While anyone can take a family vacation, there are some cool activities across the U.S. that allow families to be actual daredevils. More than thrill rides at an amusement park, these travel destinations provide real thrills, but still enough safety for the most nervous of parents. Here are some fun family daredevil travel thrills in the United States:
Grand Canyon Skywalk
The Grand Canyon is one of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders, and families can find many enjoyable activities there. One of the most thrilling is the horseshoe-shaped Skywalk, a clear glass-bottom platform that extends 70 feet out over the Canyon’s West Rim. You actually walk out over the canyon, on a glass sidewalk.
The Skywalk offers unrestricted breathtaking scenes of the multi-colored sheer cliffs and rock formations that stretch more than 20 miles in all directions, with thrilling views nearly a mile below to the Colorado River. The Hualapai Native-American tribe, which has lived in the Arizona area for centuries, opened the Skywalk in 2008 and describes the experience as if to “walk the path of the eagle”. Visitor numbers are limited on this busy tourist site, so it’s best to arrive very early in the morning or at sunset. There are restaurants and other facilities adjacent to the Skywalk.
The Skywalk requires a five-hour drive from the area’s most popular tourist area, the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park. Tickets are $29.95 adults and $22.46 for kids 3 to 11.
grandcanyonskywalk.com
Las Vegas Stratosphere SkyJump
For families who want more excitement in Las Vegas, there’s SkyJump at the Stratosphere Hotel Tower. This can really be a thrill of a lifetime, you really are jumping off a building. It’s a heart-stopping and swift bungee line descent from the tallest structure in Sin City down to almost street level 855 feet below, the equivalent to falling 108 floors.
Although it feels like free fall, an attached cable line guides each jumper safely down from the sky-high launch platform. Those daredevil enough to do it wear special suits with harnesses, and are given expert instructions. Jumpers must be 14 years old, with an approving adult present on the platform, and must weigh at least 75 pounds to take the leap. There are several packages offered, with the minimum charge of $110, which includes a DVD of your jump.
stratospherehotel.com
Flightline Safari at San Diego Wild Animal Park
While this exciting experience also involves being harnessed in and the feeling of free flight, most of the trip is horizontal, starting with a descent from a 900-foot hill, and sailing safely along at a controlled speed. This makes it suitable to everyone from age 10 and up. Safely stapped in your harness and hooked on to a heavy steel cable line, you soar through the air above the famous zoo’s Wild Animal Park creatures, many ranging free on the savannah grounds. Some animals Flightline riders see from above include rhinos, gazelles, buffalo, deer and many species of birds.
Most families vacationing these days carry cameras and phones with cameras, and you’ll certainly want to record this experience. Flightline will also provide professional-quality helmet cameras and DVDs at extra charges and it’s worth it to really capture the fun. Children ages 10 to 15 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older, and must weigh at least 75 pounds. The cost per ride is $70 to $110 and discount packages are available with zoo admission.
wildanimalpark.org
Parasailing in Hawaii
Because of the great weather and gentle seas, there are many parasailing resources on the coastlines of every Hawaiian island. One of the most convenient is SeaBreeze in the state capital city of Honolulu on Oahu.
Parasailing involves a speedboat with parachutes that float into the air out back of the craft, each with one or two people strapped aboard. To go aloft, you must weigh at least 60 pounds and an adult must always ride in tandem with each child. Most boats offer different options to allow higher and longer flight, for an extra charge.
As the speedboat races over the ocean for about an hour to get to the destination, experts instruct participants in the required use of the equipment. The actual parasail ride lasts from eight to ten minutes. Of course, still and/or video cameras are a must for this adventure of a lifetime. In addition to capturing the moments in the sky, the Honlulu scenery and coastline are almost as breathtaking. The speedboats leave from the Hawaii Kai Center but there’s free pickup from most Waikiki hotels.
The basic parasailing adventure is $50 per person riding single, plus $25 is there’s a partner. There are a lot of option for recording your experience and also to fly higher and / or longer. It’s also good to tip the captain after a fun ride.
seabreezewatersports.com
EdgeWalk, CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
This thrilling experience isn’t in the U.S., but close enough for those daredevil families who want to cross the northern border into Canada for fun and excitement and a once-in-a-lifetime sky high thrill.
EdgeWalk at the CN Tower involves stepping your way hands-free along the outside metal ledge of the soaring building 1,168 feet from the city street below. The only thing keeping you from sailing out into the blue is a harness belt attached to a railing on the building’s side.
For the bravest, the belt allows you to lean your upper body over away from the building. This gives an even more breathtaking view of the city and the nearby shores of Lake Ontario. The full experience lasts about 30 minutes, and is supervised by trained guides. Little EdgeWalk daredevils must be at least 42 inches tall. Due to cold winters, the EdgeWalk operates from May through October, and only in good weather. The cost for the experience is $175 (Canadian), which includes video and photos of your adventure, along with a certificate of achievement.
cntower.ca
Ted Sherman is a world traveler and editor of travel4people.com. You can follow him on Twitter:
@travel4seniors.
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