Lancaster, PA Outdoor Activities

Drivers rev their engines across three separate raceways at The Go-Kart Track, where thrill seekers can split their time between high-speed chases and rounds of mini golf. The family-oriented entertainment center’s three distinct go-kart tracks cater to drivers young and old. The junior track safeguards youngsters with an automatic braking system every time they release the gas pedal, and the family track lets people ride shotgun in double-seater cars. Finally, the drift track—coated in a special powder—allows drivers 54 inches and taller to slip and slide around turns, drifting like their favorite racecar driver or continent. Aside from its automotive pursuits, The Go-Kart track features a mini-golf course with nine professionally designed holes peppered with obstacles such as cacti and tires.

Mulligan's Family Golf Center beckons to birdie-hunters with a scaled-down golf course, an 18-hole mini-golf circuit, and a full-length driving range. With its longest hole measuring in at 108 yards, the center's 9-hole Chip-n-Putt course fosters short-game refinement, as players send balls somersaulting onto small greens from artificial tees or out of one of the layout's three sand traps. Mulligan's graciously rents out golf balls (a $0.50 deposit each, refunded when balls are returned) for use on the course, saving players the hassle of buying their own sleeve or chiseling a bocce ball down to the right size.

For more pressure-free swing practice, Mulligan's 30-stall driving range lets clubbers dial in their wedges, irons, woods, and mannequin legs with five signs demarcating yardages all the way back to the 250-yard terminus. The center also encompasses an 18-hole mini-golf course, where putt-putt posses crouch to demystify tricky breaking putts while the burbling sounds of waterfalls, fountains, and streams set a tranquil tone.

Nestled in the heart of a scenic 45-acre expanse, Out of Reach Farm hosts one indoor and one outdoor ring, both equipped with challenging jumping courses. A covered arena juts out from the indoor ring, hosting private and small group lessons. While one of three instructors relays equestrian basics or advanced techniques to pupils aged 5 and older, parents and other spectators keep cozier than mitten-clad sheep in a heated viewing area. As the seasons evolve from chilly to sun-drenched, so do the farm's offerings, which include half-day summer camps suited to riders aged 5–15. For a more intimate peek into farm life, patrons can schedule two-hour birthday parties, with an hour devoted to pony rides for guests.

With a total of 36 holes that wind through the wetlands at the northernmost tip of the Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Bay Golf Club maintains links-style courses in Rising Sun and North East, Maryland. Patrons have voted their approval of the golf club, which is a host of the 2012 Special Olympics, in Maryland Life's Free State's Finest 2011 list.

As players guide their golf balls through tree-lined fairways at the North East Course, they encounter blooming azaleas ringing the greens in the spring and offering adorable opportunities to express affection for a caddie. Budding golf enthusiasm continues to flower at the Rising Sun Course, where seven ponds poke their way into the line of play and remain a constant inconvenience. Rising Sun’s signature fourth hole, also known as Lookout, offers a prime example, with a vicious pond on the right swallowing up sliced tee shots and unsuspecting bunnies that graze too close to it.

North East Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• Total length of 6,434 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.3 from the back tees
• Course slope of 138 from the back tees
• Six sets of tees per hole

Rising Sun Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 6,636 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 73.1 from the back tees
• Course slope of 129 from the back tees
• Six sets of tees per hole