Guelph Outdoor Activities

The inflatable bunkers that dot Eastie Boyz Paintball’s indoor field are pocked with the runny splatters of past skirmishes. As players step onto the AstroTurf battlefield, bright lights and defensive bunkers simulate the conditions of an outdoor playing field without threats of rain, snow, or squirrel commandos. Players outfitted with rental markers or their own equipment prepare for competition in the staging area or cheer on other teams from the viewing area. An onsite pro shop also lets players purchase additional paintballs or upgrade their markers and air systems.

Every year, more than 20,000 players arrive at Paintball Nation's three locations to playfully trade paint across outdoor battlefields or among towering indoor obstacles. Sniper towers overlook Mississauga's urban scenario field, where misfired paintballs splatter against trucks, tires, and wooden boxes. At Burlington, players hide behind plastic barrel towers as they compete in three zones encompassing a total of 20,000 square feet. During summer months, Brampton's outdoor facility hosts paintball squadrons as they launch technicolor salvos amid fresh air and sunlight.

Whether games take place indoors or out, Paintball Nation's referees make sure simulated battles remain safe and good-natured. To that end, they brief every visitor on field rules and etiquette, such as never using nonfield paint or unlicensed Blackhawk helicopters.

On Adrenaline Paintball’s vast indoor and outdoor fields, airsoft pellets or paintballs flick through the air. The 12 fields help a variety of playing styles to thrive. Combatants seek out their opponents while lurking through trenches littered with foxholes and sniper towers. Wooded areas encourage warriors to dart between trees. Scenarios challenge patrons to rescue hostages or destroy a target. Away from the multilevel forts, winding indoor compound, and concrete tunnels, the pro shop carries tidbits and gear for both airsoft and paintball.

Ducking around abandoned cars and hollowed-out buildings, paintballers sneak through the postarmageddon-like streetscapes at Sgt. Splatter's, on the hunt to take down opposing team members. Brought to life in 1994 by a Hollywood set designer, Sgt. Splatter's 35,000-square-foot arena gives players the sense that they're immersed in a first-person-shooter video game. Teams go toe-to-toe in one of 20 games—armed with gear from paintball pistols to semiautomatic markers—stepping into the shoes of DEA agents trying to dismantle a drug-dealing operative or mailmen working to prevent a nuclear crisis.

Spread across 270 historic acres, Knollwood Golf Course is a challenging 36-hole facility comprised of the Old Course set right alongside the New Course—both designed by well-regarded course superintendent Jack Harris in 1970 and 1990, respectively. Players can opt for a round on the Old Course or the New Course links and enjoy hole designs that embrace the natural Ancaster topography. Elevated tees and long, perplexing par 5 holes with ominous names such as Buried Treasure and Redemption lead to finely timed fairways that open up into stirring panoramas. The New Course entices advanced club swingers, and the Old Course's more accessible series of par 4 holes with large, accommodating greens is appealing for beginners.

Knollwood players don clean-cut golf attire and enjoy a golfer's paradise that has been open to the public since 1970 and keeps players happy with sprightly paced 10-minute tee times, on-site restaurants and beverage carts, and a "no-argue" rain cheque policy. The facility's proud groundskeepers maintain large, naturalized areas on the course intended to encourage the wildlife to thrive and occasionally join in on a game.