Columbia, MO Outdoor Activities

Battle Creek Paintball's six fields see prismatic warfare in the form of recreational woodsball to fast-paced speedball year-round, rain or shine. On any of the five outdoor woodland fields, squads of players mimic firefights with flanking maneuvers and extended periods of playing dead. An indoor urban-assault course captures the adrenaline rush of room-to-room fighting, and the speedball course matches competitive-level excitement with mirrored bunker layouts and closely refereed games. With normal admission, the staff provides Tippmann 98 markers and all the protective equipment needed to survive a mural to the face.:m]

Knights, cowpokes, jousters, and dedicated patriots all find good reason to journey to Boster Castle, a permanent Renaissance village that also functions as a film studio and year-round festival space. The castle hosts elaborately staged annual festivals, transporting visitors to eras of the distant past. Patrons may find themselves in the midst of a Wild West frontier town—where costumed cowboys play games of Texas hold’em and banjo players entertain ears with the Top 40 hits of the Gold Rush era—or in a storybook Renaissance town populated by archery tournaments, turkey legs, crooning minstrels, and live comedy shows. At each fair, attendees peruse vendors boasting authentic weaponry, period costumes, and the latest in chain-mail formalwear. The castle also hosts monthly themed socials in which revelers can sit for entertainment and fare surrounding mythical cultures, fantasy worlds, or storied periods in history.

The artificial-pond curators at Washington Park Ice Arena cultivate year-round winter sports with a smooth, indoor ice rink designed for blade-footed glides. Public-skate sessions pop up day and night, and private rentals make for memorable birthday parties or helping pet rocks make the curling team. Ravenous ice dancers can gently stride over to an attached food dispensary to replenish on a sampling of food available for purchase. In addition to daily public-skating sessions, the arena and its helpful staff offer lessons for youth ice trotters, speed skaters, and pubescent snowmen learning to shave with skate blades. The oft-zambonied arena also plays home to a yearly smattering of University of Missouri hockey games, entertaining recitals, and seasonal festivals.

With more than 25 years of maritime experience, Shane St. Clair captains Scovare Expeditions' fleet of sailboats, unveiling the windblown channels of the Willamette River to budding sailors and sightseeing passengers. During sailing tours, passengers can bob across the river while taking in the views of the volcanic caldera of Elk Rock Island or feast on three-course meals as the sails fill up with wind like a balloon ruining its dinner. On frosty winter days, a heated Norwegian Harbor launch vessel or a cozy, covered Hunter 260 sailboat keeps guests toasty. Those interested in learning the ropes can sign up for sailing lessons, where savvy instructors teach novices how to command the helm, guide the lines, and barter with miserly seagulls.