Things To Do In Gainesville

The owners of Dead Center Indoor Gun Range founded their business to give shooters of all ability levels a place to feel safe while improving their marksmanship. To do so, they built a 25-yard, eight-lane indoor range—designed to handle both handgun and rifle fire—with a ventilation system that quickly purifies the air, as well as surveillance cameras that lovingly watch over shooters. To further demonstrate their commitment to safety, range chiefs make sure guests comply with NRA gun safety rules. Beyond supervising open shooting sessions, they also teach both armed and unarmed defense in beginner through advanced classes, such as Don't Be a Victim and the NRA FIRST Steps Pistol Orientation. Dead Center's staff also mans a pro shop and offers four levels of membership with privileges such as waived fees for firearm rentals.

For two days, racers and fans convene at Road Atlanta's 750-acre complex for Drift Atlanta IX, a dazzling showcase of high-skill Formula Drift racing. During the main event, drivers navigate a winding course, sliding their cars sideways while quickly changing direction to handle the sudden turns. A panel judges determines the winners based on execution and style, rather than typical racing's speed and willingness to brake for old ladies crossing the track. On Friday, competitors face off in qualifying matches to determine the 16-car field for Saturday's main showdown. Meanwhile, a lineup of non-feature events keep adrenaline levels from depleting to the lethally low "extreme."

The flashing lights of a parked ambulance mingle with the orange heat of a flaming car. Armed men demand loyalty from their captives, with dire consequences for those who resist. Finally, a pair of specters emerge from the fires of the underworld to claim their due. These are but a few of the trials that visitors to Hell's Gates will endure during this dramatization of the Great Tribulation. Live actors draw visitors into a sequence of eight scenes plucked straight from the Book of Revelation, with each one punctuated by immersive events including pyrotechnics and video effects.

Two towers jut out of facing beaches, joined by cables that span an unusually placid portion of Lake Lanier. When New Wave Cable Park's small groups of customers suit up, however, the cable comes alive, towing boarders to and fro at blistering speeds. Nestled in a secure inlet surrounded by white beaches, the Park is sheltered from boat wakes so that beginners can acclimate themselves and can safely try out new tricks. A brand-new kicker box makes it even easier for boarders to grab some air and, for advanced riders, fistfuls of cloud.

Though the certified dive instructors at The Dive Shop on McEver follow strict teaching guidelines put forth by PADI and SSI, they allow students to learn at their own pace. Diving classes and open-water certification courses take place inside the center's heated pool and at local open-water dive sites. Instructors also help students earn certifications in diver rescue and offer specialty courses in underwater digital photography, navigation, and night diving, which can foster an aquatic skill set more varied than that of Aquaman's go-to handyman. Staff members also teach swimming lessons for infants, toddlers, and children in the center's pool. Within that same building stands a full scuba gear repair shop, a stockpile of new and rental diving equipment, and a tank fill station for air, nitrox, and trimix.

Anyone with a compass and a good pair of shoes can walk through a forest. Lake Lanier Canopy Tours' guides make it their mission to give lovers of the outdoors a unique view of nature from ziplines and sky bridges that snake through the treetops around Lake Lanier Islands Resort. All in all, 30 ziplines stretch above terra firma to form several distinct paths for exploring the canopy. The Lakeside tour follows four sky bridges and several ziplines that pass over Lake Lanier itself, and the Legacy Night tour takes riders equipped with headlamps and lanterns across seven ziplines. The company's most adventurous excursion, the Pine Isle tour, makes its way across a total of 11 ziplines, including the Duals, twin lines that send riders side by side for 1,500 feet at speeds upwards of 50 miles per hour.

Professional guides accompany every adventure to make sure participants are safe as they soar down the lines, traverse sky bridges, and negotiate with eagles for permission to use their trees. All of the tours are designed and built by Association for Challenge Course Technology professionals, and all gear, decks, cables, helmets, and harnesses are certified for safety.