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15 of the Best Outdoor Adventure Activities
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Updated: April 14, 2024
Sometimes you get stuck in a rut and need new outdoor adventure activities to spark a light in your life again! Even the smallest adventure can be reinvigorating. Here are 15 Outdoor Adventure Activities for you to try…
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Table of Contents
Outdoor Adventure Activities
Hiking Activities
Hiking is one of my year-round favorites and is a great way to get outside and explore nature. The trails can be as short + simple or as advanced as you like them to be! Use AllTrails to find a nearby route that meets your preferences.
Hiking Boots
My hiking boots: Columbia Women’s Facet 75 Mid Outdry Hiking Shoe
Arkansas HIkes
checklist
Biking Activities
From a light road ride to mountain biking, there are plenty of variations of biking to fit any need. Some parks and businesses offer bike rentals near their trails, for your convenience. NWA is the mountain biking capital. So if you live in this area, you’re in luck!
Outdoor Adventure Activities: Kayaking
When it gets too hot for biking or hiking, find a river and go kayaking! This is another activity that can be laid back (cruise around a lake) or more fast-paced (ride down a river).
Pick your adventure and GO! If you are able to visit the Buffalo National River in Arkansas, it is highly recommended. The scenery is STUNNING!
Float the Illinois in Arkansas
What to expect on this beautiful adventure.
Float the Illinois in Oklahoma
Floating the Buffalo River
What to expect on this bucket list worthy kayaking trip.
Horseback Riding
A quick Google search can help you find the right horseback riding experience for you. There is nothing like a relaxing horse ride through a forest or on a mountainside!
Outdoor Adventure Activities: Camping
There are many camping options- in a yurt or tent, in a camper or a cabin. State parks are a great camping resource. Many have camping locations and cabin rentals available. Or if you need more adventure, take off with your tent into the woods (with precautions taken, of course).
Arkansas State Parks
Full checklist of all 52 parks!
Spelunking / Cave Exploration
Whether spelunking in an off-the-grid cave or cave exploring with a group through a tourist cave, going underground is always a unique experience. If going to an off-the-grid cave, do proper research to ensure your safety!
Cave Exploring
tips and tricks
Outdoor Adventure Activities: Fishing
Fishing is a relaxing way to enjoy some outdoor time. If you have the equipment, you can fish from the bank, or take off in a kayak or boat to get some water time. Some state parks also offer paid fishing excursions.
Your Guide to
A Happier You!
The 3 keys to happiness (challenge + tracker included)
Road Tripping
For an ultimate adventure, take off on a road trip! You could plan ahead, or for the ultimate adventure, take off and see where you end up. This is made easy if you have a camper or tent to camp in wherever you land. You could also head toward a randomly picked state park, or use Atlas Obscura to find a lesser-known, unique experience along the way.
Plan. Organize.
stress free road trips start with a plan.
Outdoor Adventure Activities: Whitewater Rafting
If you are lucky enough to live near or be able to travel to a location with whitewater rafting, you MUST give this a try! Search online to find a reputable and safe provider of this activity. (We used Whitewater Rafting, LLC for a fantastic Colorado River rafting experience)
Zipline Adventure
If you haven’t tried ziplining, it can seem a bit daunting. But after that first jump, your mind is at ease and you can have so much fun! (We used Adventures of Mammoth Cave)
Mining Activity
Digging for diamonds, gems, and precious stones is a fun activity the whole family can enjoy! We chose diamond mining at Crater of Diamonds State Park for our mining experience.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
What to expect when you visit one of the only public active diamond mining fields in the world.
ATV/UTV Riding
Get deeper into nature than bike rides and hiking allow with ATV/UTV riding. If you have your own ride, there are multiple pages/FB groups that will link riders up to group rides. If you don’t own one, some riding locations have rentals available.
Check out this FB Group: NWA UTV Riders
Rock Climbing / Exploring
If you live near mountains, there will be no shortage of rocky areas to climb on, through, under, and over. Petit Jean State Park has some fun areas to explore at Bear Cave Trail. Many hiking trails in NWA will naturally lead you through some rock/boulder climbing.
Waterfall Exploration
One of my favorites- chasing waterfalls! Find a resource that lists waterfalls near you, pick one or 2, and take off! In Arkansas, we have an amazing book that lists 200+ waterfalls with instructions on how to get to them. You can make it easy, by finding a waterfall to drive up to, or increase the difficulty by choosing one you have to hike to reach. The book I have and {LOVE}-
Chasing Waterfalls
How to plan the perfect chase!
recommended book
Arkansas Waterfalls
Tubing / Floating
Grab an inner tube, find some water, and FLOAT! You can be pulled behind a boat, or find a river to slowly float down. Be sure to pack some essentials- sunscreen and drinking water.
Hopefully, this list of outdoor adventure activities gives you a few good ideas to get started on! Have you done some of these? Which was your favorite? Which do you look forward to trying the most? Leave a comment or message me!
– 15 Outdoor Adventure Activities-
1000 Hours Outside Challenge
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Sunrises2Sunsets
Outdoor Adventures: Information, Inspiration, Ideas
✓Hiking ✓Kayaking ✓Arkansas State Parks ✓Camping ✓Road Trips
Such a great list of outdoor activities. With the warmer weather approaching I would love to try kayaking!
One of my fav’s!
Wow! So many fun activities! Looks like you guys are having soooo much fun! I will definitely do activities like this during summer… But in Sweden ? Thank you for all the tips ? Much, much love to you ❤ ❤
I’m an indoor person, however can see myself totally having fun with some of the activities here. Great compilagkon!
Being outside with nature is one of the best things you can do for the soul! I only recently took up hiking and feeling so much better for it! There’s something about exploring nature that keeps one grounded!
I’ll be on the hunt now for waterfalls – something so magical and majestic about them 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I 100% agree, good for the soul. Nature heals (physically, mentally, and emotionally)
You just got me excited for summer!
Yah! I LOVE summer!!
Love outdoor adventures! Especially biking and hiking. Never plucked up the courage to try kayaking… not a fan of cold water!
If you do it right, you don’t have to be a fan of cold water! 😛 Lakes are a good starting point, minimal risk of tipping!
some fantastic outdoor activity ideas
This is a great post! What an amazing list of fun outdoor adventure activities. Ziplining is definitely on my bucket list! Thank you for the fun suggestions!
With the weather finally improving, we are ready to enjoy the great outdoors! And we’ll definitely be doing a lot of the things on your list. Camping and hiking are our favorites, but I’m hoping to get more into kayaking as well. I’m very much a novice kayaker, but it’s a wonderful way to soak up the beauty of nature.