Things to Do in Portage

Knucklehead's Bowling & Indoor Amusement Park's 80,000-square-foot facility is bursting with a dozen family-friendly attractions. In the bowling alley, a light show illuminates pins and balls to the tune of festive music and a black light adds an eerie neon glow to cosmic bowling. You can also bowl under conventional lighting, of course, opting for automatic bumpers to prevent gutter balls and marshmallow pins to muffle noisy strikes. Elsewhere, go-karts zoom around a track, bumper cars collide, and visitors swing hand-over-hand through a weblike ropes course. A roller coaster zooms throughout the space, and the arcade whirs and flashes with video games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Madden, as well as traditional games that award prize tickets to their deftest handlers.

Two teams of gunmen disperse across the tower field, some marksmen ducking for cover in the World War II–style bunkers constructed of railroad ties, others seeking protection inside the field's two-story pillboxes. Silently holding their positions, the players feel a hush fall over the field as they wait to see which side will make the first move in their battle to take the central, three-story tower. As they sit frozen behind their barricades, an excruciating hush envelops each one until it seems they're each alone on the territory. And then someone sprints toward the tower.

Apocalypse Paintball spans 50 acres of playing grounds, encompassing 15 current and upcoming fields that range from two speedball courses to a 40,000-square-foot castle. Coordinating both walk-on and private play, Apocalypse's staff maintains active, challenging bouts through organized games such as capture the flag and downed pilot. Between competitions, a fire pit, grills, and a large picnic area invite players to recuperate and exchange stories of catching incoming fire with their bare hands.

In addition to paintball, the Apocalypse crew also runs Airsoft sessions and hosts tournaments. An FAQ page anticipates visitors' questions to encourage a seamless transition to the fields.

At Bouncy Town USA, children cavort, slide, and bounce across five inflatable structures. Regular hours encourage kids to make friends across the padded bounce floor, while parties make memories out of birthdays with private rooms, pizza, and cupcakes. On some days, Bouncy Town USA welcomes kids for drop off while parents enjoy a night out.

Dance Fabulous's instructors think that dancing should be a stress-free experience. With that in mind, they’ve crafted a lineup of commitment-free drop-in classes that introduce students to hip-hop grooves, teach them core-strengthening belly-dance shimmies, and help party away calories with energy-packed Zumba moves. The lineup also includes more sensual classes meant to boost students' confidence, such as aerobic striptease dance and core-strengthening pole dance. During Hot Heels Hour classes, participants learn a new routine designed to be performed in pumps, which help strengthen cores, lift buns, and aerate the front lawn if practiced at home.

In addition to their drop-in classes, the instructors also schedule private lessons, which may cover the styles taught in group classes or focus on ballroom techniques or wedding choreography. Their adult parties come with similar themes, with lessons in styles from break dancing to striptease to Irish step. The studio was also named one of The Daily Page's picks for best places for a kids' birthday party; soirees can center around such themes as cheerleading, West African dance, and ballet. The staff offers a kids' hip-hop classes and a once-a-month family dance party, during which parents can tenderly pass down their ability to do the worm.

Packs of go-kart racers keep pace as they round an uphill turn, and dart through the stomach of a giant Trojan horse. They drive past Greek ruins and navigate ramps up to elevated tracks—or head under the water of a manmade pond. Riders soar past these scenes pulled straight from Greek and Roman mythology on many of Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park's eight go-kart tracks. Alongside other themed attractions, the racetracks sprawl across the 200-acre year-round resort's four areas: an indoor and outdoors theme park, and an indoor and outdoors water park.

In the outdoor Zeus theme park, screams and laughter echo around the turns of four wooden roller coasters and seven themed go-kart tracks. At the Parthenon indoor theme park, a wild mouse roller coaster pulls passengers through dips and spins, while smaller children learn the basics of government cover-ups in an extraterrestrial-themed ball pit.

The Medusa indoor water park and Neptune outdoor water park contain 44 waterslides that send riders down dark tubes and steep inclines, or spinning around a giant funnel. Indoors, a tubing river runs past decorative Mayan ruins, and a beached pirate ship houses tunnels and waterspouts. Outside, visitors navigate a six-story semi-aquatic fortress, and ride currents in a surf pool. Visitors who can’t soak in all of these park attractions can find overnight lodging in more than 20 resort buildings and a Roman-themed hotel.

Aside from hosting the Oregon youth hockey program, the nonprofit Oregon Community Sports Arena welcomes ice dancers to its multifunctional indoor rink for open skate, family skate, open hockey, and speed skating. Hockey and broomball teams occupy the icy terrain throughout the week, and expert instructors oversee regular skating schools and athletic camps on the frosty floors. An onsite shop supplies skaters with apparel and used sporting goods, and a large community room hosts regular open martial-arts classes and can accommodate birthday parties of up to 150 guests or 500 Lilliputians.