DeBary, FL Outdoor Activities

At HART, Hidden Acres Rescue for Thoroughbreds, instructor Shannon Norris calls upon 30 years of riding expertise to guide students on instructional trots. In groups of six or fewer, they glean essential techniques for balance and safety and learn about steering methods to prevent horses from running off at the first sound of the ice-cream man’s bell. Norris also ensures that students practice barn safety, grooming, and general equestrian care. Lessons take place on the center’s open arenas and grass paddocks, which border a wildlife preserve that allows pupils to bond with the natural environment.

At each of five Surf and Ski Water Sports locations, staffers equip tourists and locals alike with ocean and river rentals and beach necessities. While some take advantage of boats and jet skis to glide along the water, others watch from atop surfboards or seated in beach chairs situated beneath the shade of giant umbrellas.

Soaring up to 800 feet over the sea at Cocoa Beach, powered only by the wind and the tow from a Centurion Flight 33 boat. That’s the thrill Big Toho Parasailing DUP provides daily, offering cloud-tickling adventures during single, tandem, and triple parasailing trips. No previous experience is required. Parasailers are welcome to bring their cameras along for the ride to document the aerial enterprise and panoramic views.

When the warm season arrives, the team at Epic Boardsports strives to get locals and visitors out and enjoying nearby tropical waterways such as Banana River lagoon. For the uninitiated as well as the experienced, knowledgeable guides lead stand-up paddleboard tours around the lagoon to share local lore and point out manatees, seabirds, and dolphins playing Jenga in their natural habitat. The team also gives paddleboard lessons at Banana River or on the ocean, and rents and sells top-flight Hawaiian Pro Designs surfboards for aquatic adventurers looking to go paddle-less. Kiteboards by brands such as the versatile Jimmy Lewis, designed to enhance every style of boarding, give wave athletes one more way to soar over the sea. Fostering a year-round passion for extreme board sports, the team can send skiers down powder-covered mountainsides in style with boards, boots, and accessories.

Since 1953, the Coast Guard–certified captains and Merchant Marines of Miss Cape Canaveral Fleet have safely taken guests out to sea in search of trophy-size mackerel, amberjack, snapper, and sharks. As Florida's largest deep-sea-fishing vessel, the 85-foot Lydia yacht hosts up to 100 passengers—just like a large horse carriage pulled by a strongman—and offers comfortable accommodations such as a temperature-controlled lounge and cushioned seats. Fishing adventures provide guests with rods, reels, bait, and tackle big enough for the predators dwelling deep beneath the surface. Guests are invited to snap their own jaws around hot meals, unlimited sodas, coffee, and, for over-21 anglers, a duo of frosty canned beers noodled from the icy depths of the ship's cooler.

Aboard Obsession Charters's party boat, experienced captains lead groups into fish-laden waters, where lines are cast out into the ocean in search of species such as grouper, snapper, and sharks. The 65-foot watercraft launches out of Port Canaveral on full-day and half-day trips across the giant bathtub disguised as the Atlantic Ocean. As fishers wield rented rods or their own equipment, staff situated in an air-conditioned galley serves up hot food and cold beer. After trips, Obsession Charters's cleaning tables let customers prep their catches. In addition to voyages aboard their signature vessel, the staff also books private charters by negotiating with the monocled whales who own Port Canaveral’s most popular fishing boats. Most aquatic exhibitions include bait, and Obsession Charters's captains also allow customers to catch their own offshore.