Things to Do in Burlington

The alligator's enormous jaws remain gaping, large white fangs ready to chomp as child after child voluntarily scampers down its gullet. It's not feeding day at the zoo—it’s a day of bouncing and exercise at Bumper Jumpers’ 14,000-square-foot indoor playground packed with mammoth inflatables and games. Loping across the padded, multicolored floor, kids bound in a giant purple inflatable to play basketball or punt footballs through air-filled field-goal poles. Big yellow slides beckon tots before they frolic through inflated landscapes of orange dinosaurs, oversize mushrooms, and jump-roping imaginary friends.

After working up an appetite, kids can gnaw on healthy treats at the refreshments area before slipping into inflatable sumo suits or tossing balls at the mini bowling game. Bumpers Jumpers offers weekly programs so parents can drop kids off for three hours of play while they go about their day, and party packages help parents to organize memorable birthdays.

Bumper Jumpers keeps kids safe by closely monitoring them with both an attentive staff and an electronic surveillance system. Additionally, regular cleaning of purple sea serpents and twisty obstacle courses with Purell sanitizer keeps the venue free of 99% of germs.

Hot Shots Family Fun Center enchants guests of all ages with four outdoor attractions that offer both terrestrial and aquatic recreation. Three streams, six ponds, and a waterfall line the par-40 miniature golf course, cultivating peace of mind as players grapple with creative hazards. Friends can douse one another with water cannons built into the cockpits of electric-powered bumper boats or attack one another with a barrage of cushy Nerf balls in the Cannonball Air Blasters bounce house. Atop the glassy surface of Hot Shots' outdoor pool, guests propel themselves inside buoyant, 8-foot hamster wheels, which enable them to traverse the waters immediately after eating at the Nineteenth Hole Cafe.

Tiger Paintball's airball field was born from a custom design that its owners toiled to perfect. Unwilling to settle on offering a standard airball experience, Tiger’s team came together to sew the turf’s bonded surfaces together, carefully construct a rain-drainage system, and map out obstacles in a ways that eliminates visibility issues. With all that planning in place, now players are free to race across the inflatable-barricade-littered blue, red, yellow, and purple surfaces to blast at their opponents. The airball field hosts refereed bouts both by appointment and during weekend open play, and a separate shooting range accommodates guests looking to improve their aim before games. The pro shop sells gear, including markers, goggles, and high-pressure air systems, from trusted manufacturers such as Tippmann, Planet Eclipse, and Ninja Paintball, which makes all its equipment from recycled nunchucks.

There's no doubt that you are a real adult when you have been an aerospace engineer for over 10 years. So for Kent Gold, it was a momentous life change when in 2001 he rediscovered his inner child and founded SoccerTots—a soccer-based program that helps 18-month to 10-year-old kids develop their motor skills and build their confidence through fun and athletic games. Now, a decade later, the program is offered at more than 150 locations, including Canada and Peru, and has expanded to include HoopsterTots and PartyTots.

Each SoccerTots program is helmed by a team of skilled instructors who engage little ones with fun activities, such as dribbling balls and playing scrimmages, that fuel their motivation to learn and challenge their athletic abilities. To ensure a supportive learning environment, classes are broken down by age and use only soft, child-size equipment. SoccerTot instructors also get kids ready to learn by sending them into super-concentration mode, which encourages little ones to concentrate and try their hardest at a task to help strengthen their muscle memory and their ability to levitate other players on the field.

Captain Josh Laferty channels more than two decades of experience fishing the local waters to help people find and reel in striped bass from Smith Mountain Lake. During his chartered trips, up to three fishermen hang out on an Angler center-console boat equipped with refreshments, safety gear, and fishing equipment such as Orvis fly tackle and Outcast planer boards. Since the boat comes stocked with everything needed for a day—or half-day—of fishing, participants only need to bring their Virginia freshwater-fishing license and arrive dressed in season-appropriate apparel and mermaid tails.

Shrouded in groves of leafless trees, Darkside Haunted Estates looms ominously. Dilapidated black shutters hang from the two-story house's white, weather-beaten siding, and behind its black door, nightmares have stirred to life for more than two decades. Throughout its eerie grounds, the staff has installed dynamic special effects on a collection of attractions that has ballooned to more than a dozen, including a quarter-mile haunted trail and a backwoods hayride. Unsettling sites tell the estate's sordid story through the Darkside Mortuary, Rottenkorr Cemetery, and The Orphanage. They’ve also installed a "Fame of Shame" board, which keeps track of visitors who bail early and of monsters who faint at the sight of their own fake blood.