STAFF PICK: The great outdoors would really be great if it weren't for all the icky stuff like bugs and dirt and ravenous coyotes. That's why Rocks and Ropes is so perfect: it's all the fun of being outside, but with a roof over your head and a real floor beneath your feet. Kids especially seem to enjoy the vertical freedom, and the wide variety of climbing walls is great for beginning to advanced climbers. The almost pathologically mellow and helpful staff is a big bonus, and the upstairs party area is just right for whooping it up with a group of seventh graders before going on to challenge your pizza-bloated body on one of the declined walls. Don't worry: safety is factored into the equation, so you can have the vertiginous thrill of falling off a cliff without the messy splat at the bottom.
