Fun & Games

Best of the City 2012
174

Photograph by Chris Smith

New Cycling Resource

Cincinnati Bike Center
We ain’t Portland or Austin yet, but Cincinnati Bike Center in the new Smale Riverfront Park has upped our pedal potential. With secure storage, showers, lockers, and repair service, the CBC is a boon to commuters serious about foregoing fossil fuel. And rentals (bicycle and Segway) are bound to help the rest of us get off our keisters.
Smale Riverfront Park, 120 E. Mehring Way, downtown, (513) 282-4260, bikeandpark.com/city/cincinnati

Bike Rack
ArtWorks Queen City Art Racks
As state shapes go, Ohio’s is pretty iconic. We’re “The Heart of It All,” for pete’s sake. This bike rack on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine—sponsored by Urban Sites for the ArtWorks Queen City Art Racks program and designed by John Dixon of DixonBranded—creates an interactive experience by splitting the state in two and staggering the halves. From the side, it’s a jumble of red squiggly lines. But from across the street, it’s unmistakably Ohio.
artworkscincinnati.org/artracks/index.shtml

Paintball Venue

Paintball Country
GI Joe-wannabes can satisfy their craving for combat at Paintball Country, an expansive outdoor paintball arena in Hamilton. Bring your own paintball gun and ammo (or rent it all there) and stalk the lighted field and wooded areas.
5110 Lesourdsville West Chester Rd., Hamilton, (513) 779-3228, paintballcountryohio.com

5K Race

Run Like Hell
With so many 5K races to choose from these days, what makes Run Like Hell so special? A great cause (it benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation), a great time of year (late October), a great course (through a cemetery!), a great after-party (complete with its own beer, Run Like Hell Red, produced by Listermann Brewing Company) and a great bonus: every racer wears a costume. Run, walk, or jog alongside Power Rangers, superheroes, and more zombies than you can shake a detached limb at.
3614 Woodburn Ave., Evanston, cincyrunlikehell.com

Outdoor Yoga

Ault Park
Every Monday or Thursday at 6:30 p.m., April through September, Ault Park’s beautiful pavilion fills with 50-plus yoga practitioners of all ages and capabilities eager to get their down dog on. Popular instructor Leah Gates directs the flow, and local musicians such as Tracy Walker, Josh Eagle, and Mia Carruthers accompany with song. Suggested donation is $10, which occasionally benefits a community organization.
Check Facebook, or get on the e-mail list at yogainaultpark@gmail.com

Indoor Sand Volleyball

Grand Sands All-Season Beach Volleyball
Even with global warming, the pesky winter months are not conducive to outdoor sand volleyball. But sand junkies need not wait until spring for their next fix. The owners of Grand Sands All-Season Beach Volleyball in Symmes Township have converted a warehouse into an indoor beach oasis with five courts and leagues for players of all skill levels. A few grains between your toes will make January feel like July.
10750 Loveland-Madeira Rd., Symmes Twp., (513) 239-8095, grandsandsvolleyball.com

Rec Center

University of Cincinnati Campus Recreation Center
With an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a 40-foot climbing wall, and a well-stocked weight room (boasting more than 200 machines and 21,000 pounds of free weights), not to mention Pilates, yoga, and spinning classes, the University of Cincinnati Campus Recreation Center can help folks of all shapes and sizes reach their fitness goals. If you’re not an alum, we suggest enrolling to get the best deal. Although the full price is worth it for the pickup basketball alone.
2820 Bearcat Way, University of Cincinnati, (513) 556-0604, uc.edu/reccenter

Disc Golf Course

Lincoln Ridge Park
This Independence course is the most scenic disc golf course in the Cincinnati area, 24 holes set amid rolling Kentucky hills and creeks. Lincoln Ridge has enough short holes (like 4, 7, and 18) to give novices a sense of accomplishment, and plenty of long holes (12, 16) to challenge experts. You may not be able to match the pros, but you can’t beat this scenery.
420 Independence Station Rd., Independence, cincinnatidiscgolf.com

Intro to Fly-Fishing

Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers
Most fly-fishing classes start beginners with casting. It’s fun, but it won’t do you a lot of good the next time you step on a river. Because if you don’t know your knots, they’re going to break no matter how many fish take your fly. Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers gives classes for free and teaches you knots, equipment, and how to catch fish before you start to cast. Plus, they provide lunch. Try getting that on the river.
nkflyfisher.org

Picnic Spot

Devou Park Overlook
Minutes from Interstate 75 and downtown Cincinnati, Covington’s Devou Park overlook, adjacent to the Drees Pavilion, has what might be the tri-state’s best view of the Cincinnati skyline and the Ohio River, and it’s located in a free, public park. Lots of parking and plenty of grass to spread out on a blanket make it the perfect spot to steal away for a quiet lunch or a relaxed evening. The Pavilion is a popular wedding spot, so make way for bridesmaids.
*790 Park Lane, Covington, (859) 292-2151, covingtonky.gov/index.asp?page=parks_new_devou_park*

Retro Roller Rink

Western Rollarama
Remember the time in seventh grade that you did/didn’t ask that cute guy/girl to skate the couples-only Moonlight Skate with you? Relive the joy/pain with your kids in the very same rink with its disco balls and wooden barrel tables at Western Rollarama. Yes, they do private parties, too.
5166 Crookshank Rd., (513) 922-4004, Western Rollarama on Facebook

High/Low: Bowling Alley

High: Swank
Star Lanes on the Levee merged the DNA of a bowling alley with that of a nightclub. Swap plastic chairs for comfy couches, trade those PBRs for sweet Cosmopolitans, and bowl the night away. You still have to wear the funny shoes, though.
1 Levee Way, Newport, (859) 652-7250, starlaneslevee.com

Low: Retro Revival
Madison Bowl offers 32 lanes of bowling bliss, and it’s rare that you can’t walk in and get on a lane. Need to eat? The Madison Diner will fill you up, and the full bar can mix anything you need, but cans of PBR and High Life are a mere $1.75. Sounds like a perfect game to us.
4761 Madison Rd., Oakley, (513) 271-2700

Please note that the information listed in this section was accurate at the time the issue went to print in 2012 and that addresses, menu items, company status, etc., may have changed. Please contact the companies to confirm details.

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