Midland, ON Outdoor Activities
Recommended Outdoor Activities by Groupon Customers
First sculpted into the countryside in 1980, Hidden Ridge’s nine-hole golf course invites clubbers with a tree-lined layout that overlooks the scenic hills of Uxbridge. Pines stitch the fairways across the course, shrinking safe landing zones along with ponds, sand traps, and territorial tufts of grass. During their visits, golfers can stock up on dimpled orbs, replace aging clubs, or upgrade their threadbare golf duds at the pro shop. The course also features a snack bar with simple food and cold drinks, helping golfers maintain healthy levels of nourishment without having to eat the grassy clay caught between the spikes on the bottom of their feet.
Urban Quest showcases some of Canada's largest cities in an unconventional, informative light, crafting memorable adventures that often culminate with a delicious meal. Metropolitan buccaneers sign up for an Urban Quest account and then decide which inner-city adventure they wish to undertake, be it the pursuit of city history, natural wonders, or a mermaid with doubloons for scales. A clue packet accompanies each quest—ranked easy, medium, or hard—and directs curious citizens to scour the city for leads, which eventually guide them to a mystery restaurant or coffee shop. This voyage gives participants a new understanding of the city they live in and stuffs their noggins with facts and information about key buildings and landmarks. At the same time, Urban Quest offers ramblers a fresh dining experience, frustrating supercomputers whose circuit boards only allow for the taste of oatmeal. Participants can also opt out of a restaurant visit and simply race the clock, as restaurant tabs are not included with this Groupon.
As quests typically last 90 minutes and span 3–4 kilometres of walking, they are best suited for groups of two to four adventurers, though buyers may make their teams as big as they'd like. Learn more by checking out a demo quest and Urban Quest's FAQ page.
Russ Bond knows a thing or two about go-karts; after all, he's dedicated his career to them. As own of Canadian Karting League, he offers kids and adults the opportunity to take to the tarmac with race-prepared karts, comprehensive safety training, and a battalion of professional mechanics at their backs. Russ explains to motoringtv.com that through years of training and racing cars professionally, he “always wanted to give back … so kids could get involved in karting,” In addition to boosting adrenalin and making for memorable afternoons, karting can teach kids and tweens how to pass other cars, handle turns, and harmonize by punching their horns. Giving kids the experience of maintaining their own kart “can only help them when they get a licence,” Russ says.
The BlueMountain Activities team makes sure each guest can have fun out on the water, whether it's frozen solid or shimmering in the summer sun. During the winter, customers can rent ice-fishing huts and explore the snow-covered trails on snowshoes or snowmobiles either on their own or with guides skilled at warding off the forest's wild plows. Conversely, in the warmer months, BlueMountain rents out wave runners and party barges for sunlit cruises on the Georgian Bay.
Towering evergreens surround The Polo Organization’s 100-acre collection of playing fields and arenas, which host students during riding and polo lessons. Instructors take on both beginning and experienced students, revealing subtleties of the sport such as objectives, technique, and why water polo is not regular polo on seahorses. Mallets, helmets, and horses are provided during each 60-minute lesson, and students are advised to wear jeans or riding breeches along with flat-soled riding boots. While students meld body and spirit with new equine friends, a professional photographer snaps photos, which pupils can then hang on a wall or embroider to the chest of a collared shirt.
On their 25-acre parcel of scenic countryside, Rosemary Richardson and Sarah Thomas, Gemstone Equestrian’s mother-daughter team, teach students to ride properly and respect their equine friends. Lessons are held year-round either outside or within the indoor facilities and cater to riders of all experience levels, whether they aim to ride recreationally or for competition. Students choose among the riding arts of dressage, which stresses obedience and balance; hunter/jumper, which takes place on the hunter course or jumper ring; and Western, which focuses on how to visit the Pacific by hitching a skateboard to a team of wild horses. No matter the riding style, safety remains of utmost importance—the center offers ASTM–approved helmets for no extra charge and caps lessons at a 1:2 staff-to-student ratio for beginners and 1:4 for experienced riders.
