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Best Activities For Summer Thrill Seekers In Baltimore

By Joel Furches

After being cooped up all winter, adrenaline junkies are going to be itching to get out into the sunshine and find activities which feed the need for adventure. Good news is, Maryland is crammed tight with opportunities for thrill seekers to dive in and get the rush that makes life worth living. From rock climbing to parasailing - get it all, right here in the Baltimore area.

Terrapin Adventures
8600 Foundry St.
Savage, MD 20763
(301) 725-1313
www.terrapinadventures.com

Terrapin Adventures is a network of ropes, ladders and nets woven through a forest of trees. It resembles some kind of tree village with ziplines, giant drops and swings that sail out over the ground in enormous arcs. If traversing the forest on ropes, nets, swings and ziplines isn't enough adventure for you, Terrapin also offers mountain biking, kayaking, backpacking, caving and tubing. Terrapin is like an all-in-one adrenaline trip. Check its website for various adventure packages, family or group activities, team building events and more.

Skydive Baltimore
3536 Aldino Road
Churchville, MD 21028
(410) 734-4888
www.skydivebaltimore.com

With a name like "Skydive Baltimore," its easy to guess what this business offers in the way of thrills. The only skydiving locale in the tri-state area to have its own, custom-made and dedicated skydive facility, Skydive Baltimore can take you and your group up in the air from its personal airfield and have you out of the plane and falling through the freedom of the open sky in the space of an hour. For your personal safety, the skydives are tandem, meaning you and an instructor hook into a tandem harness and the instructor takes care of the chute and equipment while you enjoy the ride. You'll see practically all of Baltimore, the Chesapeake, DC and Aberdeen. The fall lasts over a minute before the instructor opens the chute, and then you drift down as the instructor maneuvers the decent. SB also has a video pack, where your entire fall is filmed with up to 200 beautiful still frames, and a video compilation to boot.

Eastern Watersports
Long Beach Marina
800 Chester Road
Middle River, MD 21220
(410) 443-1158
www.easternwatersports.com

Eastern Watersports is about the best place in Maryland you can go if you enjoy the thrill of kayaking, scuba-diving, jet-skiing or any other kind of fast-paced, adrenaline fueled water sport. Watersports offers rentals and sales on every kind of water entertainment equipment possible, as well as classes and tours on things like scuba diving. These include recreational courses in open water, underwater navigation, wreck diving, deep diving and other thrilling kinds of scuba adventures. For personal or group use, also consider its floating docks and piers. If getting wet in style is your style, bring yourself over to Eastern Watersports and see all of the options you could possibly imagine.

Related:  Best White Water Rafting Near Baltimore

Friendship Hot Air Balloon
12465 Barnard Way
West Friendship, MD 21794
(410) 442-5566
www.ballooningusa.com

Some people are afraid of heights, but Friendship Hot Air Balloon invites you to embrace the experience of sailing through the atmosphere, instead. By far the most peaceful way to experience the majesty of the open air, hot air balloons give you the adventure of high-flying fun without the noise of rotors or engines: just the soothing sound of gas being released to keep your ride afloat. For a surprisingly inexpensive amount, a guide will take you and your family or friends into the basket of the dirigible and float you for miles in the blue sky so that you may soak up the scenery of your Maryland home. If you don't already have this on your bucket list - you should.

Big Gunpowder Falls State Park
7200 Graces Quarters Rd.
Middle River, MD 21220
(410) 592-2897
www,dnr2.maryland.gov

Maryland has plenty of indoor climbing courses, but real daredevils are going to want to take those rock climbing skills out into nature and put their metal to the test. There is no location in Maryland better for intense rock climbing adventure than Big Gunpowder Falls State Park in Middle River. Rockclimbing.com lists nearly 20 climbing areas in the park, ranging in difficulty from 1 to 5.10 with both top rope and bouldering climbs. Grab your ropes and climbing shoes and hit the rocks at Gunpowder Falls!

Related: Best Indoor Rock Climbing In Baltimore

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