Get Your Head in the Game by with these Fun Activities in Detroit

Fowling – football bowling – was founded by friends from Detroit who were tailgating at the 2001 Indy 500. The first Fowling Warehouse opened in December 2014 in Hamtramck and has continued to grow from there.

At the Fowling Warehouse, you can pay $14 for open play on the weekends, and try to knock down the pins on the other side of the lane with a football. Trust us, it’s harder than you think. If you win, you keep your lane!

A Belgian pastime, feather bowling is similar to horseshoes and bocce, and can be played at The Cadieux Cafe on Detroit’s East Side. You roll balls – which are more like wheels – down a curved lane and try to get it as close to the feather as you can. The game can be played with as few as two people, all the way up to more than three people on a team.

Axe throwing has gotten more and more popular over the past few years, with bars popping up around the United States. The same can be said for Detroit.

The Yard at Corktown has plenty of axe throwing lanes, plus many other games like cornhole, giant cornhole, plus a bunch of board games. You can also axe throw at Full Throttle Adrenaline Park in Sterling Heights.

Curling is a sport that many people follow – especially around the Olympics – but one many people have not tried. There are two places in metro Detroit where you can try curling!

The Detroit Curling Club in Ferndale offers individual curling experiences or ice rentals where you and a group can practice curling. There’s also HUB Stadium in Novi, where you can rent a lane for up to eight people and learn how to play with curling coaches.

Bocce Ball is a great way to have fun with people of all ages, and it’s a great sport to play in the summer. Ottava Via, an Italian restaurant in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, has bocce ball courts in its back patio where you can rent the area.

Palazzo de Bocce in Lake Orion is a massive building where you can also rent bocce courts for more than an hour at a time. They also have bocce leagues.

Detroit is the Motor City, and while we love our cars, we also love racing them. For those who can’t get behind the wheel professionally, there are great spots all over metro Detroit for karting.

Full Throttle Adrenaline Park has locations in Novi and Sterling Heights. They have pro-karting that can go up to 40 mph on their tracks.

C.J. Barrymore’s also has two types of go-karting – one on the grand prix track, and the other on its massive three-story Indy Skytrack that looks like something out of Mario Kart.

Whirlyball might be the most unique game you’ve ever played. According to Whirlyball Michigan, it’s been described as a combination of basketball, hockey and Jai-Alai, played while riding a car similar to a bumper car. In the game, teams of five use a Jai-Alai-style plastic scoop while driving and tossing around a softball-sized wiffle ball, trying to score on a swing gate and backboards with a 15-inch hole in the center.

At Whirlyball in Novi, you can book a court for you and your friends with an hour of play, beer, food and more, or you can compete in leagues.

Michigan is home to some of the best golf in the country. In fact, GolfDigest ranked the state as the second-best state for public golf in the United States.

There are dozens of incredible golf courses throughout metro Detroit. Check out some of the best courses here.

When rock climbing, be prepared to use muscles you didn’t even know you had. It’s a fun and active way to spend time with friends, and while you may not compete with them, you’ll definitely compete with the wall. There are two spots to rock climb in metro Detroit.

Dyno Detroit in the Eastern Market neighborhood opened in 2021 has expansive walls for top-rope climbing, auto-belay climbing, bouldering and more. There are 89 rope anchors, plus a fitness area upstairs. Day passes are $22 and you can also rent gear, and they also have classes to learn how to climb.

Planet Rock in Madison Heights also has a bunch of walls for climbing – top-roping, auto belays, bouldering and more. They have a starter package that includes an introductory class, a day pass, plus rental gear.

Detroit is known for its hockey, with plenty of players in the NHL and the Red Wings among the most famous teams in the world. If you’re looking to compete or just play some sticks and pucks, visit our guide to ice skating in Detroit, where we have plenty of places listed to get on the ice.