3. Traversing Between Trees on a Zip Line
Heart racing, you let go and zip from one tree to the other reaching nearly 35 miles an hour during the traverse. Called by some the hottest new adventure sport, on a zip-line tour you wear a climbing harness hooked to a steel cable so you can traverse from tree to tree using pulleys. Zip-line tours are popular from Costa Rica to Canada. You can also soar on the slopes of the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii or on a mountainside in Whistler, B.C.
4. Floating Above the World in a Hot Air Balloon
Peering down from the passenger basket of a hot air balloon gives you a bird's-eye of the scenery. Floating over an African veld as lions roam below is a popular way to celebrate an anniversary. Closer to home, float in the sky during in one of the annual balloon festivals in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Snowmass, Colorado, and many other resort towns. With Buddy Bombard you can float over chateaus, historic towns and vineyards throughout Europe.
5. Hiking Up a Fourteener in Colorado
Officially, 54 peaks in Colorado top out above 14,000 feet above sea level (unofficially there are 58) and many locals try to climb all of them. You don’t have to follow their lead, but hiking up one or two while driving the Scenic Byways in this state makes a terrific vacation. Visit the Colorado tourism website to learn more about the fourteeners, a local nickname for these mountains, and the Scenic Byway routes. Every fall, the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek offers a luxe way to climb a fourteener.
6. Help Gauchos Move Cattle in Argentina
If you’ve been on several horseback riding trips and want a more adventurous experience join a cattle drive in Argentina. You’ll spend days herding cattle with the Andes in the background and Patagonia stretching before you. Equitours can arrange for you to join the colorful gauchos as they move the herds.
7. Ride a Motorcycle to the End of the Road
Alaska Rider Tours offers motorcycle tours in Alaska, South Africa and Japan. The varied trips are a way bikers can explore the world on a motorcyle.
8. Bicycle Through Exotic Morocco
Butterfield & Robinson runs a variety of bike trips to exotic Morocco. Pictures from riding on 24-speed bikes through local villages past camels, goats and kids on donkeys, watching snake charmers perform in Marrakech’s Djemma el Fna and meeting with artists who live in the port town of Essaouira will fill a big scrapbook. One evening travelers will attend a feast in the desert and overnight in private tents.
9. Bring the Family to Meet Seals and Bears
Introduce your children to the wilder side of life on Vancouver Island, Canada. Take them kayaking in the Pacific ocean off the desolate beaches of Tofino, seal watching from motorized Zodiaks and looking for black bears scrounging for crabs and clams. Austin-Lehman Adventures offers this Canadian trip every summer.
10. Mush Your Own Dog Sled Team
Whether you’re tucked under a robe behind a guide or steering your own team of huskies, riding in a dog sled on trails through a forest is a lot of fun. There are dog sled operations at many winter resorts, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Snowmass, Colorado to Nome, Alaska. Wintergreen Dog Sledding up in Minnesota’s north country has multi-day trips where you’ll get to mush your own team.