Things to Do in Erlanger

Amid leafy branches and between gently swaying trees, human beings soar through the air. Dagaz Acres' eco-adventure zipline course lets children, adults, and adult-size children explore woodland canopies up to 70 feet high, and staff ensures that participants glide snugly in their half-body swing harnesses. Adventurers plunge through seven dual ziplines strung over 23 acres of ground and ravines, three canopy-level ziplines, and two bridges. One bridge is a Burma bridge built with varying types of rope, and the other is a plank construction pirate bridge that stretches 90 feet and swings over a ravine to discourage motorcycle-chase sequences. Dagaz Acres' staff members spread their love of outdoors learning to team-building and leadership exercises held in single-day and overnight programs. They train athletic teams and office groups through ground exercises and on a low-challenge ropes course, which allows participants to engage in physical challenges without the added risk of a bird nesting in their hair. The company reflects this passion in its name, Dagaz, which is derived from a Nordic rune meaning "transformational breakthrough change." Staffers enable others to change through adventure as they design, build, and maintain zipline and ropes courses elsewhere through Dagaz Acres Management Inc. construction division.

Founded by a group of friends who created the acclaimed Newport Gangster Tour as a fundraiser in 2008, American Legacy Tours blossomed into a full-fledged tour company two years later. Participants choose from seven distinct tours that traverse cities as guides share fascinating and sometimes seedy history. The Queen City Underground Tour ventures beneath the city’s streets into a hidden burial vault and long-forgotten tunnels, and the Newport Gangster Tour delves into a scandalous past by visiting the sites of former brothels and speakeasies. Elsewhere, on the Haunted Covington Tour, guests feed their thirst for fright and their hunger for candy handouts from amiable apparitions.

Flying Hoofs Stables’ head trainers, Jessica and Asha, dedicate its 19-acre plot of Kentucky land to instruction in proper horsemanship. A surrounding network of trails and an outdoor arena provide ample space for catching wind in the hair during summer camps and trail rides, whereas a second indoor arena sets the stage for the stable’s lessons. Here, beginners get a first taste of proper horsemanship and tack fundamentals, and advanced riders receive customized instruction in a choice of styles including Hunter, the classic English riding style, or Jumper, a prerequisite for learning horse hopscotch.

Throughout her entire adult life, Sharon Obermeyer has lived and breathed art. She studied it at the University of Cincinnati, taught it at Antonelli College for 17 years, and she created it for children's books at Standard Publishing. Despite her career successes, she felt the need to spread her passion to a wider audience. "I made the decision to make art accessible and affordable," she says, and this led her to found Mount Washington Art Works, where she designs inspiring art curriculums for both children and adults. Certified by the National Association of Art Educators, she uses step-by-step lessons to teach an array of styles, including drawing, painting, perspective, and charcoal. No matter which lesson she's teaching, she supplies her students with all the of the necessary art materials, such as a canvas, brushes, paints, and a resident oyster that allows for reenactments of Girl with the Pearl Earring.

Cincinnati Bike Center pursues a simple mission—to encourage bike riding for transportation and recreation. They pursue this goal on multiple fronts, uniting the cycling community through events, interactive platforms, and collaborations with bicycle advocacy groups to improve local bike culture and elect a bicycle as the city's next mayor. The organization also makes a difference in bikers' lives on a daily basis, managing bicycle-commuter centers on busy thoroughfares and aiding bikers with repairs, ride shares, rentals, and guided tours.

Shielded from the elements, customers at Glowgolf traverse the course’s 18 holes of indoor miniature golf amid an extraterrestrial neon glow. Vivid murals of jungle and underwater scenes adorn the course’s walls, with giraffes, zebras, and otherworldly creatures serenely coexisting. The course itself brims with potted plants and decorative treasure chests along with traditional mini-golf obstacles such as loop-the-loop ramps and water traps filled with live sharks.