Things to Do in Fort Collins

At five Chipper’s Lanes Bowling Center locations, colorful balls sail down glossy lanes, overseen during weekends and birthday parties by the center's mascot, Chipper the Chipmunk. After going to Chipper for a hug as warm and fuzzy as teddy-bear-skin gloves, guests can also supplement bowling fun with occasional live music performances and cosmic bowling at select locations. Between frames, players restore energy with burgers or pizza at the full-service, onsite restaurant.

If you missed your chance to wield a sword during high-intensity cardio workouts in a failed audition for the remake of Karate Kid (spoiler alert), today's Groupon gives you the secret weapon of warrior workout bliss: for $20, you get any five fitness classes at Boulder Quest Center (a $50 value). Choose one or mix and match any of BQC's fitness courses: cardio kickboxing, cardio sword, cardio boot camp, tribal bellydance, yoga, and NinjaFit.

While struggling to renovate their mountain cabin in the dead of winter, Kristian and Kimberly Naslund caught sight of the snow-covered pines outside their window, swaying in time to music softly playing in the background. Today, the husband-and-wife team has immortalized this shared placid moment through the very name of their craft distillery, bringing along Kristian's father Chris into the business as the trio fashions small-batch whiskeys, rums, liqueurs, and gins of the highest caliber. Since the distillery is a working production facility, visitors and tourists are likely to witness workers filling, labeling, and numbering each bottle by hand in the bottling area or berobed and bearded alchemists turning mash into spirits over the artisanal copper-pot still. Each powerful sip of bourbon and sweet mouthful of liqueur is culled from all-natural ingredients, free from artificial extracts, flavorings, or coloring agents.

With 28 years of experience in glass blowing, Dan Daggett knows how to carefully work with red-hot glass as it glows and twists in a furnace. At his Loveland studio, Daggett spins vases, perfume bottles, bowls, paperweights, sculptures, and platters, and he leads classes to share his craft with aspiring glass blowers. During classes, he introduces pupils to the basics of working with liquid glass and the required safety measures. While you’re in the studio, you’ll be able to take a peek at Dan’s own work—like artistic vases and sleek paperweights ideal for keeping kites from violating house arrest.

SeptaCycles converts a traditionally solitary endeavor into a group activity with seven-seater bikes that glide at up to 10 miles per hour. Designed by artist and inventor Eric Staller, the Conference Bike fans a circle of seats around the central hub where pedalers' kinetic energy and fear of advancing tricycle gangs propels the rear wheels via a motorcycle chain. This people power sends groups gliding through Old Town or toward sunny City Park. Independent free wheels allow riders to exercise feverishly or take a breather without delaying excursions, and a steering system designed by Porsche helps drivers stay on target. Hourly rentals let groups control their own course, or trained drivers can take the helm, cruising toward pit stops at local breweries such as Equinox and New Belgium or CSU’s verdant lagoon.

Straddling the border between Wyoming and Colorado, Two Chicks Paintball's unpredictable terrain throws obstacles and tactical diversions at players. Recreational soldiers carrying the field’s rented Tippmann 98s can maneuver through the trees and hide in forested fields as they strategize attacks and retreats. They can take cover behind looming boulders, which protect from opponents' quick spray of paint and give shooters a chance to catch their breath or recite their favorite inspirational movie monologue to their team before advancing. At the range’s speed-ball field, players can engage in short stints of fast-paced warfare before retreating to the picnic area to refuel their stomachs. For those who arrive unequipped, all the accouterments are available for rent, including paintball guns, safety gear, supplies, and camouflage jumpsuits.