McPherson, KS Outdoor Activities

Paintballers belly crawl through tall grasses and weeds as their opponents hunker behind fence posts, sandbags, and trees. Within wooden structures teammates strategize and hatch plans of attack before flanking the other team and firing off kaleidoscopic-like rounds of eco-friendly paintballs.

Traversing 54 acres comprising six woodsball courses and two speedball fields, players at The Edge Paintball Adventures navigate varying terrain, including a stream bordered by long stalks of golden grass and overgrown, tree-bordered fields full of thistle, shrubs, and dandelions gone to seed. A staff of trained referees maintain order on themed courses such as Assassin's Alley, where snipers lay in wait or Firebase Bravo, which sports a mammoth bunker that encourages use of paint grenades.

Looking to put a new spin on a classic family activity, the minds behind Glowgolf decided to give the game a phosphorescent update. Incandescent courses place friends and family amid a tropical-fantasy golf world of neon orange, green, and violet surroundings. Players putt luminous orbs through vibrant treasure chests and glimmering windmills while negotiating tricky obstacles near walls portraying black-light-lit aquatic scenes. With more than 20 locations spread over 10 states, Glowgolf's fluorescent labyrinths challenge human players and traveling gnomes.

Vibrant hardwoods envelop the lush fairways of Fox Ridge Golf Club's nine-hole course as they stretch across 3,174 yards of scenic, secluded terrain. The horticultural haven encircles a central stream, which comes into play on four holes and houses a sophisticated underwater civilization that uses golf balls as currency. Rounds end in dramatic fashion at the ninth hole—a 498-yard par 5 that doglegs slightly left and contains the widest segment of the intervening river, forcing spiky-shoed adventurers to make cerebral course-management decisions. Head golf pro Mike Riffel guides greenhorns on their path to green jackets with a variety of golf lessons. The Club keeps tour-level hunger at bay with Fox Ridge Restaurant, which serves an eclectic menu including steaks, burgers, pastas, sandwiches, and salads that can be made to order and foraged entirely from recovered divots.