Front Royal, VA Outdoor Activities
Recommended Outdoor Activities by Groupon Customers
A 2,000-year-old game from Asia. An Argentinean polo player. A farm in northern Virginia. What may seem like the openings to three different stories is actually the description of one place: Middleburg Polo Academy. The scenic farm ground originally set the scene to a polo boarding and training facility by seasoned polo player Daniel Tognini and his wife, Ilene. These grounds morphed into an academy in 2007, thanks to the Tognini children, who had become enraptured with polo and the eponymous collared shirts the horses wore. Striving to inspire other youths with the game he first mastered in his native Argentina, Tognini fills Middleburg’s calendar with classes, camps, and private tutorials, teaching the history of polo and techniques to help students eventually compete in the sport.
When they set about designing their year-round outdoor fields, WarPlay's founders—two Marine veterans who have played paintball for nearly 30 years— meticulously mapped out layouts that impacted strategy, which was something they felt most paintball fields lacked. They set up not only traditional woods-ball and speedball fields, but they also created their own hybrid fields that meld the quick pace of speedball with the more methodical play of woods ball. These course designs emphasize teamwork and heighten play because the fully automatic markers and density of cover—which may include concrete bunkers, standing timber, and out-of-work black holes—make the fields seem bigger than they are. This can lead to rapid swings in momentum and intense firefights—first contact usually happens within 50 seconds. To keep the action going, every field features spawn areas that let players return to games within five minutes of being hit.
Craig and Cammie Cole, the husband-and-wife team behind Soaring Eagles Adventures, believe that life was not meant to be lived within cubical walls. Even though they’ve been sharing the wonders of the wilderness for nine years, the sight of a bald eagle's massive wings as it soars gracefully overhead has never lost an ounce of splendor. To them, each canoe excursion they lead is a much-needed break from the stressors of the modern world, so their trips venture into river valleys devoid of human interference, where bald eagles carry on their lives as they’ve done ever since Bigfoot stopped supplying them with toupees. The pair leads guests on half-day, full-day, and overnight camping trips, and share tips for surviving the wilderness and even marriage through podcasts and regular seminars.
C.T. Campbell, a Luray native, calls upon more than 30 years of experience to teach aspiring anglers how to track down fish during private fly-fishing trips. Small groups of up to four trek to a private 1-mile stretch of the Shenandoah River, where they can cast for fish and take in the scenic vistas of Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains. With all gear and equipment provided, visitors can concentrate on reeling in smallmouth bass and trout as C.T. takes care of all the lines, leaders, flies, and tackle. C.T. welcomes fishers of all skill levels and teaches the fundamental flies of this active style of fishing. Page Valley Fly Fishing Service practices catch-and-release fishing, so fishers will have to return their catches to the majestic river unless they can convince trophy fish to become animatronic singers mounted to their home-office walls.
The pilots at DC Skydiving Center fly to heights of up to 2 miles before divers of all skill levels hurl themselves from the plane's side door. Before they ever leave the ground, though, students receive a safety briefing and thorough explanation of the jump process. The center’s instructors specialize in calming the jitters of newbie divers by strapping in with them on tandem dives, but they also regularly shed single tears as more experienced adrenaline junkies pull out their own parachute at the culminating point of accelerated free-fall programs. Once in the air, the small aircraft's large, panoramic windows grant breathtaking views of the capitol skyline and Blue Ridge Mountains, all of which are captured on RVT video by instructors on the descent.
