Things to Do in New Castle

In the distance, the thump of discharged weapons can be heard. Spires of a castle loom over the tree tops, and as the platoon approaches, a hail of fire fells three of them. As those hit trudge off the field and wipe the paint from their goggles, the rest of their team makes a hasty retreat only to assault the position from a different angle. These tense moments occur daily at Three Rivers Paintball. More than 70 acres of wooded battlefield sports crashed airplanes, broken down tanks, and large-scale fortresses. The staff also hosts airsoft battles, with scenarios reenacting battles from history such as World War II or Napoleon's thumb wars. A full-service pro shop carries traditional paintball equipment needed to wage nonlethal war.

Wildwood Highlands serves an all-ages buffet of adrenaline-filled rides and fun-soaked activities that visitors can access with fistfuls of tickets. For five-minute intervals, go-karts whip through a winding, 1,000-foot course that challenges mini-motorists' reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and familial bonds with each cutoff to the inner rail. Visitors can captain bumper boats through the 5,000-square-foot Wildwood waters, thumping vessels as they pass fountains and circumvent the island. Woody's Den enchants small children with calliope music and magical animals who steer tots toward the spinning slime-bucket ride and old-fashioned train. Two 18-hole miniature-golf courses school putters in the principles of geometry and psyching out competitors with inopportune coughs and cackles.

Wildwood's arcade entices button smashers with more than 70 games that they can play to win tickets, which can be redeemed for prizes such as stuffed animals, action figures, and pocket-sized copies of the Federalist Papers. While bouncing from attraction to attraction, thrill seekers can recharge their energy with pizzas, wraps, pretzels, and cotton candy at the snack bar.

Your Groupon works toward any of the monthly Lift Your Spirits wine or spirits tasting events. These friendly yet sophisticated shindigs highlight one of Olive Press’s greatest talents: drink and food pairings. The staff displays serious skill in choosing the perfect beverage from the extensive wine list to bring out the flavor of Olive Press's meals. Each Lift Your Spirits event features the unique flavors of a particular libation, paired with a culinary match. Events include free parking. See past offerings here. Upcoming sessions include:

Pittsburgh Water Limo’s fleet of Coast Guard–certified water taxis have ushered patrons down each of Pittsburgh’s three rivers since 1999. At the helm, captains combining more than 150 years of experience oversee safe transport as guests imbibe beer, wine, or bottled water while the skyline steadily rolls past. The taxis charter regular trips to Pirates and Steelers games or ferry passengers looking to sightsee the city.

Named for the sunny yellow birdsfoot trefoil flowers strewn throughout the course—sprouted from seeds that fell off hay wagons rumbling through years ago on the fields of the former Buffalo Creek Farms—the championship golf course at Birdsfoot Golf Club enchants golfers with rolling hills and country charm. The links-style front nine give way to a back nine whose fairways open over hills, inviting golfers to pull out their drivers and whack dimpled orbs with the club-swinging gusto usually reserved for cracking eggs into an omelet pan. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette highlights the course’s 465-yard third hole as one of the 18 best public holes in western Pennsylvania, citing its mounded fairway, which doglegs left and challenges putts with a downhill, sloped green. As carts zoom from one hole to the next, they traverse a path where bogeyman faces carved by a local artist peer from tree trunks. When players finish their rounds, they can unwind in a clubhouse where ghosts from its former life as a farmhouse offer advice on covertly changing scorecard results.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Length of 7,034 yards

• Course rating of 74.4

• Slope rating of 137

• See an interactive course tour

Since 1952, North Park Batting Range has facilitated outdoor baseball training on its open-air range. In each of 10 open-air baseball cages, automated pitching machines fire balls into the strike zone at 30–80 miles per hour. Five open-air softball cages loft pitches at various speeds for batters training for slow-pitch or fast-pitch leagues. On the 18-hole, par 40 miniature golf course, family-owned and operated since 1961, flourishing shrubs, sharp corners, water hazards, hills, and windmills create obstructions for golfers.