Too warm to ski, too cold to swim — Try 6 fun NJ indoor sports

Rock climbing is a great way to build muscle and strength while also exercising your brain. If you are just getting into rock climbing, look into Diamond Rock in East Hanover. This facility has walls ranging from 20-33 feet and are a good introduction to climbing.

If you are more advanced and want to put your strength to the skill, High Exposure in Northvale has you covered. From a Rubiks Cube climbing tower to swings, slides, and rope ladders, this place is going to be a challenge.

If you are looking to skip the climbing and learn to rappel and belay, The Randolph Climbing Center is the place. Lessons are offered for both children and adults.

Bowling is always a fun way to test out your arm strength as well as aim. What is also great about bowling alleys is that they are all over New Jersey. Find an alley nearest to you on the map, grab some friends and get the competition going.
It’s one of those things, like riding a bike, that you can be good at even if you haven’t done it in years.

When trampoline parks first opened, I found myself in heaven. I ostensibly went there so my kids could play, but before I knew it I was more into it than they were. I flocked pretty quickly to the one nearest to me and within minutes of jumping worked up a pretty good sweat. Trampoline parks have now incorporated activities like basketball and dodgeball too, which on a trampoline are a fun test of precision and balance.

Some notable trampoline parks are Altitude, Get Air, Flight Fit n Fun, Rebounderz and Sky Zone, all of which have several locations across New Jersey.

Channel your inner Muhammad Ali and give boxing a try! I haven’t done this yet but I am aching too.

Many people I know have finally learned how to box after years of dreaming of it. There are a ton of registered USA boxing gyms across New Jersey where you can take lessons and master the art of self defense.

There is a full list of these gyms here.

I can’t say that I’ve ever been attracted to the sport but I have family members who love to fence and they say it is the biggest rush.

Fencing looks simpler than it is but it’s a sport the challenges of the mind as well as the body.

There are places all over New Jersey where you can practice and get lessons.

To name just a few, Atlantic fencing club in Tinton Falls, The V Fencing Club in Livingston, and Premier Fencing Club in Monmouth Junction.

I had to save the best for last. If you are one of those people who has been wondering what all the fuss is about around pickleball, you’ve got plenty of places to try your hand at it this fall and continue playing indoors throughout the winter.

Pickleball is a combination of ping-pong, tennis and badminton, and can be played indoors or outdoors on a court the size of a doubles badminton court.

So many New Jersey tennis clubs have either added on pickle ball courts or have lined their tennis courts to fit the pickle ball court format (it needs only a fifth of the area needed for tennis).

Try Little Silver Racquet Club or Colts Neck Racquet Club, both in Monmouth County. A great choice in North Jersey is Great Horizons, part of the Morris school district. For $55 you get four classes of instruction.