Rutland, VT Outdoor Activities

Golf courses are designed to compound players’ mistakes. An errant tee shot winds up buried in the rough, on a side-hill lie, or shut out behind a tree—where golfers may not be able to take a full swing, let alone concentrate on how to correct their mechanics. In golf, the driving range is the only safe haven. Saratoga Springs Golf Range’s all-grass hitting bays provide a smooth, flat surface that lets golfers concentrate on improving their swings and grants amnesty for past swing transgressions in the form of range balls and a course notary who expunges all mulligans from players’ official records.

Saratoga Springs Golf Range helps swings enter into a harmonious relationship with their sticks through custom club fitting, loft and lie adjustments, and regripping services. The range’s club technicians also offer various repair services for snapped club shafts and emotionally distraught drivers.

The adventurous tour guides at GO Mountain Biking! lead scenic nature-gazing rides for all skill levels as well as harrowing jaunts through rocky terrain for more experienced riders. Each client takes part in a phone interview before the tour to schedule a time and devise a game plan. Tours begin with a review of safety and technique before guests venture out into the wilderness of the Glens Falls area to enjoy the lush landscape, scope out resident wildlife, and gulp fresh, clean air without having to suck from a balloon inflated by Mother Nature.

Adventure Racing enchants fun-seekers with a sprawling mini-metropolis of indoor and outdoor attractions. Drivers execute turns and passes around the indoor and outdoor go-kart tracks, which offer single karts for solo racers and tandem conveyances so adults can teach young passengers to flout traffic laws. Towering Star Wars figures lurk in the darkened passageways of a three-story laser-tag arena, where teams of up to 12 people test their marksmanship as they navigate between phosphorescent walls.

Inside Adventure Racing's indoor bumper-car arena, drivers steer circular vehicles on a constant collision course with their fellow vessels. The fun center's climbing wall tests the strength of grappling hands, and more technical tests of dexterity await at Adventure Racing's paintball shooting range, arcade, and knitting circle.:m]]

Owner and pilot Todd J. Monahan remembers chasing hot air balloons across the sky as a land-locked child. After attending extensive training and FAA-approved safety seminars, he finally caught up to them, founding SunKiss Ballooning and enlisting the expertise of his brother Scott as well as a cast of experienced pilots and crewmembers. Citing safety as a priority, SunKiss' captains stay up to date on the latest in balloon technology, and they escort passengers through the sky in two vessels each rated to carry different gross weights and repel different-sized Mothras.

Sculpted through scenic mountainside terrain, Green Mountain National Golf Course spans 6,589 yards of arching fairways and multi-tiered greens. Engulfed by dense tree lines and rising mountain faces, the course's narrow fairways call for a cautious approach, and those boldly teeing off with a driver or 17th-century musket may end up hacking their second shot out of the woodsy rough. As golfers traverse the course, elevated tees, greens, and cresting fairways give way to panoramic views, letting golfers glimpse the contoured terrain and drink in ancient rock formations shaped by glaciers and the species of colossal paleontologists that ruled the continent prior to their extinction. A full-length driving range, short game practice area, and putting green fine tune players' club-wielding prowess, and a fully stocked pro shop offers up equipment and gear to help guests loop the links in style.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Length of 6,589 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 72.1 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 138 from the farthest tees
• Five tee options

The staff members at Rocksport Indoor Climbing & Outdoor Guiding Center regularly explore the Adirondacks and mountain ranges throughout the world, mentally cataloging the frost-kissed crags and adrenaline-soaked sheer expanses. When they are not leading adventurers on ice-climbing expeditions or scrambling through narrow caves, the climbers can be found on the 4,400 square feet of climbing space at their facility. There, they teach students to how to deal with complex stone surfaces in order to navigate actual cliffs or volunteer at the local gargoyle shelter. Rocksport owner Tom Rosecrans leads the crew, lending knowledge from three Himalayan expeditions and his self-published book Adirondack Rock and Ice Climbs.