The road less traveled is often the more fulfilling one, especially when it bypasses Robert Frost's tiger pits. Diverge from a rote route with today's Groupon: for $30, you get two Intro to Bouldering lessons with day passes for same-day access at The ARC – Arcadia Rock Climbing (a $70 value).

The ARC – Arcadia Rock Climbing’s savvy instructors lead beginner climbers through classes to elucidate the art of bouldering. Bouldering condenses the challenge of scaling a wall by contorting the vertical plane into strange shapes, inversions, convexes, and concaves. The low-level walls present significant physical challenges and tests of stamina, much like climbing a pole slicked in baby oil. After gearing up with the necessary climbing equipment, climbers will spend 30 minutes learning the basics of foot placement and grip types, testing the wall's colorful crags. After the lesson, students can stick around and log extra climbing time with a day pass, mastering wall-crawling techniques for sneaking up on unsuspecting chimney sweeps.