Orangeburg, SC Outdoor Activities

At its two Columbia locations, Plex Indoor Sports aims to provide complete indoor recreation with artificial-turf fields, ice arenas, inflatables, basketball courts, family entertainment center, and full-service cafe. Both facilities offer after-school programs providing access to soccer, football, and lacrosse programs, ensuring that children learn the proper techniques required to work toward goals and play safely. Total-fitness classes are also available throughout the week, highlighting invigorating methods such as yoga, Zumba, and hip-hop aerobics. The Sandhills location hosts a roller-skating rink, and the Irmo location houses an NHL regulation-sized ice rink with public skate times in between hockey games and practice sessions of the local ice-fishing team.

A 30-foot rock-climbing wall towers over the Family Entertainment Center, granting visitors an elevated view of a facility packed with wall-to-wall inflatables and family activities. Visitors can roller skate, set new high scores at the arcade, or attempt to stay atop a mechanical bull. Other attractions include bungee jumping, a rock-n-roll ride, and more.

Designed to look like an island retreat, Whirlin’ Waters Adventure Waterpark is more than just a place to beat the heat. It’s a fun-filled playground complete with slides, squirt guns, and a wave pool. The Big Splash Tree House is outfitted with 66 interactive features, including a giant bucket that drenches visitors with more than 1,000 gallons of water. The Tubular Twister sends riders shooting down a trio of 300-foot slides, while the Big Kahuna recreates the ocean’s waves in a 27,000-square foot pool. Little ones can play in gentler areas such as Lily Pad Lagoon and Otter Bay, which has a six-lane racer slide. In between aquatic activities, you can relax in the lazy river or stop by the concession stands for a quick bite.

Trees draped in spanish moss catch the wind along the edges of the fairways at Shadowmoss Plantation Golf Club, where designer Russell Breeden sculpted a 6,701-yard course into the verdant grounds of a former plantation. Throughout the par-72 layout, ponds and streams ripple on the borders of nearly every hole, often forcing golfers to choose from taking a conservative line, challenging the hazard with a big swing, or releasing their golf ball to a family of catfish. Breeden's artful use of waterways is most noticeable at the par-5 eighth hole, where a stream splits to cut across the center of the fairway and wraps two watery prongs around both sides of the hole to add pressure as golfers contemplate their approach to the green. Bermuda-grass fairways and greens await golf balls that steer clear of the course's water hazards and the various sand traps occasionally populated by disoriented sunbathers.

Before taking to the first tee, clubbers can warm up their swings and rehearse their putter-twirling routine at a practice complex that includes a driving range and a putting green. To keep golfers fresh during rounds, the club offers on-course beverage service and a full-service snack bar and lounge.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Length of 6,701 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 72.3 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 131 from the farthest tees
• Five tee options
• Scorecard

Side creeks, marshes, and tidal rivers wind through Charleston's coastal terrain, the same waterways where Sea Kayak Carolina launches its vessels. Atop watercraft from trusted manufactures such as P&H, the company’s guides take kayakers on expeditions in search of dolphins, turtles, and manmade sights such as Morris Island Lighthouse. The team schedules these tours daily, also planning custom trips into local areas such as barrier islands and uncharted fishbowls.

Additionally, a team of instructors can help paddlers fine tune the skills needed to unlock these aquatic adventures. Whether in the ocean or the controlled confines of a pool, the instructors teach safety and technical skills such as boat control, proper strokes, and how to roll a kayak without needing a dolphin to help push.

Named the South Carolina Golf Course of the Year by the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association in 2010, Legend Oaks' 18-hole course winds through 7,011 yards of pristine Lowcountry terrain. As guests approach the club, an avenue lined by 300-year-old oak trees gives way to the emerald roof and wraparound porch of the plantation-style clubhouse, a site that recalls centuries of rustic Southern gentility. Wetlands, oaks, and fragrant pines buttress every hole across the club's picturesque par 72, ensnaring wayward golf balls. The par 4 14th hole exemplifies how course designer Scott Pool incorporated natural features into a treacherous but breathtaking layout, positioning water hazards directly in front of the tee box, a grove of pines on the right side of the fairway, and a green fortified by bunkers and picketing mashie niblicks from a bygone era. Golf carts with built-in GPS devices help clubbers traverse the emerald labyrinth, computing yardages from players' lies to the target pin, detailing nearby obstacles, and tracking every untrustworthy pelican within a five-mile radius.

Steps from the golf course, four hard-surface tennis courts and a swimming pool with a shaded gazebo round out the club's outdoor amenities. Guests can also make their way to the clubhouse for a splendid dining experience at Bistro One 18, where a diverse menu features everything from hot dogs to chicken marsala to sautéed driving-range balls.

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by Scott Pool
• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 7,011 yards from farthest tees
• Course rating of 73.5 from farthest tees
• Slope rating of 132 from farthest tees
• Five tee options
• See the scorecard

Home to the state's largest freestanding bouldering island, New Jersey Rock Gym houses 12,000 square feet of vertical terrain to climb as well as 41 top roping stations. Armed with either day passes or membership, guests scamper up the gym's synthetic summits, hoping to ask questions of the learned ceiling light sequestered at the top of the mountain. While gear is included with some membership options, guests can opt to bring their own materials or rent the individual shoes ($5), harnesses ($4), or chalk bags ($2) they need from the pro shop. New Jersey Rock Gym offers a collection of educational course work in the vertical arts, teaching belay technique to beginners or advanced skills to adults. Children can also take advantage of youth climbing programs, mini camps, and birthday parties before retiring to private refreshment chambers to absorb bottles of electrolyte-infused refreshment. The nearby pro shop outfits climbers with name-brand gear for purchase, while a WiFi lounge transmits terabytes of data into nearby electronic devices or unsecured cyborg brains.