Owings Mills, MD Outdoor Activities

Kim Yates's passion for the macabre spawned from a 1973 ride through the Haunted Mansion at Disney World, after which the child collected props and crafted monsters for her parents' front porch. Over the next several decades, Kim channeled her energy into drumming for a Baltimore metal band and building a sprawling Halloween attraction in her front yard and then watching it blossom into a full-scale haunted house in 1994. Despite various relocations, her indoor haunt has been growing ever since.

Featured in the Baltimore Sun, Kim’s Krypt sets Charm City teeth chattering with 25- to 30-minute adventures teeming with unexpected spooks and surprises in a show that adds new scenes annually. A terror-ridden tradition for more than 19 years, the indoor haunt invites brave patrons to test their nerve against killer clowns soliciting screams, zombies seeking fresh flesh, and blood-spattered apparitions recklessly searching for change for a $20 bill. Staffers fortify patrons for their harrowing journey with a range of concession fare as they converse at the covered waiting area after receiving their first shock of the night in the form of free parking. A force of uniformed and plainclothes police officers patrol the building to ensure visitors scare in safety.

Waverly Woods takes club-toting competitors careening through an emerald labyrinth of kempt fairways, towering tree lines, and boldly contoured greens designed by prolific course architect Arthur Hills. Begin a day filled with merciless divot-tearing and tender driver-coddling with a stint at the club's range, where a bag of 30 range balls rains like ballistic spheroids onto distant targets. Though the relatively challenging course features few sand traps and only one hole with threatening water hazards, ever-sloping topography and treacherous landforms filter imprecise shots into unfavorable lies that force off-balance side-hill stances. The course's difficulty is tempered by five sets of tees—with aggregate distances ranging from 4,808 to 7,024 yards—though bentgrass greens await duffers of any ilk with fast-breaking putts more difficult to read than a toddler’s attempt at calligraphy. After an exhilarating round, players can redeem their $20 lunch voucher for Black Angus hamburgers ($7.25), hot buffalo wings ($7.25 for 10) and other noshes from Waverly Woods' menu of savory grill fare.

Sports Authority Field's turf trembles beneath the stampeding cleats of the teams in the Mile High Classic, which will showcase some of the country's best collegiate lacrosse in a precursor to May's NCAA Tournament. As reigning national champions, the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers sprint into the event with last season's national and ACC Player of the Year, Steele Stanwick, whose average of nearly five points per game is among the nation's elite in 2012. The Penn Quakers, meanwhile, roll into the Centennial State with a chance to boost their national ranking by ousting the Cavaliers or carving "Quakers #1" into nearby mountainsides.

After spending his formative years helping his father to operate multiple golf facilities, John Invernizzi decided to dedicate his adult life to spreading the gospel of the game. The PGA pro opened Hereford Golf Center in 1995 with the aim of creating a pressure-free space for golfers of all stripes to hone their swings, learn to appreciate the game, and debate about which club would be the most useful to ward off feral caddies. In the ensuing 17 years, clubbers have been hitting practice balls at the center’s 36-stall driving range, replete with eight target greens that range from 50 to 260 yards.

The adjacent Lost Falls Miniature Golf Course takes friendly competitors careening past two ponds, a large stream, and a mysterious cave as they steer golf balls toward pintsize flagsticks. True to his mission of making golf fun and accessible for everyone, John and the staff at Hereford Golf Center provide clubs free of charge, sparing clubless players from hastily purchasing one or digging in their backyard for a conveniently shaped mastodon bone.

The Baltimore Blast is a professional indoor soccer team that plays at 1st Mariner Arena.

Earth Treks' Climbing Centers are state-of-the-art indoor climbing gyms located in Columbia, Timonium and Rockville, MD. We pride ourselves on offering the best rock climbing in the greater Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland region. Each gym is among the largest in the country with climbing for every skill level.