6 unique date-night ideas on the South Shore. Up your game from dinner and a movie

Jessica Trufant, The Patriot Ledger
Updated ·4 min read

Tired of the run-of-the-mill, dinner-and-a-movie date night? Or are you starting to plan Valentine's Day? Here are some unique date-night ideas on the South Shore.

Try your hand at ax throwing

Ax throwing may not sound like the most romantic date idea, but it's fun and no experience is necessary.

Crazy Axes at 228 Columbia Road in Hanover has 17 targets and seven lanes of arcade-style projection targets. It is BYOB (beer and wine only) and BYOF with lots of takeout options nearby. The hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday. The cost is $30 per person and reservations can be made online. For more information, visit hanover.crazy-axes.com.

There is also Long House Axe Throwing at 46 Main St. in Plymouth. Long House offers knife throwing too, and serves local craft beers. The hours are 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. The cost is $30 an hour per person. Reservations can be made online. For more information, visit longhouseaxethrowing.com.

Ax throwing at Crazy Axes in Hanover.
Ax throwing at Crazy Axes in Hanover.

Take a cooking class

Why go out to dinner when you can create your own? Mix It Up Kitchen, at 19 Depot St. in Duxbury, offers a range of cooking workshops for adults, ranging from Mediterranean and Italian dishes to vegetarian and Asian. Classes are offered on weekend evenings and should be booked in advance. For more information or to book a class, visit mixitupkitchen.com.

If you'd prefer to take a private class in your own kitchen either in person or remotely, chef Abby Gray of Norwell-based Cooking with Abby has a range of options and classes, such as gluten-free cooking, smoothies, Indian food and more. For more information, go to cookingwithabby.com.

Go ice skating at Quincy's new outdoor rink

The new outdoor ice skating rink in Quincy's downtown is free to use, and skate rentals are free. The rink, on a city-owned parking lot at 100 Parkingway, is open from noon to 8 p.m. for public skating.

Street parking in the busy city center is limited, but there is ample space at the nearby Kilroy Square Garage at 25 Cottage Ave. Rates are $1 an hour for the first six hours on weekdays and $1 an hour for the first 12 hours on weekends. It is about a five-minute walk from the garage to the rink.

Kids race from one end to the other at the outdoor rink in Quincy.
Kids race from one end to the other at the outdoor rink in Quincy.

Relax in a salt cave

For relaxation, meditation and perhaps some healing, try halotherapy, or salt therapy. It is also thought to have health benefits, especially for those suffering from respiratory issues, such as asthma and bronchitis.

Scituate Salt Cave at 164 Front St. has two rooms with 30,000 pounds of pink salt from the Himalayan mountains. The cost is $45 per person for 45 minutes. For more information or to make a reservation, visit scituatesaltcave.com.

Take a swing at Topgolf

While it's too cold for outdoor mini golf, you can still take a swing at Topgolf, which recently opened its first Massachusetts location at 777 Dedham St. in Canton. The three-story facility has 90 bays with heaters, fans and the company’s Toptracer technology. There is also a full-service restaurant, a 28-foot video wall and 200 televisions.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 10 a.m. to midnight Friday; 9 a.m. to midnight Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday. Bays can be rented by the hour, with prices starting at $40 for morning sessions, $50 from noon to 5 p.m. and $62 from 5 p.m. to close. Those rates go up by $3 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and are half off Tuesdays. For more information, visit topgolf.com/us/canton.

The state’s first Topgolf is at 777 Dedham St. in Canton.
The state’s first Topgolf is at 777 Dedham St. in Canton.

Paint your own pottery

Express your creativity with a paint-your-own pottery session. The Pottery Playce, at 352 Columbia Road, Hanover, is a walk-in studio open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It offers specials throughout the week, and one Thursday per month is paint night for adults only. It provides the music and the pottery and you can BYOB. For more information, visit potteryplayce.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Try these unique date-night ideas near Quincy, Massachusetts