Warsaw, IN Outdoor Activities

Canlan Ice Sports has three NHL-sized rinks, and all three receive their fair share of carvings during professional skating lessons, open-skate sessions, and high-intensity hockey leagues. Of the many offerings, the center’s weeklong hockey camps develop trainees' agility and shooting skills, just as its three-on-three youth-hockey leagues pit one inadequate barbershop quartet against another. Regardless of the reason for arrival, visitors can always grab food and refreshments at the Thirsty Penguin, a full-service restaurant and bar that overlooks the rinks and doubles as a secret meeting spot for Batman’s roundest nemesis. For off-ice excitement, guests can visit the inflatable playground, freely traversing the double-sided slide and other components comprising the bouncy playland.

Since 1979, the namesake of Gary's Indiana Muskie Experience has navigated local lakes and waterways while helping anglers reel in trophy fish. By reading weather patterns and reflecting on wisdom gained through years as a water wizard, the fishing specialist sets out in search of the muskellunge, a deep-dwelling predator known to weigh up to 70 pounds. Gary carefully selects lures that represent the fishes' seasonal diet, finicky appetite, and general distaste for swashbuckling pirate hooks. He also equips each of his guests with rods and reels capable of withstanding the fish's well-known strength. Most expeditions take place on Webster Lake, Backwater Lake, The Barbee Chain, Lake Tippecanoe, James Lake, Oswego Lake, Loon Lake, and Upper Long Lake.

At Action Park Paintball, paintballers of all skill levels square off in bouts of simulated warfare on 23 acres of outdoor fields. Tire towers, inflatable obstacles, and Mother Nature's secret hide-and-seek spots provide cover for players engaging in shootouts, all of which are moderated by on-field refs. Action Park's 8,000-square-foot indoor arena ensures play can continue even in inclement weather. The facility also hosts regular tournaments and has a winter league for paintball teams. Open-play hours take place on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Paintball Plex hosts colorful clashes on the battlegrounds of a 38,000-square-foot indoor field and across multiple acres of outdoor fields that are open from spring through fall. In the expansive indoor combat zone, players dive behind air bunkers to duck from incoming fire and cacophonous army drummers before reemerging to pump opponents full of color with semiautomatic Tippmann markers powered by complimentary compressed air. Outdoor fields cajole combatants with a lush 300’x180’ speedball area and a WWII-style scenario field peppered with two acres of foxholes, mazes, and sandbags. Games typically last 10–20 minutes and often include combat missions such as search and rescue and capture the flag.

Additional paint is available for onsite purchase to replenish dwindling supplies for combatants or battlefield stenographers. Participants may also browse Paintball Plex's pro shop, which teems with new scenario- and tournament-style paintball gear and loads of gently used equipment.

During the Cold War, anything could happen. The US military's response to this reality was to ring every major metropolitan area with defensive missile bases that could launch Nike antiaircraft supersonic missiles at any time. The goal was to make attacking the United States so costly that the Soviets would not dare try. One of the roughly 20 bases defending the Chicago area was Nike Missile Base C-47, a 14-acre site built between 1954 and 1956. Surrounded by 8-foot-tall cyclone fences, the base housed three underground concrete bunkers, three launchers, five radar towers, a fallout shelter, and day barracks.

Today, the Cold War is safely tucked in the nation's memory, but much of C-47 still remains. However, instead of military personnel coming and going throughout their 24-hour shifts, it's paintball and Airsoft players who creep along the 10 sprawling fields, simulating the warfare that luckily never occurred on the base. The terrain includes many of the original features—such as a mess hall, army barracks, and satellite towers, which host strategic meetings and midbattle naps. Referees enforce special safety rules for minors to keep games safe and organized.

Just Add H2O's diving experts have guided students of all levels of experience safely through waters for more than 34 years. Providing diving certifications through PADI and NAUI, instructors chart progression from introductory diving lessons all the way up to instructor certification, which comes with a license to ride giant seahorses. Just Add H2O's staff also hosts local and regional dives and leads trips to Lake Michigan shipwrecks, the cool depths of Gilboa Quarry, and tropical destinations such as Truk Lagoon in the Eastern Caroline Islands. To ensure that dives proceed without a hitch, the facility lets guests rent or purchase gear and can help to maintain used equipment.