Sports Participation

Winter Sports

• Windblown - Cross country skiing and snow shoeing in New Ipswich, NH (about one hour from Worcester, MA).
• Mass Audobon - This organization runs "Snowshoeing for Families" events at various locations.
• Northfield Mountain - Cross country skiing at attractive rates on groomed trails. Public programs include snowshoeing. Located in Northfield, MA (about 1.5 hours from Worcester, MA).
• Waterville Valley's Nordic Center - Cross country skiing and snowshoeing in a winter sports complex. Located in Waterville Valley, NH (about 2 hours 40 minutes from Worcester, MA).
• Weston Ski Track - Offering cross-country skiing and instruction on groomed, lighted trails. Located at the Martin Golf Course in Weston, MA (about 40 minutes from Worcester, MA).
• Natural Stone Bridge & Caves Park - See a marble cavern either self-guided or with a guide. They offer show shoeing in the winter. Located in Pottersville, NY.
• America's Stonehenge - A man-made construction over 4000 years old, located in North Salem, NH. They offer show shoeing in the winter.

Bicycling

Plan outings to satisfy requirements for Cycling merit badge or create a camping adventure on wheels. Decide whether the trip will be a road bicycling or mountain bicycling trip and take it from there.

• Adventure Cycling Association - Obtain cyling maps for predefined trip routes.
• veloroutes.org - Create bicycle routes with elevation data.

Horseback Riding

• Camp Marshall - Located in Spencer, Massachusetts, this is a former 4-H camp that features summer camp offerings and programs customized for Boy Scouts (merit badge) and Cub Scouts.

Orienteering

Orienteering is a sport in which you use a compass to find defined points in the woods and navigate from one such spot to another.

• A Guide to Orienteering - This guide provided by 9round.com desccibes the sport in more detail (link suggested by Asher, a Boy Scout).
• ScoutOrienteering.com - Find out about orienteering events for Scouts, with some focus on earning the Orienteering merit badge.
• New England Orienteering Club (NEOC) - This organization runs orienteering events. They set up the courses, print the custom course maps and track participant times. All you need to do is register in advance, show up and pay.
• Northfield Mountain - This are has more than one orienteering course laid out, with maps available. Located in Northfield, MA (about 1.5 hours from Worcester, MA).

Fishing

Massachusetts supports fishing with programs and information.

• Angler Education Program - Learn to fish with help from the state. This includes links to a schedule of activiities and a collection of pond maps.
• Programs and Activities - Recreation and conservation activities provided by the department of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Frisbee Golf

Also known as "disk golf", the relatively new sport combines the basic idea of golf with a frisbee and specially designed goals. Some places to play frisbee golf:

• Marshall Street - This local venue is in Leicester, MA (about 12 minutes from Epworth United Methodist Church).
• Treasure Valley - Available during Boy Scout summer camp, the course here opened in 2008.

Climbing Walls

• Central Rock Gym - Opened April 2009. Located in Worcester, MA.
• YMCA Boroughs Branch - Rent the climbing wall for an hour. Located in Westborough, MA.
• Carabiner's Indoor Climbing - Climbing parties and overnights. Located in New Bedford, MA.
• Boston Rock Gym - Various climbing walls. Located in Woburn, MA.

Outdoor climbing opportunities are listed on our Adventure page.

Other Indoor Sports

• Bowling (Candlepin) - Candlepin is good for the smaller kids because the ball is smaller and lighter. Colonial Bowling Center, in Worcester, is the closest location, and Thunderbird Bowl, in Auburn, MA, is also nearby.
• Bowling (10 Pin) - 10 Pin is for kids big enough to pick up the larger bowling ball. Closest to Worcester are AMF Auburn Lanes in Auburn, MA and AMF Town & Country Lanes in Shrewsbury, MA.
• Ice Skating - Worcester Skating Rink, on Lake Avenue in Worcester, MA.
• Roller Skating
  • Skylite Roller Skating Center - Located in Worcester, MA.
  • Roll-On America is located in Lancaster, MA (about 15 minutes from Worcester, MA).

Swimming

• YMCA - The three branches of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts and the one location of the Tri-Community YMCA offer swimming and other physical activities at visitor rates. Troops can sometimes arrange for a visit at a special rate.
• State Pools - In Worcestser, the Dennis F. Shine Memorial Swimming Pool reportedly offers free swimming lessons during its season.

Shooting Sports

Many Scout camps have ranges. Typically Boy Scout camps have rifle, archery and shotgun ranges. Cub Scout camps have BB gun and archery ranges. Camps that serve Venturers may provide for pistol shooting. Some camps have scheduled events that include shooting sports, and other camps provide shooting sports if arranged in advance.

• Target Crazy - This site, which is an eCommerce site, provides a pretty extensive collection of archery guides.

Page updated 5/22/19 J. Froimson