Taunton, MA Outdoor Activities

In 1958, Ryan Family Amusements founder James A. Ryan opened a simple, eight-lane bowling alley, planting the foundation for a slew of entertainment centers throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At 10 locations, visitors enjoy a variety of arcade and skill games in addition to traditional candlepin, tenpin, or duckpin bowling. Every Friday and Saturday evening from 9 p.m. until midnight, bowling lanes take on an incandescent glow, allowing bowlers to experience futuristic entertainment without the inconvenience of rising jetpack-fuel prices. Bumper bowling is available for younger players, and an onsite concession stand refreshes responsible adults with glasses of beer and wine.

The phosphorescent, indoor landscape at Monster Mini Golf immerses putters in an eerie universe that inverts the sun-soaked cheer of conventional courses. Rimmed in glowing green barriers, 18 holes lure swingers of all sizes to challenge their coordination and resolve in the face of winged monsters, scowling animated trees, a creepy clown, and their opponents' shockingly dazzling smiles. Sheltered from searing rain and howling wind, the indoor course enables play around hazards such as a spell well and luminous, ghostly windmill at any time of the year. An in-house radio station and DJ mask the sound of pounding hearts with lively beats and course commentary, and golfers looking for additional glory can win prizes by participating in regular contests or at the onsite arcade (arcade games not covered by this Groupon).

A climber slowly ascends a steep rockface, supporting all his weight on the smallest of footholds. Ignoring the heights, he searches for another place to grasp, finding purchase on an oval stone. His final step to the top rewards him with the thrilling satisfaction of beating the beastly incline and views of children running across the floor.

Carabiner's Indoor Climbing rock gym, one of the tallest in New England, brings the sport of rock scaling to urban residents. Walls that range from 15- to 65-feet tall grant visitors of all skill levels climbing routes that strengthen muscles, improve body awareness, and serve as a training ground for the NYPD’s Spider-Man division.

Certified climbers start visitors on their paths to climbing autonomy with personal belay classes that cover basics and safety tips. The gyms also offer grounded fitness with weekly yoga classes.

A family-friendly atmosphere at the Airport Golf Fun Center lets guests of any age unwind with games of mini-golf or hone their skills with long shots on the driving range. Putt past obstacles, undulating turf, and ball-swiping seagulls on the 18-hole mini-golf course. Beautifully landscaped, the course winds past a plethora of ponds, water falls, and baffling water rises. Golfers can also refine regular-sized skills on a short game practice area outfitted with a putting green, sand trap, and purse-lipped fans. The 45-stall range lets clubsmen unsheathe drivers for full-fledged shots from tee-boxes dressed with real grass or artificial turf.

The course at Touisset Country Club covers a verdant patch of repurposed farmland that still bears many of its original, naturally occurring hazards. In 1959, the then-amateur designers, Raymond Brigham and Richard Weller, built the course by hand. In doing so, they chose to leave the existing boulders in place rather than using them as paperweights for to-scale U.S. maps. And today, more than half a century later, the course balances such rugged features with well-maintained, penncross grass greens.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 35 course
• Total length of 3,024 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 69.1 from the back tees
• Course slope of 111 from the back tees
• Two sets of tees per hole

Perched along the historic Palmer River, where steamships used to chug along to the ocean’s embrace, the tree-spotted links of Wampanoag Golf Course invite players to swing their way through nine holes designed by golf course architect Aljenon Barney in 1932. Golfers swing their way through the 110 acres of bucolic greenery, where subtle slopes facilitate walking or somersaulting from hole to hole, and gas-powered carts ferry club-swingers who loop the course twice over to play a full 18. Players are challenged with forced carries over water hazards on holes 7, 8, and 9 and must use deft club selections throughout to avoid excessive sunbathing in the course’s populous sand traps. After breaking a sweat, golfers can lounge in the shade of a patio, munching on sandwiches and sipping complimentary coffee before summoning camel transports for a renewed attack on hole six's sandy moat to the green.