting watery depths, the course caters to all levels of golfer with five sets of tee boxes that render the course as short as 5,272 yards or as long as 6,963 yards. Additionally, an on-site practice facility comprised of a 300-yard driving range and a putting green offers an ideal spot to limber up before a round or practice for the professional mini-golf circuit.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Five sets of tees per hole
• Total length of 6,963 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.2 from the back tees
• Course slope of 125 from the back tees
• Designed by Ron Ehlert

Three seasoned ice anglers channels their 10 or more years of individual experience into showing others how to capture the likes of lake trout and whitefish using nothing but a rod, lure, and ancient Druidic incantation. In addition to ice fishing and fly-fishing lessons, they host three fully loaded trips that range from leisurely afternoons in warm ice huts to intense snowshoe treks through Mountain Lake.

Born from the union of a kayaking school and the Adventure Trippin' Tours travel company, Aquabatics runs programs that immerse participants in the thrills of stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, and canoeing. Available pool and outdoor lessons get students sea-worthy in a controlled environment, and multi-day guided wilderness trips test participants' endurance and ability to ask for directions from passing fish. Experienced guides emphasize water safety and keep classes limited in size to ensure personalized coaching. The Aquabatics store also sells professional gear ranging from life jackets, apparel, and helmets to boards, boats, and manatee saddles.

Self-proclaimed as one of North America's tallest indoor climbing gyms, The Crux Climbing & Bouldering challenges participants of all ages and proficiency levels with 72-foot walls peppered with colour-coded holds and routes. Internationally and nationally certified staff members strap patrons into all necessary rental gear before releasing them to explore more than 12,000 square feet of climbing space. The Crux Climbing & Bouldering's courses—ranging in difficulty from introduction to advanced—instill climbers with the strength and skills to rappel down an 80-foot tower, manoeuvre through a 3,000-square-foot bouldering area, and ascend up multi-pitch routes with their mouths.