Things to Do in Newark

At Mansion House Paintball, mature trees tower over wooded fields with boughs battered by kaleidoscopic shrapnel. Paintball soldiers dive behind these tree trunks or weave through barrels, wood panels, or cable rungs in all-season, outdoor battle played in rain or sunshine. Individuals can walk on for games during the weekend, and private groups or corporate teams can reserve the fields for parties or retreats to determine who cleans out the corner office’s adjoining stable.

The 18-hole course at Chapel Hill guides golfers along lush fairways framed by dense tree lines and confronted by water on 11 holes. Six holes—beginning with No. 1—demand precise course-management skills when navigating shots around the stream that cuts through their fairways, demanding that players lay up, muscle their shots over, or swap their golf ball out for a beach ball. Laid end-to-end, the course measures 6,089 yards from the blue tees, the farthest of four available for play on each hole.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• Total length of 6,089 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 69.7 from the back tees
• Course slope of 125 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole

A champagne toast signifies luxury, but Air Ventures provides an even more luxurious amenity—champagne toasts conducted while floating in midair. Customers sip from bottles of bubbly while on one of the company’s hot-air-balloon rides, which float over Chester County’s rolling hills, glistening lakes, and historic estates at either sunrise or sunset. The rainbow-hued balloon’s trips range from one-hour jaunts to flight packages with overnight inn stops. After their airborne adventures, passengers take home a souvenir picture of the balloon, which they can supplement with downloaded shots of their own tour.

The researchers behind Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center use their whale-, dolphin-, and bird-watching tours as a way to both delight passengers and preserve the marine life that frequents the Atlantic coast. Onboard naturalists instruct guests in spotting techniques, showing them how to anticipate where a dolphin will crest or a whale will breach to capture National Geographic- or Cosmopolitan-worthy pictures. The team is so certain of sightings, that marine-mammal views are guaranteed or passengers’ next trip is free.

On most cruises, cash-snack-bar attendants serve food such as hot dogs and ice cream or other treats. Meanwhile, onboard cameras and GPS units monitor whale, dolphin, and porpoise activity below the surface, and findings are relayed to scientists through Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center’s partnerships with Whale SENSE and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

A fused-glass peace sign dangles in a window, its iridescent blue-and-green hues catching glimmers of sunlight. Elsewhere, a shiny yellow-and-black dog formed from clay smiles from its painted-on mouth. These are just two of the many artistic projects students can tackle at The Mud Shack, an art studio brimming with classes in glass fusing, ceramics, and pottery painting. Working artists helm the sessions, guiding pupils toward creating their own magnum opuses in the form of a hand-thrown vase, a mosaic tile, or a mug for holding smaller mugs.

The blue waves foam, disturbed by something massive in the depths. Then, in a flurry of spray, a humpback whale breaks the surface, slapping the water with its gray and white fins. This exhilarating sight is frequently afforded to guests of Cape May Whale Watcher. Helmed by Captains Jeff Stewart Sr. and Jr. alongside Captains Miles, Jack, and Jim, the company’s fleet of two provides comfortable, fast-paced passage to some of the favorite haunts of marine mammals on the eastern seaboard. Knobble-jawed humpbacks and smooth-skinned finbacks are often found frolicking and playing pranks on plankton in the teeming ecosystem of Delaware Bay and the surrounding ocean, and the Stewart family offers a guarantee that if no whales, dolphins, or porpoises are spotted, tourists receive a complimentary, never-expiring voucher for another venture. Besides their cetacean-spotting voyages, the vessels run historical lighthouse cruises and catered sunset tours.