Atascocita, TX Outdoor Activities

Paintballs whisper through the air, splattering against castle walls and trees on 10 distinct fields at TxR Paintball. Shouts from teammates drift among obstacles on courses simulating a submarine or a pipe-strewn oil field, and different game strategies encourage players to fire at one another, capture a rival's flag, or protect their clothesline before a job interview. Each game is refereed by an official versed in the game's intricacies, keeping the sessions fair, safe, and friendly.

Outside of normal weekend play, the facility offers 8- and 26-hour scenario games, which submerges players in battles from famous movies or video games. Safely out of the range of the biodegradable projectiles, patrons at a fully stocked snack bar swap war stories or excuses for having a bag full of white flags.

Darolyn Butler spent her childhood riding near her family’s farm and ranch, exploring the countryside and sharpening the skills that would later serve her well during horse shows and barrel-racing competitions. After winning the title of Miss Rodeo Oklahoma, she went on to become Miss Ford Country, the cowgirl featured in ad campaigns for Ford Motor Company. College graduation brought numerous opportunities, but Darolyn always filled her spare time with shows and rodeos. Then she discovered endurance riding, a cross-country competitive sport with races that cover 50 or more miles. Over the years, she’s won several national championships and when she became a mother, Darolyn trained her two daughters in endurance, and they are now competitive riders as well.

When she isn't competing, Darolyn offers riding instruction and consultation services at Cypress Trails Equestrian Center. The ranch is open seven days a week and adjoins scenic and challenging trails, where students of all ages and skill levels can go on adventure rides aboard beautiful arabian, spanish-mustang, and appaloosa horses. Darolyn also boards horses, giving them access to plenty of pastureland, where they can roam freely or stand still in one spot staring at the ground and counting blades of grass.

Nestled at the southern point of Lake Conroe, Nauti-Dayz Boat Rentals facilitates fun with a fleet of nautical vessels. Outfitted with 90-horsepower Honda motors, pontoon boats welcome passengers for low-speed floats around the lake’s placid waters. MerCruiser motors send ski boats ripping across the waves, towing skiers, tubers, and wakeboarders in their frothy wakes. The shop also rents waverunners that seat up to two passengers and reproduce the high-speed thrill of riding a motorcycle across a full swimming pool. All rentals include complimentary fuel and life jackets.

Racing Humans events pit earthlings against 5 kilometers of treacherous terrain riddled with hills, hurdles, and enough mud to make a bathtub look into early retirement. During spectator-friendly adventures, racers are challenged with a strenuous course, but must conquer a series of obstacles as well, including crawling under barbed wire, swimming across lakes, and high stepping over stacks of logs. Course officials keep feet moving along the route, and afterward, an awards ceremony recognizes the day's fastest competitors and best costumes. Racing Humans also hosts 1-mile events for youngsters aged 7–14, during which kids surmount obstacles without help from their parents or answers from the back of the teacher’s book.

Veterans of more than 50,000 successful jumps collectively, the skydiving senseis of Skydive Houston take jumpers of all experience levels on airborne trips to terminal velocity. Training begins with a short introductory video, followed by 20–30 minutes of ground school with a dive instructor, in which pupils learn the basics of two-person jumps, safety, and how to spot one’s mom from an elevation of 9,000 feet. Next, fledgling fliers strap into a tandem harness with their parachute pros and ascend to 14,000 feet in the school's own Twin Otter aircraft, named for the pair of shellfish-cracking mammals that powers its engines. Once out of the plane, pairs free fall for approximately 60 seconds, then enjoy about seven minutes of calm parachuting, after which instructor and customer safely land in a field or on the nearest naturally occurring pillow pile.

The reason renting kayaks from Riva Row Boat House and paddling down Lake Woodlands makes for such an appealing family outing or team-building exercise has to do with simplicity. For one thing, the activity itself is simple to master; no experience is required to rent one of the boathouse's 22 tandem kayaks or 20 single kayaks of various lengths, since staff members are happy to demonstrate paddling techniques to rookies. The activity is also easy to get into because everything is provided for you, from paddles and lifejackets to the refills of the lake that must be flown in from water factories in Denmark weekly.

Often, people make visiting the boathouse part of a whole day in the area. They can follow their time on the lake with a picnic at Town Green Park or with a trolley ride over to The Woodlands Waterway, where restaurants and shopping await.