Things to Do in Phillipsburg

Competitors in the Professional Indoor Football League's United Conference since 2011, the Steelhawks prey on the opposition across the 50-yard pitch inside Stabler Arena. With a roster of gridiron stars, many of which were standouts at colleges across the country, the Steelhawks bring a fast-paced style of play to a football-crazed fanbase. The Steelhawks' mascot, Talon, regales fans in the stands during games with signature cheers and seminars on how to build structurally sound nests.

Philadelphia Rock Gyms challenges climbers of all skill levels with 2,000 square feet of climbing terrain, 1,500 square feet of bouldering plains, and more than 30 top ropes. Initiates to the vertical sport can get the hang of climbing basics during the gym’s variety of lessons, which impart skills such as proper technique, safety, and the ability to tell which rocks open a supervillain's secret lair. The gym also features a variety of team-building opportunities and private room rentals, as well as a pro shop that outfits patrons with the proper climbing equipment available for rent or purchase.

ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks hosts film and performing arts venues on four stories overlooking the dramatically illuminated blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel Plant. On the first floor, the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema projects independent, foreign, and documentary films on two full-size screens with 100 and 200 stadium-style seats. A full-service bar pours local Yuengling brews and other alcoholic beverages, and onsite chefs craft gourmet eats such as ham-and-brie paninis and beef sliders. Musical acts such as the Psychedelic Furs, Joan Osborne, and Rusted Root perform each weekend at Musikfest Café, where up to 1,000 concertgoers can spread across multiple levels of seating, or form a human pyramid to climb the exposed girders above the stage.

More than 12,000 square feet of indoor rock-climbing surfaces greet climbers at Doylestown Rock Gym, where they can test their scaling acumen on a network of bulges, overhangs, chimneys, and cracks. As climbers scramble over the massive facility, an alert staffer remains ready to assist when needed and remind nervous beginners that there are no mountain lions around. The space presents suitable challenges for all skill levels and facilitates advancement in the sport through individual and group instruction by on-staff experts.

As one of the charter members of the Atlantic League in 1998, the Somerset Patriots are the most successful franchise in the league’s history, but such good fortune didn't come immediately. In fact, it had to play its entire first season on the road while construction crews finished constructing TD Bank Ballpark from billions of sunflower-seed shells. In 2001, however, the Patriots' began a decade-long run that included five championships—including back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009—plus several awards for the 6,100-seat ballpark (completed in 1999), which was named "Ballpark of the Year" by Baseball America in 2007

Climbers of all ages and skill levels scamper across roughly 22,000 square feet of climbable space inside Brooklyn Boulders's rock-climbing gym. A dedicated route-setting staff organizes color-coded problems on craggy, angled top-rope walls as well as bouldering walls that reach up to 15 feet, on which climbers scramble as nimbly as mountain goats or fall from safely onto 12-inch pads. To help visitors master these walls, seasoned instructors train them in three basic types of climbing: bouldering, top-rope climbing, or lead climbing—and also test them for a mandatory lead-climbing certification. They teach these skills through classes such as the peak-performance program, which combines seven courses in lead climbing, bouldering, and cross-training to accelerate students' learning. To ease stressed muscles and promote calm reflection, staffers also lead all-ages yoga lessons and monthly yoga workshops.

Brooklyn Boulders also injects creativity into its special events, which encourage visitors to climb in costume around Halloween and take part in competitions during which they pretend the floor has turned to lava. Staffers also invite local graffiti artists to display their murals inside, work to preserve regional climbing areas by partnering with Access Fund, and coordinate programs through its BKB Foundation—a nonprofit that introduces rock climbing to kids and adults.