Things to Do in Dyer

Coyote Run Golf Course’s 18-hole course stretches across 6,478 yards of bentgrass fairways and greens, all manicured to country-club standards, hemmed by pristine waterways and native wetlands. A lighted driving range with both bluegrass and artificial hitting areas hosts practice sessions and pre-round pep talks to nervous 9-irons before players take to the first tee, where shaky swings may succumb to the pressure of an immediate forced carry. Rippling waters loom ominously on 11 holes, placing a high premium on course management, shrewd club selection, and bags that double as flotation devices. A coterie of 54 sand traps peppers the emerald landscape, further complicating course play as clubbers snatch pars and evade bogeys. Alongside the picturesque par 71 rests a three-hole practice course, where aspiring aces will likely find one of Coyote Run’s ace instructors divulging golf wisdom in a variety of lessons.

Coyote Run’s fully stocked pro shop sells apparel and equipment from the game’s top brands, and the onsite Wiley's Grill, open year-round, hosts post-round revelry with a social bar, as well as a newly appointed lodge with a 30-foot fireplace nestled under a rustic, timber ceiling. Golf-simulator sessions enable players to partake in rounds on famous golf courses throughout the year. An outdoor patio provides a sweeping view of the course and a keen vantage point for taking in sunsets.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Bentgrass fairways & greens
• Length of 6,478 yards from farthest tees
• Course rating of 69.5 from farthest tees
• Slope rating of 123 from farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Scorecard

Younique Yoga of NWI specializes in Vinyasa yoga––a vigorous flow of continuous posture sequences linked together with conscious breaths. To help practitioners sink into deep stretches as safely as possible and warm up pockets full of leftover lasagna, Younique's studio is heated to a balmy 98–108 degrees, making each 70-minute session a sweaty and detoxifying workout that helps to lengthen and heal the muscles. While the sun salutations, balances, twists, and binds are designed to accommodate all skill levels, instructors can guide beginners into modified poses. Students should load up their yoga pack-mule with plenty of water, a mat, and a towel before heading to each class, though Younique Yoga of NWI stocks a surplus available for rent or purchase.

Each year during early spring, the frost clinging to Indiana's Calumet region thaws, clearing the way for fresh grass, budding flowers, and smooth go-kart tracks. It's along the banked turns of Zig-E's Funland's Rippin' Raceway that drivers experience the cool breezes of the freshly temperate outdoors while careening over a 1/5-mile track. Zig-E's friendly staff is on hand to point visitors in the direction of a bungee trampoline or toward the waterfall-flanked greens of the 18-hole mini-golf course that blankets the 3.4-acre property. Inside, a year-round arcade is packed with more than 50 video and redemption games that buzz and blip as players pass virtual levels and amass tokens. Throughout the day, staffers at the snack shop reenergize fun seekers with tasty snacks and drinks and tales of the day humans first came down from the mountain to play Xbox.

Open until at least midnight nightly, Dyer’s night-owl-friendly Stardust Bowl III hosts bowling face-offs in a sprawling complex with 48 lanes. Merrillville’s even larger Stardust Bowl II lets patrons scatter pins on one of 68 lanes or shoot for table pockets in the billiards room. Arcades at both alleys bolster joystick-specific agility, and after working up an appetite hefting heavy balls, bowlers can quell their hunger at Merrillville’s coffee shop or Dyer’s full-service restaurant. Birthday parties and groups garner special discounts at both alleys, and at Dyer’s partygoers can keep secret handshakes truly secret by retiring to one of five private party rooms.

The team sits silently, trigger fingers poised to unleash the simulated ammo in their laser-tag guns. Nearby, one of their teammates waits to be rescued. The team's leader creeps forward, checks the area, and gestures to the others. They locate their captured comrade, but something is amiss: the pilot's head is shaking. The air fills with flashes of light, and the battle is over.

Team Combat Live uses laser tag as a means to act out immersive tactical scenarios, foster team camaraderie, and covertly scan supermarket barcodes. In indoor and outdoor spaces, combatants run, crouch, and fire, using the same laser gear employed by SWAT teams and Special Forces. To further hone tactical skills, Team Combat Live sprinkles each battlefield with ammo boxes and medic locations. Their instructors, including a certified SWAT instructor, also host summer camps that teach tactical maneuvers.

For more than 30 years, equestrians have sought tranquility amid the forested trails and weathered barns of A Ranch 394, Inc. They find their solace atop the healthy, gentle horses and ponies that roam the ranch's meadows and slumber or play late-night poker in boarding stalls. Employees saddle up the steeds for rides or tours on horseback, and even host parties complete with jaunts atop ponies. The staffers also channel their passion for horse care into camps that cater to the budding equestrian or disenchanted carousel operator.