Lakewood, WA Outdoor Activities

In 2004, a group of skilled climbers and experienced rope setters married their expansive knowledge of the sport to create Edgeworks Climbing. The gym is an indoor paradise that expertly match the dynamic challenges that athletes face outdoors, boasting 10,000 square feet of climbing area with 25-foot top-rope routes, 35-foot lead routes, and 3,500 square feet of bouldering. The team of setters draws on years of experience outdoors to create hundreds of challenging, satisfying routes for climbers of all skill levels. Most of the setters are teachers as well, leading classes for beginners or advanced climbers, as well as heading outdoors to help the class appreciate the adrenaline rush of an outdoor climb ending in a fistfight with a bear.

Additionally, the passionate staff realized that alternative workouts are needed to push through plateaus in climbs, so they created a fitness area to complement the climbing gym. Classes such as yoga, Pilates, and cycling further exercise muscle groups that are useful when trying to finally ride a bike up your favorite route.

The locations that comprise Paintball Tickets challenge hue-happy gamers to a range of combative revelry fought with air-powered paintbrushes. During games, referees maintain a fun and lighthearted wartime experience while competitors engage in capture-the-flag style strategy. As players navigate the terrain on a quest to invade the other team's territory and avoid epidemics of trenchfoot, they covertly scope opponents and peg them with bright-colored pellets to dull their chance at victory.

At the age of 9, Bonnie Morris began a lifelong relationship with horses. By age 10, she was the proud guardian of her own colt and at 22, she set the wheels in motion to open her own training center. Today at Morris's Shadow Mountain Stables, she and her staff continue to bond riders and steeds within a five-acre haven that's beyond the reaches of the outside world and its persistent chorus of honking bikes. They foster interspecies rapport through various types of instruction, including lessons and summer camps that teach showmanship and horse care. Trail rides mosey through nearby woods, meadows, and grasslands overlooking Mount Rainier. Birthday parties include horseback rides or visits to the petting farm. The petting farm facilitates up-close encounters with fuzzy ferrets, giant bunnies, mini horses, and baby goats as well as the stable's fleet of horses and resident cow, Henry, who also answers to, "Look! A cow!"

The nine-hole course at Highlands Golf tests the mettle of mid- to short-range irons with nine par 3s and a bounty of scenarios that demand short-game finesse. Whereas most courses place value on long drives and superhuman muscles like Arnold Palmer's, Highlands Golf makes players rely on dexterity with shorter irons and putting prowess. Tee shots range from just 100 yards to 200 yards on the par 3s, with eight bunkers and three water hazards ready to confound overconfident swings. Rounds typically take less than 75 minutes to complete, providing an unintimidating layout for new players to practice, space for veterans to show off their short-game theatrics, and enough soft landing spots for speed golfers to test the aerodynamics of argyle tracksuits. 

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par-27 course
• Nine par 3s
• No hole longer than 200 yards
• Rounds often completed in less than 75 minutes

Fort Steilacoom Golf Course covers a flat parcel of terrain with a nine-hole, par 34 layout that measures a modest 2,491 yards when played from the farther of two tee options. Open fairways sparsely lined with evergreens put beginners at ease while inviting more experienced golfers to shoot for low scores, as solid drives can set up potential eagle opportunities on two short par 4s and the 440-yard, par 5 fifth hole. The relatively level setting makes the course easy to walk, though Fort Steilacoom offers golf carts for those who haven’t taught their caddy the art of the piggyback ride. Fort Steilacoom complements its course with a practice area, a snack bar, and a full-service pro shop where golfers can rent clubs.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 34 course
• Length of 2,491 yards from the farther tees
• Course rating 62.1 from the farther tees (adjusted for a par score of 68)
• Slope rating of 96 from the farther tees
• Two tee options
• Scorecard