Addison, TX Outdoor Activities

Craft Cocktails Texas is a four-day fete celebrating the distinctive Dallas-Fort Worth cocktail culture, replete with tastings, happy hours, and outdoor celebrations. According to D Magazine's SideDish, founders Brian McCollough and Nico Ponce created the event to spread the growing culture of artisanal cocktail craft. In downtown tasting rooms, drink enthusiasts introduce their palates to the handcrafted works of local mixologists and sample liquors from nationally renowned brands. Educational seminars and classes throughout the event provide insights on topics from proportioning liquors to deciding when a birdbath has enough tequila in it.

Since 2007, the Robots-4-U team has been teaching kids a program of STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Kids absorb skills and knowledge through entertaining interactions with instructors, other campers, and robot kits. The camp maintains a 16:1 student to instructor ratio, ensuring kids receive the proper amount of individual attention. Campers build robot kits comprising a brain unit and sensory appendages, which replicate seeing, hearing, touching and reading minds. Once the bots are assembled, kids enter their creations into racing, dancing, and battle-bot challenges.

KayakClasses.com sets groups off on the sparkling waters of Lake Lavon under the careful attention of ACA-certified kayaking instructors. They lead classes for all levels of kayakers, teaching newcomers how to paddle efficiently and experts how to perform rescues without the help of mermaids. In addition to lessons, instructors glide over the tranquil waters at sunset, leading kayakers on a guided tour of Lake Lavon in the dwindling light.

A 168,000-gallon pool shaped like the Lone Star State, The Texas Pool has been an oasis in the scorching Plano summer heat since 1961. For decades, aspiring members camped overnight outside its doors in the hopes of securing access to its cool, salt waters and abundance of recreational facilities. Today, families still flock to the pool, seeking refuge from the sun during open swim sessions, swimming camps, and swim lessons throughout the week. Against a backdrop of a Texas flag mural, swimmers of all ages shoot down water slides, leap off a diving board, and compete in recreational games of water volleyball, all the while enjoying a relatively low risk of a giant-squid attack. Instructors lead students of all abilities in swimming lessons, elucidating the art of the front crawl and butterfly stroke.

Meanwhile, smoke rises from barbecue grills that speckle the rows of picnic tables, and sunbathers stretch out on lawn chairs. On movie nights, audiences gather at the pool to soak up youngster-friendly films.

For 40 years, the watersports enthusiasts of High Trails Canoe and Kayak Outfitters have outfitted visitors for outdoor adventures, renting the vessels they lift their name from along with standup paddleboards. In addition to renting gear, the staff also teaches kayaking classes that include beginner and advanced touring courses, as well as how to navigate surging waters such as rapids or a neighbor's hot tub. For sportsmen looking to purchase their own watercraft, High Trails' team stocks a fleet of multisport, sit-on-top, and hybrid kayaks from brands such as Hurricane Kayaks and Heritage Kayaks. An online advice page guides guests through choosing kayaks, encouraging them to consider design, material, and comfort.

Water ripples behind wakeboarders as they zip across Hydrous Wake Park’s dual lakes, pulled through the waves by an overhead cable system. With the park's four separate cable systems to minimize wait times, up to six riders can grab hold of the tow lines dangling from above the dock, which pull them along at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour atop rental boards. As they skim the waters, riders can showboat on the park's numerous safe floating features, launching off ramps and rails to rival the best of waterskiing squirrels. Between rides, visitors can watch other boarders from the shaded viewing area or retire to the family play area to fuel up at its picnic tables or the onsite restaurant. To gear up for future rides, patrons can stock up at the full pro shop, which carries wakeboards, helmets, swimwear, and apparel. The Park's newest location in Little Elm will be opening late May 2013 with three different cable systems.