Things to Do in Dartmouth

The course at Harbour Ridge Golf Club blazes a winding path among numerous water hazards, opening out onto greens with sweeping views of the harbour below. As the slate-blue water ruffles in the wind, players work their ways across two par 3 holes, six par 4 holes, and a hole that can be played as a par 5 or a par 4 depending on the chosen set of tees. A clubhouse perches on a small hillock, overlooking the evergreen trees that line the fairways and distract lumberjacks from continually asking about the rules of golf.

Course at a Glance:

• 9-hole, par-34 course

• Total length of 2,301 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 31.6 from the back tees

• Course slope of 101 from the back tees

• Three sets of tees per hole

Surprisingly spry for a 90-year-old, Gus the gopher tortoise greets Museum of Natural History visitors while strolling around the premises and snacking on clover and dandelions. As the museum's mascot for more than six decades, Gus has amassed a substantial following, and he keeps his 1,500+ Facebook friends abreast of the latest goings-on at his home's seven permanent galleries. Unearthed tools, arrowheads, and Tupperware of the Mi'kmaq and Acadian peoples await in the archaeology exhibit, and the pre-contact culture, religion, and language of Nova Scotia come to life in the ethnology hall. Life-sized models of feathered bipeds and four-legged furballs lurk in the mammals-and-birds gallery. Live snakes, frogs, salamanders, and honeybees call Netukulimk home, embodying a Mi'kmaq conception of the relationship between the human and natural worlds.

Glowing monkeys scamper toward a neon waterfall, and a knight bearing a radiant yellow lance rides past a bright orange octopus emerging from the ocean. What appears to be a time-traveling session gone awry is really the evolving environment within Putting Edge’s indoor black-lit mini-golf course, which whisks players to deep seas, Aztec jungles, and medieval times. Since opening its original location in Canada, Putting Edge has now expanded to 18 North American locations, all of which invite guests onto its challenging 18-hole courses to seek victory over opponents and the forces that keep their teeth from not glowing as brightly as they could. Elsewhere, the facility houses private party rooms, concessions, and an arcade filled with gamer favorites such as air hockey.

Gentle light filters through sheer drapes, casting a warm glow on the blond wood floors of the empty yoga studio. It's dawn in Dartmouth and, for the moment, the halls of All Yoga stand in contemplative silence. Soon, the first classes of the day will arrive, breaking the stillness that now pervades the studio's every corner. But the quiet always leaves something behind. As students flex and stretch their way through the day's yoga sessions, they will each unconsciously internalize the same kind of balancing energy that powered that morning's peaceful scene. Whether they quiet aching muscles with back care sessions, build strength and balance with slow flow yoga's vinyasa poses, or dissolve stress in the flickering glow of candlelight yoga, students bring their bodies and minds into harmony with the world around them. Like the quiet that fills countless unseen rooms in the moments before the world wakes up, they reach deep within themselves, finding strength and clarity along the way.

Alpha Strike Laser Tag brings the futuristic equipment and tactical strategy of video games into black-lit reality. Branches and green vines creep over the arena's faux-stone walls, amid which players send laser beams flying towards their opponents' vests. Standard and advanced game types make strategizing during these battles a necessity. Alpha Tag, for example, forces laser soldiers to switch between a long-range phaser and a more powerful, but shorter-range blaster. Creating more challenges, Territories beckons players to conquer bases while avoiding hidden traps and the temptation to build monuments to their glory. Throughout all game types, strategically placed control stations flash colourful lights that indicate upgrades for guns and shields.