Camden, NJ Outdoor Activities

When Brian McInerney reflects on the humble beginnings of Wheel Fun Rentals, he points to his childhood passion for bikes. "As far back as I can remember, I had a real love affair with bicycles," he recalls. During a trip to Italy in 1987, Brian's affinity for cycling blossomed into a full-fledged obsession when he spotted locals' transporter of choice, the surrey. Inspired, he began importing the Italian four-wheelers to a rental business in the U.S. that eventually expanded into Wheel Fun Rentals, now a nationwide web of shops that also loans out bikes, electric cars and mopeds, and man-powered watercraft. Atop bicycles and surreys built for solo riders or entire families, patrons embark on self-guided tours of major U.S. cities. Led by maps and lists of nearby sites of historical or cultural significance, riders zoom down bike paths and safe, lightly trafficked streets. Adventuresome athletes can also compete in activities such as surrey scavenger hunts and blindfold obstacle courses navigated via shouted instructions from a seeing teammate or exceptionally long rounds of trial and error.

For more than a century, Drexel University has built men's and women's athletic programs recognized as the nation's most gender-equal programs in a 2002 U.S. News report. The men’s basketball team faces off against rivals from the Colonial Athletic Association in the Daskalakis Athletic Center in front of the DAC Pack, a raucous student that fills stand along the baseline to rattle opposing players and say hi to their mothers during televised games. The Dragons also compete in field hockey, lacrosse, and soccer, which earned the university its only national championship in 1958.

At any given moment, 150,000 gallons of water are churning through CoCo Key Water Resort, fueling the nearly 1,000 feet of water slides weaving through the 55,000-square-foot indoor water park attached to the Hotel ML. On the slide Shark Slam, patrons plummet four stories, and on the Dip-In Theater little ones gently glide into a one-foot wading pool. Kids of all ages scale Parrot's Perch, firing water cannons across the colorful jungle gym and drenching playmates with buckets of water. Adults can take a relaxing approach to their day at the park and drift down the 300-foot lazy river or soak in the kid-free indoor and outdoor whirlpools.

Out of the water, the play-till-you-win Key Quest Arcade guarantees each gamer a victory on high-profile games, such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. The water park also houses three on-site eateries and a full-service bar.

Challenge Nation pioneered the urban-adventure race with a race season that includes visits to 35 cities across the country. Each scavenger hunt is personalized to the hosting city, exploring its many diverse neighborhoods with a series of clues that would test even the most skilled children's-book detective. The teams—comprised of at least two people—vie for a $300 first-place prize. The _Amazing Race_–style competition rewards quick wits and wise planning over physical fitness, so the best way to prepare is by doing logic puzzles while eating Funyuns and lounging in a La-Z-Boy. The top 25 teams qualify, the top five receiving free entry, to compete in the national championship, which rewards winning teams with a $5,000 cash prize.

Though it's often said that the game of golf requires a lifetime to master, it seems the world neglected to mention that to Philadelphia Golf Lessons’ maestro Adz Kozlowski. Adz's ascendancy to membership in the PGA of America required only eight years; he first started golfing as a 14-year-old and won his pro certification by the age of 22, beginning a 20-year-and-running career as a reputed instructor with an impressive competitive resume, as evidenced by the sizzling round of 67 he carded at a 2006 New Jersey pro invitational.

Adz focuses on making the most of his pupils' natural swing motions by placing emphasis on the "impact position," or the orientation of the clubhead as it makes contact with golf balls or neighbors' flowerbeds. Adz has also created two golf instructional DVDs—"'N Synch Golf" and "Stroke Savers Golf"—which cover concepts such as how to adapt a smoother swing tempo, tackle every type of short-game shot, and hypnotize fellow golfers into giving pupils a gimme on any putt within 10 feet of the cup.

Looking to put a new spin on a classic family activity, the minds behind Glowgolf decided to give the game a phosphorescent update. Incandescent courses place friends and family amid a tropical-fantasy golf world of neon orange, green, and violet surroundings. Players putt luminous orbs through vibrant treasure chests and glimmering windmills while negotiating tricky obstacles near walls portraying black-light-lit aquatic scenes. With more than 20 locations spread over 10 states, Glowgolf's fluorescent labyrinths challenge human players and traveling gnomes.