Morrisville, NC Outdoor Activities

Triangle Rock Club's, awarded with the 2013 Pinnacle Business Award, state-of-the-art facility houses more than 9,000 square feet of expertly crafted terrain with upward of 100 routes. During small-size classes, drop-in sessions, and rock-climbing camps, novice and seasoned climbers scale freestanding boulders, dodging manmade obstacles while gripping the wall's slanted surface. Founded by two former Marines, Triangle Rock Club offers customers a large fitness center where guests can complement climbing's full-body workout with weights, kettlebells, squat racks, and spontaneous arm-wrestling matches. Other amenities include a climate-controlled interior and a lounge with WiFi and an HDTV.

The sound of swooshing nets fills the rafters of the PNC Arena as the NCAA women's basketball tournament shuffles into the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds, pinning the Raleigh Division's top remaining teams against each other in a do-or-die sprint toward the Final Four. Rather than getting pelted with constant shots while reclining in the backboards' cozy round hammocks, hoops fans can perch in 100-level seats to witness the on-court madness, which has already seen the 13th-seeded Marist Red Foxes bust brackets by ousting fourth-seeded Georgia in the opening round. The Elite Eight game on March 27 will crown a regional champion, sending them on a trip to the national semifinal in Denver, where the Kingston Region's own victor awaits the chance to play rock-paper-scissors for a coveted spot in the title game.

• For $4, you get one ticket to any regular-season home game on Sunday–Thursday (an $8 value before fees, or up to a $9.50 value online, including all ticketing fees). • For $16, you get four tickets to any regular-season home game on Sunday–Thursday (a $32 value before fees, or up to a $38 value online, including all ticketing fees).

Lunar Mini Golf's two 18-hole indoor courses whisks putters away to a black-lit labyrinth sculpted through a phosphorescent dreamscape of vibrant murals and neon obstacles. Tiny neon walls frame the pitch-black corridors of each hole, which gives the impression that patrons are rolling orbs across the rayless expanse of the cosmos or through their neighbors' radioactive crawlspaces. Clubbers clad in white will shine like gleaming apparitions as they read tricky breaks and keep the yips at bay, and Lunar Mini Golf offers glowing necklaces for clients to wear to capitalize on the visually mesmerizing lure of the black lights. Catering to large groups, Lunar Mini Golf also features a complimentary party zone available upon request for birthdays, corporate gatherings, and ceremonies unveiling new neon eyebrow tattoos.

Part of the North Carolina Railway Museum, the New Hope Valley Railway shepherds passengers through pine forest aboard vintage diesel and steam-engine trains. Covered cars protect riders from the elements, while a historic open-air caboose allows them to recline in locomotive fashion as they enjoy the shade of the woods, the breeze of the wind, and the harmonious serenade of local wildlife choirs. Trains depart from and return to Bonsal Depot, where a gift shop awaits filled with keepsake merchandise and a display track showcases vintage railroad equipment.

Free to the public, the North Carolina Railway Museum houses historic railway artifacts including vintage trains from builders such as Vulcan Iron Works and General Electric. On select Saturdays and Sundays, the Railway lets passengers take control of diesel-electric or steam-engine trains to experience firsthand life as a conductor.

Named among Golfweek magazine's Best New Courses and Best Campus Courses in 2010, Lonnie Poole Golf Course tests players of all skill levels with 18 challenging holes spread over 250 acres of Raleigh woodlands. Designed by the Arnold Palmer Design Group—including two North Carolina State grads as architects—the landscape features several shifts in elevation as the greens meander around large buffer areas. In its abundant turf grass and stormwater runoffs, the course also facilitates research from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences while taking extra care to preserve the streams and wild golf balls native to the Neuse River watershed.

As both the NC State men's and women's golf teams can attest, Lonnie Poole challengers golfers from the very first tee, which taunts drivers with bunkers on both sides and a sharp fall-off past the green. From there, the fifth hole ups the ante with a dogleg to the right and tall trees, whereas the 12th hole sends shots hurtling down a downhill fairway that narrows as the green nears and primes its anti-air missiles.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Total length of 7,358 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 74.8 from the back tees

• Course slope of 145 from the back tees

• Five sets of tees per hole

• Scorecard