5 Adventures Close to Home
By Amy Reinink
White-water Rafting/Tubing: You don’t need expertise to experience the rapids of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., roughly an hour and 20 minutes from Bethesda. A guide will take you white-water rafting for $50 to $75 per person on a summer weekend. Even when the water levels are low, you’ll get a few heart-stopping descents as you careen along the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers.
Looking for something more relaxed? For $35 or less, you can rent an inner tube from one of several sports outfitters and float downriver, picking up a shuttle bus after your one- to two-hour ride. For outfitters, go to historicharpersferry.com/directory.php.
Zip-lining: Feel like you’ve been there, done that at Rock Creek Regional Park? Try seeing it from a new perspective—like the treetops. You can blast through the trees on a zip line or balance above them on a rope course at Go Ape at Lake Needwood, one of several treetop adventure parks in the area. Go Ape offers six rope courses, plus two Tarzan swings and multiple rope ladders. The park provides the harness and safety equipment; you provide the chutzpah to fly through the air up to 50 feet above the ground.
You can also challenge your balance on unstable platforms connecting treetops and test your bravery on the rope course at The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School. You’ll feel like you’re competing to be the next American Ninja Warrior.
Go Ape, 6129 Needwood Lake Drive, Rockville; goape.com/days-out/rock-creek-regional-park, 800-971-8271; $55 for adults, $35 for kids 10-17, $25 for kids younger than 10, with a 3-foot-3-inch minimum height requirement.
The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School, 16701 Norwood Road, Sandy Spring; www.sandyspringadventurepark.org, 240-389-4386; $49 for those 12 and older, $44 for kids 10-11, $39 for kids 7-9; free for kids 5-6, who must each be accompanied by an adult and may only climb the two easiest courses.
Snore and Roar at the Zoo: If your dream vacation is an African safari, Snore and Roar at the National Zoo may be the next best thing. The adventure includes a two-hour talk with a zookeeper, followed by a guided hike through the zoo with flashlights to spy nocturnal animals from about 9 until 10:30 p.m. The main event, though, is falling asleep in a tent on top of Lion/Tiger Hill, surrounded by Sumatran tigers and African lions (at a safe distance from their enclosed exhibit areas, of course).
National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.; nationalzoo.si.edu/activitiesandevents/activities/snoreroar/default.cfm, 202-633-2614; rates vary from about $100 to $162.50, depending on the theme.
Crew Aboard a Sailboat: Boat owners in Annapolis and other Chesapeake Bay locations are always looking for tem-porary crew members for races or trips. And you could be among them—even if you have little to no experience sailing. Scott Sauvageot, owner of Indefatigable, a Cal 25 sailboat in Annapolis, says he frequently uses spinsheet.com to find crew members, either by posting boat listings himself or perusing “crew available” postings. Meetup.com also offers connections to several Annapolis-based sailing groups.
Alternatively, Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis hosts low-key “beer can races” on Friday nights. Show up ahead of time to ask if anyone needs a crew member. Or, strike up a conversation at the Boatyard Bar & Grill in Eastport after the races to find a spot for next time. Sauvageot also suggests hanging around the City Dock during events such as Annapolis Race Week, a huge regatta held on Labor Day weekend. “I’ve walked down a busy pier on a race weekend and been picked up as extra crew when people have shortages,” Sauvageot says.
Once you’re in, show up early and bring food and drinks to share. If you have a bit of sailing experience, you may be running a jib or main sheet. If it’s your first time, you may be serving as “rail meat,” basically acting as movable ballast by shifting from one side of the boat to the other as needed.
Kiteboarding: Want to make your adventurous friends jealous? Try kiteboarding. Also known as kitesurfing, the sport involves being propelled across the water on a small board using a large, controllable kite. It will take a few lessons to get you going, says Bill Malachowski, owner of Osprey KiteSports, which is run out of East of Maui Boardshop in Annapolis. You’ll start by learning about weather forecasting, safety and equipment, then hone your skills with a practice kite on the shores of Kent Island or Assateague National Seashore. Malachowski says new kiteboarders are usually in the water after two three-hour lessons, though it typically takes 20 to 30 hours to become completely proficient. “It is an amazing feeling to glide across the water being pulled by a kite,” he says. “Spending time on the water on a windy day is good for the soul.”
You can learn the basics at “kite nights,” held at 5 p.m. Mondays at East of Maui Boardshop, 2303 Forest Drive, Annapolis; 443-994-4420, ospreykitesports.com. Cost is $25 per person, preregistration required. Land lessons with a trainer kite cost $75 per hour; water lessons are $100 per hour.
Maybe this isn’t your year to explore the Alaskan tundra on a two-week cruise or hike around an active lava cauldron in Hawaii. No matter: There’s an abundance of cheap, easy adventures to be had close to home.
