Bridgeview, IL Outdoor Activities

Founder Amanda Scotese, an avid traveler and freelance writer for Rick Steves's renowned travel guides, delegates sure-footed guides to lead sightseers to iconic landmarks and down the back alleys and lesser-known nooks of the Windy City. Tours probe the ins and outs of the Chicago's neighborhoods, such as the Loop, where they fill eyes with the sights of world-renowned architecture and minds with the secrets of the Pedway, an underground walkway that connects buildings throughout the business district with the Ninja Turtles' lair. Blues tours explore historic neighborhoods on the North and South sides, and include diversions such as harmonica lessons from a bona fide blues blower.

Among the world's largest species of freshwater fish, the white sturgeon can grow to several hundred pounds yet still glide through swift currents thanks to a thick layer of muscle beneath its bony exterior. Guide Paul Ambrose is an expert on the species, sharing his knowledge on full-day and half-day fishing trips for these and other trophies of the Columbia or Willamette Rivers, such as steelhead, king salmon, discarded Stanley Cups, and kokanee salmon. The CPR-trained guide welcomes passengers aboard his 23-foot Koffler jet-sled boat, which he keeps fortified with Shimano reels, Lamiglas rods, and Maxima line. He's also lent his expertise to anglers on television, contributing to an episode of Angler West TV.

NAC Ski may be based in sunny San Jose, but its ski tours reach more than 100 cities and ski destinations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Pickup points scattered across each city gather groups in the wee hours of the morning to board charter buses and drive to nearby ski resorts. Each coach bus is tricked out with a bathroom, TV screens for movies, and sometimes WiFi. Passengers can relax or snooze on the way to the slopes, arriving around 9 a.m. for all-day skiing and snowboarding. At 4:30 p.m., buses load up passengers and undercover snowmen and return home to the pickup point.

Inspired by a love of fitness and a passion for travel and tourism kindled within him by his late father, Jeremy Lewno founded Bobby's Bike Hike to create an interactive Chicago biking experience. He named the company after his dad, Bob, an Arkansas bus-tour operator who taught him to focus on service quality over quantity. That advice has clearly paid off, as the business's guided tours have earned it some of the highest possible ratings on TripAdvisor and the title of Best Organized Bike Ride from the Chicago Reader in 2010.

During the tours, which include rented bicycles, guides lead groups of about 20 riders past Chicago icons in Millennium Park and on the Museum Campus, or direct them to samples of pizza, hot dogs, cupcakes, and beer in and around Wrigleyville. The crew has designed a Tike Hike tour for kids 10 and younger, a historic Hyde Park tour that pedals past the home of President Barack Obama, and a mansion-studded lakefront tour, during which riders may glimpse Oprah waving or handing out complimentary helicopters at her main residence. Patrons can also rent Schwinn mountain bikes, cruisers, and tandem bikes to explore the city on their own.

One day, customers learn how to steer a small keelboat or plunge into deep waters wearing scuba gear. The next, they soar through the trees on a zipline cable or drop through clear blue skies over Southern California mountains strapped to a skydiving instructor. Action Sports Adventures connects these thrill seekers to more than 35 types of extreme-sports and fitness classes at Los Angeles–based sports schools and facilities, which allows them to join in a range of adrenaline-pumping activities without having to marry a Hollywood stuntman. Instructors teach gliding-flight technique in paragliding classes and powered flight in private planes. They lead customers across local waves in seven categories of watersports, such as kiteboarding, wakeboarding, and surfing. In the mountains, they lead mountain-biking wilderness tours and help climbers tackle cliffs in lead-rope climbing excursions.

Staffers from Action Sports Adventures also connect customers with outdoor organized sports such as golf, horseback riding, and tennis, or help get them access to wooded fields and parks to play paintball or ride BMX bikes. For customers who focus on fitness, they provide classes and sessions in nine indoor fitness categories such as MMA, kickboxing, yoga, and gymnastics.

Aboard Seabreeze Charter’s 36-foot cruising yacht, passengers slice through Lake Michigan’s waves, steered by the steady hand of United States Coast Guard-certified captain Lorenzo Carrer. A native of Italy, Carrer has sailed in the Mediterranean and traced passages through the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Coast. Also decorated with various racing awards, Carrer now helms the yacht during chartered trips, and graciously hands over the wheel when instructing new sailors in the waters near Navy Pier. The vessel itself features two private cabins and a radio with an iPod connector, on which patrons can play classic maritime ballads about the difficulty of untying boating knots. In addition, an on-board life raft and a digital emergency call feature guard the boat against potential mishaps.