Things to Do in West Hartford

When Arnold Palmer’s architectural firm set out to design the 18-hole course at Gillette Ridge Golf Club, it incorporated a long, wooded layout that would showcase the 19th-century politician and reformer Francis Gillette’s original homestead. Today, the course continues to showcase its beautifully crafted layout that has maintained the elegance of a bygone era while opting to share its charming characteristics with the public. Gillette Ridge welcomes all golfers to take on the blistering 7,191-yard tract that integrates groves of mature trees, placid water hazards, and white-sand bunkers that surround contoured greens.

Much of the course's difficulty comes from its length, as demonstrated on the par 5 seventh and 12th holes, which stretch 612 yards and 607 yards from the tips, respectively. Both holes make it nearly impossible to reach the green in two, though for different reasons: the seventh green prevents run-ups with a front side stream, whereas the 12th hole has an early dogleg right that demands more conservative tee shots and golf carts that are pro-environment. The course's premium on distance continues right through the finishing hole, a par 4, 478-yard straightaway that splits two fairway bunkers and forces players to carry the green's front side pond on their approach shot or hope that a friendly frog will lend a lily pad for safe passage. Three practice putting greens, two practice bunkers, and an all-grass driving range provide ample space for golfers to stretch their swings before rounds.

After rounds, players can unwind in Gillette Ridge’s 6,000-square-foot clubhouse, where the course restaurant serves up sandwiches such as the philly cheesesteak and chicken-salad sliders, and starters such as Maryland crab cakes and quesadillas—the late Mrs. Gillette’s specialty that has carried on since the 19th century.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Total length of 7,191 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 74.8 from the back tees

• Course slope of 135 from the back tees

• Four sets of tees per hole

• Scorecard

A gigantic gumball machine. It’s not the first place one expects to see children ricocheting about. But when it’s inflated and part of Jump n Jammin Play Gym’s 13,000-plus-square-foot fun house, it makes a lot more sense. Inside their climate-controlled facility, parents chase after their sock-clad kids as they race from air-filled obstacle courses to inflated trains and circus tents during open-jump hours. After all that exercise, kids lope into the game room to hone hand-eye coordination playing Wii games such as Mario Kart on 47-inch LCD-screen TVs. They can also twist handles at foosball tables, smack a puck during air hockey, and bang drums during games of Rock Band, a video game that fosters rhythm and an appreciation for feathered hair. The kaleidoscopically colored facility can also be a birthday kid’s personal wonderland with party packages, and during the summer, Jump n Jammin’s team adds slip ‘n’ slides and splash pools to parties and organizes summer camps.

Since 1968, the NHL-regulation ice surface at Veterans Memorial Skating Rink has hosted skaters for a bevy of blade-footed endeavors that range from recreational public-skate sessions to speed-skating lessons. For year-round open skating, participants can bring their own skates or don a pair of comfortable Riedell Soft rentals before carving figure 8s and chiaroscuro sketches of Wayne Gretzky into the ice surface. Other ice offerings include hockey and figure-skating lessons, and after skating sessions, a battery-powered Zamboni and electric edger smooth the ice's surface with minimal impact on the environment.

The experts at Yarnover help knitters of all skill levels learn basic and advanced techniques in knitting classes, as well as help those comfortable enough to knit by themselves navigate the shop and secure buttons, needle cases, and colorful royal alpaca, mulberry silk, or baby llama yarn. During the hands-on classes, students progress at their own pace as they take in wisdom and pointers from experienced teachers and broaden the knowledge of their hands and muscle memory. Guests can also stop by to sharpen their skills and talk trash about crocheters at a free knitting circle held every Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m.

For more than 50 years, Lutz Children’s Museum has delighted children with hands-on exhibits designed to introduce young learners to history, science, and nature. A re-creation of Main Street à la 1943—scaled for visitors aged 2–10—winds through the museum’s clean interior and displays fixtures of that time, including storefronts, a school, and an Internet café. The museum reaches back even further into time by showcasing an interactive farm from the 1800s, which invites kids to dress up as farm animals, milk an inanimate cow, and climb about in a hay loft. After exploring history and cultivating agricultural knowledge, budding young adventurers can fraternize with up to 50 live animals, such as Bounce the chinchilla, who is cared for by a trained and licensed staff of other chinchillas.

Lutz Children's Museum also hosts school-outreach programs, concerts, pedagogical special events and activities, and a nearby nature center, where beautiful trails line 52 acres of preserved woods. To combat modern meteorologists' fear of their own shadows, the museum additionally hosts the official Connecticut state groundhog.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Connecticut Chapter supports the families of those living with the challenging autoimmune disease and spreads state-wide awareness via grassroots and national initiatives. Among its main goals, the Connecticut chapter is instrumental in bringing essential services directly to the state's more than 6,000 MS sufferers. A national nonprofit organization, members are also involved in public policy advocacy for the funding of promising scientific research into the causes and potential treatments of the disease, and for legislation beneficial to those affected by MS. The untiring Connecticut chapter members keep busy year-round by organizing annual fundraising events such as sponsored luncheons, banquets, and the annual MS Golf Classic. Once a year, the chapter holds a gala that honors a Citizen of the Year for humanitarian efforts and draws sponsorship revenue with high-profile entertainment such as Neil Diamond, who will perform at the 2012 Gala on June 16.