Things to Do in Joliet

Parent-chaperoned youngsters take their first, wobbling steps on ice skates while the hockey stars they may one day become whiz around the rink, perfecting their technique. Skaters of all skill levels practice side by side during open skates at Rocket Ice Arena. Their nonskating supporters can look on from the Lake Placid Lodge, sipping drinks from the onsite café and using the lodge’s free Wi-Fi to check an app that tells them whether their glass is half empty or half full.

Home to the Sabres Youth Hockey Club, the rink also offers instruction in icebound sports. Their hockey instructors can introduce novices to the sport or train more experienced skaters how to compete on high-resistance synthetic ice. A separate team of instructors specializes in figure skating and synchronized skating, which is the art of synchronizing your feet to go in a single direction. Youngsters can also explore the rink during skate parties, which come with an on-ice instructor, decorations, and balloons.

nside Bikram Yoga Plainfield’s cozy studios, soaring temperatures allow students contorted in muscle-building postures to deepen their stretching and expel toxins through perspiration. Expert instructors lead students through a series of 26 postures, each building off the next to help them build flexibility, strength, and enough confidence to never again be intimidated by a pretzel. Parents can drop off mini-yogis for childcare six mornings a week before stretching out muscles on their own mat or one rented from the studio.

A stone-lined fountain mists in front of Bolingbrook Golf Club’s 76,000-square-foot clubhouse, foreshadowing the 18-hole golf course that teems with pristine water features. Designed by prolific design team Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest—whose footprint of original courses spans the globe—the 7,104-yard layout plays alongside seven lakes that impede passage on multiple holes, including a par 3 with a true island green that players can access only by footbridge or buoyant golf bag. A particularly challenging course with a par 5 that's 600 yards when played from the farthest tees, the layout levels the fairways for players of all abilities with five tee options. Alongside the course, the club’s driving range and academy help players to nurture their relationship with each wood, wedge, or hard-hitting spatula. The space includes grass tee and short-game areas, with lights on for night practice through the end of September. Its Rabito Golf, PGA-class golf instruction includes a free 10-minute swing analysis with video, available daily. A clubhouse with men’s and women’s locker rooms and two full-service restaurants is available to maximize comfort and convenience during visits to the club.

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest
• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Length of 7,104 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 73.8 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 135 from the farthest tees
• Five tee options

Carriage Greens Country Club’s 18-hole course stretches across 6,395 yards of pristine fairways hemmed by native wetlands and mature trees. Cattail-lined water hazards loom on the edges of 10 holes, testing golfers' course management and sustaining a sophisticated underwater civilization that uses golf balls as currency. Golfers can prepare for the round with a stint at the club’s driving range, refuel with a hearty nosh at the Sandtrap Grill, and recapitulate flush drives and pinpoint approaches with a classic martini at the 8700 Club & Lounge, open Friday and Saturday evenings.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• Length of 6,395 yards from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• Scorecard

Memories & Beyond's papers, dies, stamps, tools, and classes equip crafters with all the materials and skills needed to preserve precious keepsakes. Underneath an enormous red sign reading "scrapbooking," 6,000 square feet of ribbon and stationery unfold before visitors, helping them to chronicle distant journeys with an extensive travel section or show off regional pride with a wealth of Chicagoland-themed papers. Each Friday and Saturday night, hobbyists gather amid the account machines, die cuts, and tables of the crop room to craft and share drinks and snacks. Classes hone basic and advanced scrapbooking skills sets, from matching basic colors and patterns to constructing stunning gift cards from layered paper or documenting memories before they even happen.

Xtreme Xperience was founded by a pair of car aficionados who understand the thrill of commanding a $253,000 piece of four-wheeled poetry in motion, like the Lamborghini LP560. They know that exaggerating the pronunciation of Porsche is only half as fun as horsewhipping its 530 horsepower from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 3.3 seconds. They realize that the Ferrari F430's supercharged Launch Control console button is too irresistible not to push coming out of every red light and into every dark, quiet, and hopefully vacant train tunnel. The smooth, spaceship-esque aluminum body shell of the Audi R8 makes them appreciate how discreet something like 782 rivets, 382 self-tapping screws, and more than 300 feet of welding can be. The people at Xtreme Xperience love supercars, and they love matchmaking them to other car enthusiasts who live to cruise across the great, oil-stained arteries of the American interstate-highway system.