7 Best Extreme Sports | Northern CA USA
Best Extreme Sports in Northern California
1. Paintball - Paintballtickets.com
This is a sport that‘ll get your blood pumping! Take out some of your aggression on co-workers, family or friends by shooting them with paintballs! Enjoy the thrill of being able to engage in real military-like combat for fun, or see if you’ve got what it takes to become a pro! This extreme sport can be played indoors or outdoors in any season, which makes it a popular pastime across the globe. Paintballtickets.com connects players with fields everywhere at the lowest prices available!
Your gear will include your paintball gun and mask; other armor is optional. Whether you’re the tactical type or you prefer to be on the front lines charging in ... be careful not to get shot or you’re out! Take cover in natural or artificial terrain to play different games such as “capture the flag“ or “elimination“. Practice balancing the exhilaration of running from the enemy with a strategically aimed and steady trigger finger. This sport exemplifies the phrase “strong mind and body“. Endurance is key ... coordination is helpful ... but your wits are invaluable!
This sport has made its way into popularity worldwide, which is why paintballtickets.com takes great pride in connecting players and providing people with tickets to new and different places to play. Anywhere you go you will discover new terrain, creating a brand new experience. So whether you’re looking to meet new people, see new places, get into shape, or find some thrills, paintballing will “aim” you in the right direction!
2. Hang Gliding - Mission Soaring Center
Everyone with any sense of adventure has a desire to fly. The mythical idea of strapping wings to our back and soaring through the clouds awakens the inner child in all of us. It’s primal, it’s amazing and it’s terrifyingly terrific! Mission Soaring Center has experienced and professional instructors that will get you off the ground safely. They will help you to conquer your fears by teaching you to harness the powerful adrenaline rush that comes with the extreme sport of hang gliding!
If you're a confident beginner, you can choose solo lessons where you’ll do the flying yourself. If you prefer to work up to that, you can choose tandem lessons that will give you the experience you’ll need to harness up to your own equipment! Instructions cover safety as well as learning to optimize your flying experience. The specialty center will match you with the best gliders and accessories in the business - and they'll give careful consideration to the models, sizes and colors that are best suited for you!
Can you imagine anything more surreally fulfilling than leaping out over breathtaking landscapes staring down on the world like an eagle ... or catching thermals that can take you spiraling higher and higher into the sky? Perhaps you envision yourself jumping out over the ocean, the crisp sea air in your face as you cut through the clouds with only a shadow of yourself below, reminding you that your dream of flying has finally become a reality! Another reality is that, while hang gliding is extreme, the price is not; Mission Soaring Center fulfills your fantasies with an unbeatable price of just $160 to get you flying!
3. Downhill Biking - Northstar California
Not for the faint of heart, Northstar California provides extreme sports enthusiasts with adventure year round! Most California natives are familiar with Northstars winter riding legacy as a ski resort, but many don't realize that this mountain resort offers lift tickets to its peaks during the summer months too! Northstar takes bikes to exciting new heights! This isn't going to be your mom‘s casual summer ride through the park. No way - instead, for this ride you'll wear pads and a full-faced helmet as you race downhill and around the bends, catching air off drops, jumps and managing rough terrain while speeding past countless challenging obstacles that fall behind in a blur.
Northstar is well suited for anyone - beginners or pro riders can benefit from their Specialized Bike Academy. Whether your cycling lessons stopped after training wheels or you’re an advanced cyclist, Northstars bike academy will hone your riding skills for an outdoor adventure straight out of the movie XXX!
Northstar California is nestled above Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevadas ... you simply couldn't ask for a more beautiful and majestic backdrop for the highlight reel of your summer of speed! And naturally you‘ll want to cool down afterwards with the delicious food and beverages offered in Northstar’s trendy village restaurants. Then, fit and refreshed, you‘ll get a good nights zzzz‘s at this comfortable 5 star resort. Eat, sleep ... repeat!
4. White Water Rafting - Adventure Connection
Surely if you’re an outdoor enthusiast you’ve felt the natural connection between man and moving water. Rivers have supplied life and adventure to mankind since the dawn of civilization. The natural beauty and unstoppable strength of rivers make them an unsurpassable highlight for any outdoor escapade. The astonishing power of moving ripples and flowing water is not to be taken lightly ... because danger is waiting just around the bend. With waterfalls spilling over granite boulders creating raging rapids of white water and chaos, sections of Mother Nature‘s gorgeous rivers may seem better viewed from shore … unless you're up for some extreme fun! For those with a sense of adventure, Adventure Connection will provide an awesomely thrill-full journey through California's untamed wilderness!
California‘s best American River white water rafting company, Adventure Connection, offers tours on a variety of stretches of river ranging from novice to extreme! Their professional guides are trained in swift water rescue and lifesaver courses - so they can help you get down the river safely. But not without your assistance! So grab a paddle and strap on your helmet and life jacket because you‘re going to need to paddle hard through rapids that have earned gnarly names like Satan’s Cesspool, Chamberlain Falls and Meat Grinder!
These trips allow you to experience those sights, splashes, and wild whitewater runs that are only possible while riding the river on a raft. Included in your Adventure Connection experience is a delicious lunch and transportation to and from your vehicle to the river’s put-in and take out areas.
Friends and family will forge deep bonds as they paddle together to conquer the challenging waves and rapids. Businesses, programs and organizations will find that river rafting is an incredible way to break down silos and build strong teams. In fact, once you discover this amazing merging of man, nature and wild water you‘ll be hooked! White water rafting will become an extreme Adventure Connection you’ll never forget and will want to repeat as often as you can!
5. Sky Diving - Skydance Sky Diving
When you think of extreme sports - what's the first one that comes to mind? For most people the answer is ... sky diving! Even if you have no fear of heights there is something about even the thought of jumping out of an airplane that makes your heart beat faster! Even though you know there will be a parachute in your backpack that will eject and slow your free fall (From over 100 miles per hour to the ground from 1,000’s of feet above the earth) you can't help but have sweaty palms and palpitations while contemplating it! But there is something about conquering your fears and experiencing the thrilling rush that tempts and fascinates you. This is the kind of thing that makes life worthwhile ... looking fear in the face and then experiencing the sense of power that comes when you do something most people only dream about!
Speed, adrenaline and risk are the defining elements of “extreme“. Skydiving is all of that wrapped into one! Your desire is to live to tell about it and Skydance Sky Diving brings you the safe instruction, equipment and confidence to take you on that first jump. In fact, you‘ll love it so much you may decide to become a USPA certified solo jumper for life! Indeed, for many, one jump is all it takes - you‘ll be hooked! And you won't have to feel your pre-jump trepidation for long ... training starts with a tandem jump after just 20 minutes of instruction! After that, the “Accelerated Free Fall” training will have you solo jumping in no time and at very little expense.
Sky diving is more than just the jump - each aspect is as cherish-able as the next. Your adventure begins with the suspenseful airplane ascent and some astonishing views! You'll find that getting geared up while they open the doors when you’ve finally reached altitude will be a rush in itself! When you make your way to the edge of the airplane door you'll need to decide whether you’ve got the stomach to look down before you jump! And then there‘s the FREEFALL!!! You’ve never truly lived until you’ve felt your body falling from the sky at terminal velocity! The sensory amazement of blue sky and rushing air, tiny landmarks getting bigger, your pure, raw, fear-fueled energy ... and awesome relief when the parachute finally deploys ... WOW! Pure unadulterated WOW! Then you‘ll take in the unobstructed views of California’s gorgeous valleys and mountain ranges until your lucky little feet hit the ground! You did it! You're amazing!
Jump into the adventure of a lifetime with Skydance Sky Diving!
6. Go-Karting - LeMans Karting
Extreme ... it‘s the need ... the need for speed! If you’ve got the impulse to drive FAST you’re not alone! This extreme sport isn’t for a sweet little grandma who cautiously drives 10 miles below the speed limit. Karting is for the person with a passion for driving … REALLY FAST! It’s for the person that loves to put the pedal to the metal, hug the corners, hold the turns tightly and pass the slowpokes with nerves of steel! If you're that person, don't risk a speeding ticket on the highway or a backroad. GO-KARTING! Feel the rush without losing your license!
Yes, the solution to your passion for passing the slow guys is LeMans Karting ... where they encourage speeding! Get rid of those fast driving impulses on a track built for speed in a kart designed for dusting the slow guysM you'll be whizzing down the track so fast they'll just be a blur in the rear view! And what's great is that when you leave behind the backseat, trunk and even the roof, you are essentially left strapped to a engine that’s as fast as a speeding bullet and racing just inches above the ground. Each move, each tactical choice becomes more critical, and each small movement you make has twice the consequences! So If you “think“ you have what it takes to go fast then slow it on the track until you KNOW it!
LeMans provides races like the “time attack“ and “sprint race“, and offers combo packages and triple plays for extra savings and more track time ... so you can get more skilled and go faster! This extreme sport is great for the adrenaline junkie that wants to really hone a skill to prove he’s the fastest! The truth is ... go-karting can be scary if you're a newbie! Making that pass as you’re barreling down the straight-a-way while heading into the next big turn at phenomenal speeds does take skill and practice! When you graduate to Superkarts you‘ll speed faster than racing cars and motorcycles! So put your helmet on, start your engine, and smell the burnt rubber of spinning tires!
7. Climbing - Adventure Out
Have you ever been told, “Don't look down!” If so, chances are you were climbing high ... and it was scary as hell! But, oh! What a rush! Climbing is facing your fears, surpassing your former grounded self-image, being completely alive in the moment and in tune with your environment! Conquering the fear is what drives the passion, and your dedication will be hoisted by your improved strength and stamina. Climbing is where the laws of gravity and nature rule above all. If extreme is what you seek ... then climbing will take your endorphins to new and awesome heights!
Learning to climb correctly isn't done through trial and error, because mistakes are unforgiving. That’s why you need to learn from Adventure Out! Adventure Out is the best way to discover outdoor rock climbing. Their mission is to empower people to achieve their wildest adventure dreams ... outdoors! Their programs provide the highest safety standards while connecting you with nature. While Adventure Out’s activities also include instruction in surfing, survival, backpacking, mountain biking and wilderness medical, rock climbing made our list of Top 7 Extreme Sports in Northern California.
Your climbs with Adventure Out will take you atop the Castle Rock State Park and Pinnacles National Parks in Santa Cruz, CA for unsurpassed natural beauty and remarkable, unique views. The different instructional clinics are designed for multiple skill levels ranging from tieing knots, belaying, and improving footwork and finesse. Feel the extreme intensity of conquering your fears as you traverse and scale the rocks to reach the summit to bask in glory! The places this sport can take you are breathtakingly beautiful! Your strength, mindfulness, tactical awareness and climbing skills will bolster your self-esteem in a way that can‘t be achieved any other way! You'll find you're more than you ever believed you could be ... in fact, YOU ROCK!
