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Continued: Ultrafit: 10 ways to play

Hunter was the monster in the castle, hiding behind a wall, ready to jump when the girls skipped by. Gwen, Jordan and teetering little Nora -- three girls in a line, flushed in the face from running -- approached the small boy behind the wall. "There he is!" one shouted. "Run!"

Outside, it was a dead cold evening in Edina, a midwinter Monday black and all but inhospitable to small children in need of release. But indoors at the castle -- actually a giant play structure with slides, tunnels and faux tree trunks, all capped under a multistory atrium of glass -- it was bright and green, the smell of earth in the air. Water trickled in the background, the white noise of an artificial river.

This is Adventure Peak, a fantasyland for children that's one of the nation's largest indoor playgrounds. It is the 37-foot-high centerpiece at Edinborough Park, a one-acre indoor world near Interstate Hwy. 494 on York Av. S. with more than 6,000 plants, trees and flowers that bloom even through the deepest of Minnesota's dark months.

Keeping kids active in the winter can be a challenge. As the parents of a 3-year-old girl and an 8-month-old boy raring to go once he can crawl, my wife and I are always seeking new adventures for the kids. When it's too harsh to be outside, especially during those starry evenings when the sun sets at 5 p.m., the options are limited to indoor venues.

Fortunately, the Twin Cities has no shortage of indoor play places and unique venues for physical activity. "No matter where you live in this city, there's some kind of indoor play area very close by," said Kim Keiser, owner of the Maple Grove-based website Twincitiesmom.com.

Keiser said many malls now have decent play areas, including Ridgedale, Eden Prairie Center and Northtown, all with padded "soft structure" playgrounds made for young kids. For something new, Keiser recommends activity-specific venues such as Gleason's Gymnastic School, which has Eagan and Maple Grove locations and offers open gym times each week for preschoolers on up to teens.

Tricia Cornell, editor of Minnesota Parent magazine, takes her children, ages 3 and 5, to the Mall of America before the stores open. "They can run free without holding my hands, as hardly anyone is there," she said. "It lets them move their little legs."

In Minneapolis, where Cornell lives, many neighborhood park and recreation buildings have open gym times each week, she said.

Both Cornell and Keiser touted indoor water parks, including the likes of the Milwaukee Road Depot in downtown Minneapolis, which can offer a steamy respite from winter doldrums. "We're talking Minnesota here, where winter can last half the year," Keiser said. "You've got to do something."

My kids would agree.

1 / Run! Jump! Fly!

Last weekend, the Minnesota Children's Museum opened a new exhibit called "Run! Jump! Fly!" with interactive stations to promote physical activity. There's a snowboarding area where kids stand on a balance board and virtually swoop down a mountain slope in front of a giant video screen. A "climbing canyon" has horizontal traverses over sandstone-colored wall panels. In the Kung Fu Forest, which teaches coordination, kids are put in a simulated bamboo forest where they mimic martial arts moves seen on a small screen. Details: Admission $7.95; 10 W. 7th St., St. Paul; 651-225-6000, www.mcm.org.

2 / GLEASON'S GYMNASTIC SCHOOL

Kids can flip, swing and tumble onto mats to their hearts' content during Gleason's Gymnastic School's open gym time. There are weekly sessions for preschoolers through teenagers. A foam block pit, trampolines, a trapeze bar, rings, balance beams and mats are all part of the fun at the company's gyms, in Maple Grove and Eagan. Details: Two-hour sessions start at $6; 2015 Silver Bell Road, Eagan; 9775 85th Av. N., Maple Grove; 651-454-6203, www.gleasons.com.

3 / 3RD LAIR SKATEPARK

Built not only for skateboarders, this jump- and ramp-laden indoor park accommodates inline skaters, BMX bikers, unicyclists, even scooter riders. 3rd Lair's Golden Valley and Burnsville skate parks are open daily. Beginners are welcome; rental equipment available. Details: Three-hour sessions start at $11; 850 Florida Av., Golden Valley; 3260 W. County Road 42, Burnsville; 763-797-5283, www.3rdlair.com.

4 / CLIMB THE CAVE

In the basement of Midwest Mountaineering, an outdoors shop on the University of Minnesota's West Bank, is a climbing cave with thousands of hand- and footholds arching from floor to ceiling -- then upside-down across the ceiling, as well. The whole room has a padded floor, cushioning falls from the 8-foot-high ceiling and making ropes and other climbing gear unnecessary. It's a good place to try the sport for free. Best for ages 6 and older. Sign a waiver at the front desk, walk downstairs, then unleash your inner monkey. Details: Free; 309 Cedar Av. S., Mpls.; 612-339-3433, www.midwestmtn.com.

5 / MILWAUKEE ROAD DEPOT WATERPARK

A 185-foot waterslide and a giant spouting train are part of the wet adventure that is the Milwaukee Road Depot Waterpark, a 15,000-square-foot indoor facility in downtown Minneapolis. Four pools, fountains and a whirlpool are included. Kids under 2 are free with a paid adult. Details: $20; 225 3rd Av. S., Mpls.; 612-375-1700, www.thedepotminneapolis.com.

6 / ADVENTURE PEAK

This life-size chutes and ladders game at Edina's Edinborough Park includes vertigo-inducing twisty slides, cargo-net spans, lookouts as high as 30 feet, and a hollowed-out artificial oak tree that kids can climb inside of. It's one of the nation's largest indoor playgrounds. Details: $5.50 for a day pass. 7700 York Av. S., Edina; 952-832-6790, www.edinboroughpark.com.

7 / PUMP IT UP

Large rooms with inflatable slides, obstacles and air-filled moonwalk-type trampolines greet kids at Pump It Up, which has five locations in the Twin Cities. It is a franchise company that touts itself as an "inflatable party zone." There are rooms to host private indoor events. Open play times multiple days of the week. Ages 2 and up. Details: Open playtime, $6 for 90 minutes; 7406 Washington Av. S., Eden Prairie; 7045 6th St. N., Oakdale; 1182 E. Cliff Road, Burnsville; 13941 NE. Lincoln St., Ham Lake; 3500 Holly Lane N., Plymouth; www.pumpitupparty.com.

8 / JW TUMBLES

Mat gymnastics classes, a climbing wall, a jungle gym and a trampoline for toddlers are offered at JW Tumbles. There are open gym sessions and parent dropoff days for ages 3 and older. Details: $10 per family for one-hour open gym time; 3120 Galleria, Edina; 3525 N. Vicksburg Lane, Plymouth; 952-922-2660, www.jwtumbles.com.

9 / SOFT PLAY AREAS

Malls like Ridgedale, Northtown, Eden Prairie Center and Rosedale have "soft structure" play areas designed for ages 4 and under. The playgrounds include slides, tunnels and objects to climb on -- all made of a soft and forgiving foam-based material that minimizes bumps and bruises. Details: Free; various mall locations.

10 / REHBEIN'S INDOOR BMX TRACK

For older kids, Rehbein's track has big dirt jumps, banked turns and bumps for BMX bike racing and practice. Open riding on Tuesdays and Fridays; races on the weekends. Details: $10; 426 Pine St., Lino Lakes; 651-784-5824, www.rehbeinsbmx.com.

Stephen Regenold is a Twin Cities writer and author of the syndicated column www.thegearjunkie.com.

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