Westwood, NJ Outdoor Activities

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).

Danbury Ice Arena's professional skating instructors introduce students to the fine art of figure-eighting with weekly classes based on the curriculum of the Ice Skating Institute. Children as young as three years old can begin instruction in the Tot 1 course, which is designed to instill a sense of comfort and confidence on the ice through techniques such as marching in place, falling properly, and getting up. As skaters expand their abilities, they may continue with progressive course levels that build upon each other. Both adult and child introductory courses focus on beginning techniques such as marching and stopping, which provide a foundation for techniques learned in advanced levels such as performing one-foot glides, making snowplow stops, and evading goalies who have grown tired of being senselessly bombarded with pucks.

The pristine, recently renovated fairways at Meadows Golf Club snake around 12 ponds that vary in size and factor into play-making decisions on at least 14 holes. Water makes itself a prevalent threat to golf balls that are afraid to swim on the 9th and 18th holes, where larger ponds loom ominously to finish out the front and back nines. The 9th, a 240-yard uphill par 3, demands steely nerved shots over two ponds: one that stretches past the tee box to the player's center-right and another that runs along the left all the way to the green. On the par 4 18th, players again face down a tee shot over water, this time being forced to keep their drive to the right to avoid water along the length of the fairway, as well as packs of ravenous ball washers that roam the course in search of prey.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• 6,345 yards from the back tees
• Three sets of tees

At Tread Bike Shop, a team of cyclists and professional mechanics unite patrons with their perfect two-wheeled soulmates. Two employees are masters in the art of Body Geometry Fitting, in which they adjust handlebars and saddles to account for riders’ comfort, efficiency, and safety while maintaining their ability to outrace cheetahs escaped from the zoo. Further catering to customers’ individual needs, the staff helps to select bikes from brands such as Cannondale and Dohan and prepare them for test drives. Throughout the store, a vast inventory of accessories and apparel equips riders for any biking situation, and a repair center tunes up frames and erases evidence of collisions with car doors suddenly painted on brick walls. The shop also rents out both comfort and sports models for abbreviated excursions through the city’s streets and parks.

Get America Tours's knowledgeable guides escort groups of sightseers on more than 20 extended and mini tours. Tours journey to places like New York City and the Grand Canyon on 1- to 11-day jaunts taken at a comfortable pace, allowing patrons to hit the area's highlights and spend time soaking up their new setting. Highly trained guides share a wealth of information about history, local gems, and cultural tradition with their tour members. Some guides, able to speak Spanish and German, are also trained as multilingual emissaries. Passengers are ferried across the United States and Canada in either buses, vans, or minivans, depending on the number of passengers, ensuring that tours are never cancelled due to a lack of passengers or an overabundance of giant stuffed animals.

As husband-and-wife botanists Nathaniel Lord Britton and Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton explored the majestic Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Elizabeth asked a question that would bloom into something huge.

"Why couldn't we have something like this in New York?"

When the couple returned, they threw themselves into exploring that idea. In 1891, the state set aside land for the project, and private financiers including Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J. Pierpont Morgan matched the city's financial commitments. In 1896, Nathaniel Lord Britton became The New York Botanical Garden's first director.

Today, the garden's mission is to be "an advocate for the plant kingdom," aiming to lead the charge to document every species of plant and fungus on the planet. Varied terrains unfurl across its 250 acres, including rolling hills, waterfalls, and 50 acres of the forest that once blanketed New York City. All told, there are more than a million plants within 50 gardens and plant collections.

Visitors can learn how to manage their own plants at the Home Gardening Center, which opened in 2005, then enter the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory—a New York City landmark that was unveiled in 1902 as the country's largest Victorian-style glass house. Rotating exhibitions and family events give visitors a reason to come back every season, and there are plenty of hands-on activities for kids, such as digging in the dirt until they reach hot magma in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.