Things To Do in The Pinery

Ten thousand railroad ties surround the par 3 12th green at Plum Creek Golf Club, bringing the contrast between Colorado’s rustic past and the course’s plush confines into stark relief. The course was once included on the prestigious list of TPC courses and hosted a Champions Tour event won by the legendary Gary Player. Today, golfers of all skill level navigate the same Pete Dye design played by past greats, culminating in the par 3 17th and its treacherous tee shot over water that prevents laying up or sneaking the golf ball aboard a passing golf-cart train.

Though they operate more than 200 locations in upwards of 30 states, the team behind U.S. Baseball Academy aims to make each young athlete's experience a personal one. Their four- or six-week camps are taught by local instructors who are current or former coaches at the high school or college level, and typically offer a 6:1 or better player-to-teacher ratio for intense, professional-style training. The Academy's proven itinerary of hitting, pitching, fielding, and baserunning drills was developed by an advisory board of college coaches and Major League players, including Cy Young Award–winner and ace pitcher Brandon Webb.

The Wildlife Experience, one of the country's more aptly named museums, offers a chance to encounter members of various animal kingdoms and habitats through an uncommon combination of interactive exhibits, natural history, fine art, and documentary films. Once inside, explore a variety of permanent and not-so-permanent exhibits. Globeology, is a three-dimensional jaunt that takes visitors through biomes from wild Colorado to the barren, WiFi-less tundra. Frogs!: A Chorus of Colors, meanwhile, gives visitors eyewitness access to fifteen types of colorful and vocal anurans, offering young guests insight into what frogs do when not playing a banjo or being chased by a pig.

The pole maestros at Mile High Pole Club integrate floor-to-ceiling poles, chair props, and flirtatious dance moves into fun, empowering workouts. The dedicated instructors offer classes with names such as Pole Vixens, Chairlates, and Belly Dancing, teaching students to spin, whirl, and slide on poles like jousting knights gone wild. The Combolicious class lets indecisive students try out a blend of chair- and pole-based dance moves, and the male-friendly Pole Trix & Play gives Y-chromosomed dancers a place to learn. All classes featured in the schedule run 55 racy minutes each and require class-specific fitness attire.

Bright reds, yellows, and blues add vibrant pops of color in Party On’s indoor playground. During birthdays and open-play, kids cascade down slides into inflatable fire engines before swabbing the rubber decks on the S.S. Buccaneer, a large, air-filled pirate ship.

In the party room, birthday kids can nosh on pizza, cake, and ice cream. For an additional $100, the princess party package add-on enhances parties with visits from costumed characters such as Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty.

Arthur Murray Dance Studios has been a leading name in social dance since 1912, when the entrepreneur began selling mail-order dance lessons. Expanding his reach, he enlisted teachers to spread his signature dance lessons on first-class steamships and skyrocketed to fame in the '30s after introducing the public to such dances as the Lambeth Walk and the Big Apple. By the 1950s, Arthur and his wife, Kathryn, were hosting their own highly popular TV show on ABC, the Arthur Murray Dance Party, which ran for 12 years. Today, Arthur Murray's team prepares students for rug cutting at special events and weekend nightclub jaunts. Clients who arrive to lessons partnerless will be paired up with certified instructors. Throughout lessons, instructors teach the foundations of two to four dances from a long list of styles that range from Latin to country-western, helping students to learn basic step patterns, timing, and the ability to lead or follow.

Stationed out of Centennial Airport, the highly-trained flight instructors at Aspen Flying Club aim to keep pilots in the sky, whether in pursuit of a hobby or profession. They help budding aviators realize their goals through ground lessons taught by an expert team of instructors, and through discovery flights in their fleet of 30 aircraft. When weather conditions prevent them from going aloft, students and pilots alike can make use of the Redbird flight simulator to practice takeoff and landing techniques while making powerful commands into the palms of their hand.