Things to Do in Lake Magdalene

Lazee Lizard opens up the Gulf, Tampa Bay, and Florida's myriad waterways to adventurers with its standup paddleboard and kayak rentals. In such vessels, explorers paddle blue waters to take in the sights, get in a workout, or spot manatees and dolphins trying to wipe the grins from their faces. To keep the maritime fun accessible, Lazee Lizard's team can also bring equipment directly to each customer's watery launch site.

The course at Plantation Palms Golf Club slithers among numerous water hazards and over an incessant barrage of elevation changes, keeping golfers on their toes. David Harman orchestrated the links-style layout to tangle with the natural lay of the land and added his own flourishes in the form of large, white sand bunkers and gently billowing greens.

Players make swift acquaintance with local difficulties on a par 5 first hole that stretches 561 yards from the back tees. Elsewhere on the front nine, two par 3s measure 198 yards and 221 yards, calling on golfers to exhibit distance and accuracy or the ability to hypnotize opponents into believing they just saw a hole in one. Plantation Palms' on-site restaurant, the Oasis Bar & Grill, is open to the public and has a menu that features items such as a grilled mango fish sandwich and the Plantation Palms club sandwich.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Total length of 6,824 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 73.4 from the back tees

• Course slope of 139 from the back tees

• Four sets of tees per hole

• Scorecard

Masked warriors charge over the top of trench fortifications, spearheading an attack on enemy lines, spurred on by a telltale popping noise and flurry of splattered paint. "I don't care if you're a man, woman, child or 65-year-old grandma, you're going to get an adrenaline rush," Owner John Gross told the Tampa Bay Times, speaking to paintball and airsoft sports’ ability to bring out that competitive spirit in almost everyone, from military folks to birthday-party guests.

Players of all ages and stripes engage in friendly combat on the rolling slopes of six separate fields, which sport obstacles and features such as mock-pillboxes, buildings, and a hulking U.N. tank. Visitors ambush, flank, and outmaneuver opposing teams using the field’s arsenal of pigment-hurling paintball cannons, or more realistic pellet-shooting airsoft rifles. Referees carefully watch play to ensure soldiers adhere to house safety rules and Geneva Convention standards.

When Brian McInerney reflects on the humble beginnings of Wheel Fun Rentals, he points to his childhood passion for bikes. "As far back as I can remember, I had a real love affair with bicycles," he recalls. During a trip to Italy in 1987, Brian's affinity for cycling blossomed into a full-fledged obsession when he spotted locals' transporter of choice, the surrey. Inspired, he began importing the Italian four-wheelers to a rental business in the U.S. that eventually expanded into Wheel Fun Rentals, now a nationwide web of shops that also loans out bikes, electric cars and mopeds, and man-powered watercraft. Adventuresome athletes can also compete in activities such as surrey scavenger hunts and blindfold obstacle courses navigated via shouted instructions from a seeing teammate or exceptionally long rounds of trial and error.

As they flock to the nearby beaches of Clearwater or the nightlife of Tampa, most tourists overlook Dunedin, a pretty burg known for its sweeping views of the Gulf of Mexico. But, thanks to the segway-riding guides at Sun Glide Tours, the region’s hidden gem just became much more accessible. Astride their two-wheeled steeds, visitors can explore the Pinellas Trail that cuts through downtown, steering their segways alongside runners, bikers, and the town’s famous rollerblading squirrels.

Slippery Brook Enterprise’s head instructor, Tracy Schlabach, has spent more than 30 years working with horses, a wealth of experience that has earned her silver and bronze medals from the United States Dressage Federation . Aspiring equestrians pick Schlabach’s brain for horseback-riding knowledge during her private riding lessons at the picturesque Half Pass Stables, whose dressage ring, clay arena, and jumper arena emerge out of lush, emerald foliage. She teaches a variety of styles that strengthen the relationship between human and equine, making them work together to accomplish pole-clearing bounds, ballet-like dressage dances, and record-breaking three-legged races. Schlabach also runs a horse-boarding and lodging program at the same stables, housing four-legged companions in the barn’s 34 stalls and turning them loose for regular grazes on verdant pastures.