Highland, UT Outdoor Activities

At any given time, Momentum Indoor Climbing probably has more visitors clung to its walls than standing on its floor. With 20,000 square feet of climbable terrain, the indoor climbing gym challenges sportspeople of all ability levels. During lead climbs, routes up to 50 feet high guide climbers over verticals, slabs, overhangs, and arêtes. Visitors can also develop skills in a safe environment at top-roping stations, as well as a bouldering area outfitted with foam and vinyl padding for soft landings. Crack climbing challenges the most seasoned of mountaineers, recreating the fissures found in desert sandstone and the crows' feet on the faces of Mount Rushmore’s presidents.

Momentum's team members also lead skill-building classes and youth programs, and help clients stay in shape with fitness training that incorporates yoga and Pilates, cardio conditioning, and strength training. Additional amenities range from locker rooms to daycare to companion pet rocks.

She Runs coordinates ladies-only races across the country, and provides weekend getaways that strike a healthy balance between fitness and relaxation. The organization's events send participants galloping across scenic courses, helping women from all walks of life unite whether or not they sing the bunny song when lacing up their running shoes. More than just a one-time endurance test, She Runs folds relaxing vacations inside retreats that are combined with group fitness classes, lectures from experts, and personalized coaching leading up to race day. A portion of each event's proceeds get poured into She Runs' mission of snuffing out diabetes.

Mulligans Golf and Games entices golfers to grab their clubs and pole-vault into the universe of gentlemanly sportsmanship across two nine-hole golf courses. Golfers can steadily slice their way through The Meadow's nine par-3 holes, or line up their swings to conquer on The Ridge's tricky combination of par-3, par-4, and par-5 holes. Both courses present unique challenges for players of all skill levels, tucking water hazards into verdant greens and commissioning tennis players to play defense. Those who prefer putters can traverse the bubbling lagoons of two immaculately landscaped mini golf courses.

Mulligan Golf and Games' driving range, open day and night, unfurls 33 covered hitting areas so golfers can practice their strokes and acquire the accuracy to peg their neighbors' rooftop satellite dishes. During golf lessons, Jeff Wathen and other PGA golf professionals analyze swings and approaches using years of experience as well as the latest in video and computer teaching aids. Baseball and softball players can also club white orbs into the sky from eight slow- and fast-pitch batting cages.

Gleaming under the pale light of the winter sun, blades slice along the smooth surface of Resort Center Ice Skating Rink, sending icy dust spraying in their wake. Surrounded by the quaint, Bavarian-style walls of the Village shopping center, the outdoor oval beckons guests wishing to discover what ice skating was like before indoor rinks confined it and ice sharks rendered neighborhood ponds off-limits. Periodically throughout each public-skate session, a zamboni buffs the subzero sheet to present skaters with a surface as smooth and gentle as the festive tunes filling the air. Guests circle around hand-in-hand, remarking on the surrounding Christmas lights and fir trees while fledgling skaters focus on their footing and grasp complimentary ice-skate trainers for balance.

Between pirouettes or mad dashes across the rink, hands can warm up with steaming mugs of hot chocolate in the skate house. Nearby, in the Village shopping center, more balanced meals can be found at Food for Thought or Kristi’s Café, refueling skaters before they explore more than 40 winter-gear hubs and gift shops.

The 18-hole course at TalonsCove Golf Club hugs the northwest rim of Utah Lake, leading golfers on a shamrock-shaded jaunt backdropped by the craggy skyline formed by the Timpanogos Mountain. Architect Gene Bates designed the course in a links-style format, the ancient design scheme that features numerous deep bunkers, frustratingly high rough, and few trees bent on blocking flight paths and asking for group pictures right before an important shot.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Total length of 7,096 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.5 from the back tees
• Course slope of 127 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

The whirring carnival attractions inside Jungle Jim's Playland never pack up and leave town. Instead, the year-round kiddie complex keeps its stable of rides completely indoors at its climate-controlled facility. Proud parents look on or join the action for free as kids 11 and younger enjoy jungle patrol cars, a ground-level roller coaster, and a traditional carousel. In all, seven rides and a multilevel jungle gym provide all the fun of an outdoor carnival without having to endure sticky, summer heat and long carnie lectures about 17th-century Italian operas. Kids split up their bumper car sessions with Skee-Ball and other arcade games or sit at picnic tables and nosh on a house-made pizza from The Jungle Cafe concession stand.