Sick of throwing dice? Throw caution to the wind with Las Vegas extreme sports designed get your adrenaline pumping.
Gravity Rules!
Skydiving for first-timers or experienced divers is available from Las Vegas extreme sports outfits like Vegas Extreme Skydiving, the Las Vegas Skydiving Center, and Skydive Las Vegas. You can even get married in free-fall.
Love to fly, but afraid of heights? Try indoor skydiving–yes, indoors!–at the Vegas Indoor Skydiving facility.
Two Wheels Are Better Than Four
The Bicycling Las Vegas bicycling community web site is a great resource for local shops, rentals, and recommended routes. You can research rides, sorting the list by degree of difficulty, from easy, flat routes to extreme mountain trails.
Water, Water…Everywhere?
Whitewater in the desert? If you’re willing to travel a few miles, several Vegas-area outfitters offer Grand Canyon whitewater rafting tours. Recreational kayaking – even kayak/rock climbing combo trips, can be enjoyed at Lake Mead. Pick your perfect package by doing a web search for “kayak las vegas.”
Rock the Rocks
Just 20 minutes from the strip, the Red Rocks National Conservation Area is a magnet for climbers, both beginner and experienced. If you’ve never tried it, it’s recommended you go with an experienced guide. Do your homework and pick one with a professional certification.
The annual Red Rocks Rendezvous returns to Red Rock National Conservation Area the first weekend in April. In addition to the premier climbing event on Saturday, the festival has expanded to three days of clinics covering climbing, wilderness first aid, self-rescue, mountain biking, and more.
If you’re not sure you’re ready for a real climb, or if your skills are rusty, sharpen up at one of Las Vegas’ indoor climbing walls. Here are a few locations:
· Black Mountain Recreation Center on Greenway Road
· Nevada Climbing Centers on Patrick Lane
· Sport Center Las Vegas on Sunset Road
· Canyon Ranch Spa at the Venetian
Zip It Up
You can now soar above the crowds on Fremont Street Flightlinez. You’ll reach up to 30 miles an hour on the 800-foot zipline, which passes under the lighted arched metal canopy. You’ll start just east of the canopy at 60 feet, and end up on a 14-foot platform in front of the Four Queens. During Halloween, the attraction is renamed the “Frightline.”?
For a zip on the wilder side, try a multi-line, one-and-a-half-mile trip down Red Mountain with Bootleg Canyon Flightlines. You’ll reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
If You Just Like to Watch
The annual Extreme Thing Festival will take place Saturday, March 31, 2012 at Desert Breeze Skate Park in southwest Las Vegas. This will be its tenth year of bringing the best of Las Vegas extreme sports, from skateboarding to BMX, from music to modifications – as in extreme tattoos. It’s a people-watcher’s paradise.
|
