The Ultimate Sports Guide to Sports-Obsessed Boston

Look out for: Obstacle courses
If you’ve watched the shows and thought, “Puh-lease, I would crush that obstacle course," then meet your peeps at Action Athletics. The courses change frequently and might include a dizzying array of challenges like wobbly moon rocks, ropes challenges, and plenty of hand-eye coordination. They’re located at Boston Landing and offer conditioning and training classes, obstacle course challenges, competitions, and open gym sessions.

Look out for: Dance classes to contemporary African bops
Whether it’s the monthly party, dance classes, or international guest instructors, there are always new experiences at Afrobeats Dance Boston. The community classes are $15 for adults and focus on rhythmic technique and choreography set to African Pop Music from Ghana, Nigeria, and beyond. If all this sounds familiar, it’s probably because they recently rocked the half-time show for the Boston Celtics.

Look out for: Candlepin bowling paired with pizza
Grab a pair of sweet, funky bowling shoes from the rack and maybe do some light stretching; it’s on, baby. Not only does American Flatbread create bonkers-good wood-fired pizza, but they also happen to curate a fabulous candlepin bowling community. Wood-fired cauldron tomato sauce? Yes. A whopping nine bowling lanes? Also, yes. Plus, plenty of regional beer and cider options. For something lighter, try the Cucumber Mint Spritz.

Look out for: Rugby watch parties
A proper vibey Irish pub with plenty of bags of the famed Irish crisps Taytos, An Sibin is also one of the top spots in the city for ruby lovers. Arrive early during the Six Nations Championship and grab an order of Bangers and Mash. Football? Of course, settle in with a pint or take advantage of one of the largest whiskey lists in Cambridge. Between games, they’re busy with brunch, trivia nights, and karaoke.

Look out for: A sports bar with home run views  
Every bar in Boston is a sports bar, really. But if you’ve always dreamed of being on the field during a Red Sox game, The Bleacher Bar is where it’s at. It shares a wall with Fenway Park and offers a unique view of centerfield. The best part? It’s open to the public, so you don’t need a game ticket.

Look out for: An aquatic workout with giant dragons
The allure of dragon boat racing is undeniable, and you can check it out for $20 at Boston1. In the winter, they offer indoor training; once April rolls around, it’s water season. Beginners can join at any point during the year and will meet some of the top dragon boat enthusiasts in the area, many of whom compete nationally. Follow the lead of the drummer, and you might find a new favorite sport.

Look out for: Craft brews while cheering the game
Newcomer Drawdown Brewing Company—an LGBTQIA+ and woman-owned business—serves craft beer, plenty of women’s sports, college sports, and soccer. In fact, they love soccer so much, they got a variance from the city to open as early as 8 am for international games, so keep an eye on their socials.

Look out for: Yoga and a wide range of workout classes
Offering over 100 daily classes across six Boston locations, Down Under School of Yoga could easily feel like a soulless machine. Instead, each movement and breath are supported and guided, and the culture is incredibly restorative. From HIIT and Barre to Ashtanga yoga and Black Power Hot Power Yoga Flow, there’s a class for whatever your body needs today. They also offer workshops, massages, and consultations with Ayurvedic doctors and practitioners.

Look out for: The Green Monster at America's oldest MLB ballpark
Home of the Red Sox, Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball and a national treasure. The famed Green Monster wall is a quirky and beloved seating area built initially to prevent folks from seeing games without paying. Embedded in the wall is the original hand-operated scoreboard system, still used today. Catch a game or hop in on a Fenway Park tour, including pre-game and the short 15-minute Fenway in Fifteen.

Look out for: Indoor birdies at Pebble Beach dupes
Squeeze in 9 holes before work in the middle of the city with Five Iron Golf's opening time of 6 am on weekdays. Their high-tech golf simulators are cued up for practice, challenge games, or full rounds at top PGA spots like Pebble Beach. You can rent a simulator, take lessons from a pro, and even score $5 rentals on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 pm to close.

Look out for: Sunrise stair climbing
Like all things Harvard, Harvard Stadium’s stairs are a wee bit challenging and in true New Englander spirit. That's why the workout group, November Project, turned them into a weekly workout session. Founded in Boston, the organization is all about staying fit through the cold winter months. Wednesdays at 5:30 am, they run the stadium’s 1147 concrete seat benches.

Look out for: Indoor sports games like futsal and hockey
Futsal is like football on a basketball court, and it’s one of the activities to enjoy here. That’s how deep into sports they are at Hub Sports Boston, where the newly launched 80k square-foot Bosse Sports facility includes leagues or more than half a dozen sports, including floor hockey, bowling, basketball, flag football, indoor soccer, and pickleball.

Look out for: Chill hangs with your pup
Catch the game in the bar while your fur-buddy snacks on a Meaty Meat dog cigar and Crotch Sniffin’ Ale. You can do this IRL now, thanks to the folks at Park9 Dog Park Bar—a doggy daycare, dog park, and human bar, all in one. No one cares much if your sports team is the underdog or top dog because, for once, the big game has some competition: pups living their bestest, cutest life.

Look out for: Pickleball with sides of comedy, cornhole, and cocktails
Pickleball. No one saw it coming, yet here we all are, loving every minute of it. Get in on the open-play sessions or register for one of the many pickleball skills clinics at PKL. While you’re there, dabble in trivia Tuesdays and live music on Saturdays. In between all the dink shots, picklers can score some tasty, seasonal grub and mighty fine cocktails. Looking for extra action? Check out their cornhole leagues.

Look out for: Sports leagues and LGBTIA+ activism
Pride Sports is a national organization offering LGBTIA+ sports leagues and tournaments, and the Boston chapter is busy year-round. Members can join leagues for pickleball, dodgeball, cornhole, bowling, and kickball—at over a dozen locations around Boston. When they’re not in the throes of competition, they host fundraisers for local charities and obsess over their RuPaul’s Drag Race Fantasy League rankings.

Look out for: High-tech and upscale mini-golf
Puttshack gave mini-golf a glow-up and infused it with technology. Gone are the days of tracking your score; the microchip in the ball takes care of that, so you've got a free hand for your drink. The courses are glowing works of art, and it’s nearly impossible not to have a blast. Play, laugh, and sip dramatic cocktails, like the hemp-smoked infused Breaking Bad Pisco Punch, served in a small treasure chest.

Look out for: Rowing (but not in the Charles)
Is rowing the perfect exercise? It builds cardio endurance, is low impact, and works nearly all of the body’s muscles, so, in a word, maybe. Row House offers rowing classes—similar in intensity to spin sessions but on a rowing machine. They mix things up a bit with interval, strength, and recovery classes that take the workout to the mat, incorporate weights, or make your core do things you didn’t know it could.

Look out for: Ping-Pong with guest DJs
Spin is a special little hideaway–a little edgy, super welcoming, and a room gently reverberating with melodic pings and pongs. Start a game and prepare for a jubilant deep dive into the rabbit hole of that pong life. In other words, one game is never enough, so refuel with Peanut Butter Marshmallow Crepes and a gin and grapefruit Curious George. Up your game on Tuesdays, when you can play for just $9, after 9 pm.

Look out for: A famed sports bar with long sandwiches
In Boston, long sandwiches are called subs (not hoagies, heroes, or (gasp!) grinders), and our cherished sports bear is a bruin. TD Garden—home to The Boston Bruins and the Celtics—is a year-round hub for Boston sports. The beer flows freely, and the overpriced hot dogs are (sometimes) piping hot. Take the T to North Station—adjacent to the Garden—and maybe you’ll take a selfie with Lucky, the Celtic’s leprechaun mascot.

Look out for: A welcoming running community
Since opening its flagship store on Newbury, Tracksmith has been the source of the many ultra-cool hares running around the city. The store’s slick little hare logo is a well-earned merit badge of sorts, as runners of all levels immerse themselves in the store’s curated-with-love running community. The store, known as the Trackhouse, hosts regular workouts and runs, and everyone from marathon runners to casual joggers grind it out.

Look out for: Axe throwing
Here’s the plan: pre-game with some beer, cider, or wine, and then throw axes until your forearm reminds you that you rarely use those muscles. Gather a group of 4-6 players and snag an hour-and-a-half reservation, which includes an introductory lesson. It’s delightfully cathartic, and the thud of the axe is oh-so-satisfying. There’s a small bar area with picnic tables, and they welcome outside food, so feel free to bring some takeout.

Look out for: Trippy rainbow-drenched bowling
Every nook and cranny of Urban Wild serves a higher calling—to immerse visitors in a wonderland of color, texture, and vibrant vibes. Reserve one of the disco-light dappled bowling lanes and choose a Skittles-colored bowling bowl; obviously, the best night ever. The murals are entirely unhinged, and the menu is a comfort food mood-swing extravaganza, offering everything from Brisket Nachos to blackened redfish tacos.