The Family Recreation Park is Boonsboro, MD’s best kept secret. Why? This park offers something for everyone, from young to old. The location is superb, being on Route 40 between Hagerstown and Frederick. The Park is located set back from the main road, providing added safety for children. Many activities are available, such as miniature golf, batting cages, go-karts, and more. Snacks are sold at the snack bar. The picnic pavilion can be rented for large group and family events.
I choose this location as being Boonsboro’s best kept secret because I have had great fun here! Also, not everyone knows about the Family Recreation Park. This is somewhere everyone can go for the day and enjoy themselves, and get to know each other better while spending quality time together. Not only do families come here with young children, but teenagers also hang out, and adults even come for the fun. I enjoyed Family Recreation Park when I was a teenager, and I still recommend it as an adult. This is why it is so special.
The Family Recreation Park has been around for years. They opened their doors fifteen years ago, with the vision of the owner, Jack Barr. He has eight children, and wanted to establish a safe place for families and children to come and play! The business started with the 19-hole miniature golf course and 18 hole tee-driving range, and went from there to add the go-karts, batting cages, and more…
The most popular reason for coming here is probably the miniature golf. Last year, a major renovation project was started to redo the miniature golf course. The course was somewhat flat and standard for the area, but now has been transformed. The setting has become much more lively but yet peaceful at the same time with water fountains in the course itself. The foliage is nice, with different types of trees and shrubbery, and provides a relaxed atmosphere for enhanced enjoyment. This attraction alone makes it worth visiting for an evening of miniature golf. I would recommend this for families, friends and couples of all ages. Miniature golf costs $6.00 for adults, and half price for a second game. There are two different miniature golf courses, one 19 hole and one 24 hole. The 19 hole features a waterfall, and the 24 hole features a whale pond and handicap/stroller accessibility.
The tee-driving golf course can be alot of fun! I prefer miniature golf myself, but for some reason many people find great satisfaction in seeing how far they can drive a golf ball. Apparently, it affords great stress relief and keeps you in great shape as well. I have to admit, the one time I tried, my arms got sore after a few swings! (Most people are probably in better shape than I am in their upper bodies.) It only costs $5 to $7.50 for buckets of golf balls to drive.
My personal favorite is the batting cages. I have always been a bit of a tomboy (okay, a big tomboy), and I played baseball as a child. So, I come out here to prove to myself and the world that I can still hit an 80 mph fast baseball. (You don’t have to believe me but it’s true!) I’ll start with the 45 mph, then move to the 60 mph, then go to the 80 mph. It’s very enticing to work up to hitting that fast ball! It gives me a sense of accomplishment when I swing and make contact and the ball goes flying out to the nets… You can also hit slow or fastpitch softballs. It costs $2 for one round of batting, or 3 for $5.
Next, try the go-karts. I remember as a child riding go-karts in Ocean City, MD. They have some big tracks down there. But, when the go-kart track opened here, I was quite impressed. There are three different tracks. The first is the slick track. I don’t really care for this one. I am more about speed than sliding around. However, many prefer this track. It costs $4 per ride, or 4 for $14.00. Then you have the figure eight track. I think this one is the best for racing around. It costs $5 or 4 for $18. An adult/child double seater is $5.50. Finally, there is the junior track for younger riders. This costs $3 or 4 for $10. You have to have closed toe shoes to ride any of these tracks!
Finally, we come to the no pain, no gain attractions: water wars and paintball. With waterwars, you get a bucket of water balloons, and throw them at the other person and try to soak them. You can soak your mom, your boyfriend, or your wife. It costs $3 to $5 for the water balloons. Paintball is the newest addition to the Family Recreation Park, an event that seems to gain increasing momentum over the years. I have two male teenage cousins, and half the time I ask them what they have been doing, they say they were playing paintball! Teens and young adults love this sport. It can be painful, if you get hit in the chest with a paintball, but you wear some protective gear to minimize the damage, and overall the sport is considered relatively safe. You do have to sign a waiver before you play. It costs about $20 an hour to play, which comes with all the gear and paint, and about $30 to play for two hours(about 280 paintballs). Plan to get messy, so don’t wear good clothes! You can have hours of fun with this attraction.
In addition to the attractions available at Family Recreation Park, you can also rent the picnic pavilion. You could have your family reunion here, or a church picnic, or a large group of friends. This makes it nice because you can spend the whole day here then with family and friends. The park is open in May from 4:30 to 8 on weekdays and until 10 pm on Friday. On Saturday, the hours are 10 am to 10 pm, and Sunday from 12 pm to 8 pm. In June, July and August, the hours change to 11 am to 10 pm, opening at 10 am on Saturday and noon on Sunday. Make sure to bring enough money if you come with a large family, but the cost is worth it! Last year, they offered a discount family value pack for $50, which came with ten coupons each redeemable for one attraction. Hopefully this will be repeated during the 2007 season…
