Best bets for a booze-free boys’ night out in Edmonton
If it’s been a while since you’ve caught up with your buddies, you’re overdue for a boys’ night out. Whether you’re taking in a stand-up comedy show or letting loose with some laser tag, there are plenty of interesting go-to hangouts besides noisy, crowded bars. Here some of your best bets.
Northlands Park Racetrack and Casino
7410 Borden Park, Edmonton, AB T5B 4W8Get the guys together for a night of high-stakes entertainment: Make a friendly wager on live harness or thoroughbred racing or place your bets on the card tables at the casino. If you’re feeling unlucky, hit the casino sports lounge to take in all the action of an Oilers or Eskimos game. Whether it’s a bachelor party, birthday or guys’ night out, there’s enough excitement here to take you to the wee hours of the morning.
Sunridge Ski Area
When you're looking for a little high-flying fun with your friends, this terrain park is the place to bond over boards. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned skier or snowboarder, you can shred the slopes on 13 powdered runs, which range in difficulty from green beginners’ courses to black diamond trails, or hit the three terrain parks to win style points. If your skills aren’t up to snuff, make use of the snow tubing park for some thrills and chills on three groomed chutes.
Paintball Action Games
4804 90 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T6B 3J7If your friends are constantly one-upping each other when they get together, a friendly game of Fight Club may be the way to settle the score. Take your tussle into Edmonton’s biggest paintball arena, an 18,000-square-foot facility with 10 themed playing fields to battle it out on. But be warned: Things are about to get messy. Don coveralls and goggles and dodge paint pellets from behind inflatable targets as your run rampant trying to take down your opponent (read: best friend) in a high-stakes game of paintball.
LaunchPad Trampoline Park
6142 50 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6B 2N7Why not kick it old-school with your old chums with a twist on playground dodgeball? At this 24,000-square-foot trampoline park, you can take your friendly boyhood feuds out in the arena, with wall-to-wall angled trampolines that let you bounce off the walls and floor in an adrenaline-pumping three-dimensional dodgeball match. And, if it turns out to be more fun than you expected, you can make it a regular night with the guys by signing up for one of LaunchPad's dodgeball leagues.
Vertically Inclined Rock Gym Inc
8523 Argyll Rd Nw, Edmonton, AB T6C 4B2This top-notch indoor rock climbing facility is open to novice and experienced climbers alike. Every one of your friends is sure to get a kick out of scaling walls, then rappelling down and pushing their boundaries. Get schooled in the art of bouldering with a group lesson, or enjoy some time on the ropes at your own pace with an open-climbing pass that lets you catch up with the boys while scaling new heights.
Laser City
5104 67 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T6B 3N9If you’re up for a night of high-adrenaline action, why not suit up and set out on a laser-tag mission with your best buddies? Gather on teams or play every man for himself as you race around smoke-filled Laser City and feel like a kid again. Ambush and target amigos armed with your very own phaser or play head-to-head in an epic battle of wits and wagers. One thing’s for sure: Running around a black-lit playing field with your heart pounding is sure to beat Halo combat from your couch.
Speeders Edmonton
12808 170 St NW, Unit 16, Edmonton, AB T5V 0A6Nothing could be more testosterone-fuelled than a few laps around the track with your mates. At this 50,000-square-foot premier indoor raceway, you can live out your Top Gear dreams and compare test-track times or race to be the first to complete 14 laps. With a racing experience for both novice and seasoned pros, you can get the lead out in electric prokarts that can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h.
