Gloucester, MA Outdoor Activities

Sailing daily from MacMillan Wharf and stretching 39 feet lengthwise and 16 feet abeam, the Coast Guard–approved Viking Princess accommodates up to 42 passengers and two crewpersons per cruise. Several different cruise formats introduce water wanderers to coastal views of varying sites, such as Cape Cod’s prime real estate, well-known lighthouses, and hidden Provincetown gems. The Princess also embarks on festive holiday-themed voyages, such as Fourth of July or Tax Day cruises. Cape Cod Life's 2010 Gold winner for Best Kids' Activity, the Critter Cruise invites wee ones to pull up lobster pots and bottom dredges from the waters and safely inspect and handle the findings— such as blue fish, sea turtles, or humpback whales—alongside an expert naturalist. The Princess is wide enough to facilitate groups dancing to the sounds of the ship’s overhead stereo or to the tunes of local musicians during live-music cruises.

The karts at Maine Indoor Karting definitely aren’t of the amateur variety. The center maintains a fleet of European racing karts that balance the power of 200 CC, 6.5-hp Honda engines and wet clutch drive systems with the comfort of adjustable padded seats. Before climbing into these speed machines, adults must first attend safety briefings, suit up in provided uniforms, and strap on helmets. Drivers younger than 15 must complete an intensive safety course on how to steer safely, increase speed, and ramp over oncoming fruit carts. But all that prep proves to be worth it when drivers squeal out onto the newly renovated serpentine track and motion-blur their way through 1,200 feet of narrow stretches and sharp switchbacks.

The family-fun center also houses an indoor 18-hole miniature golf course and an arcade filled with video games. An on-site café serves casual fare such as hot-dogs, hand-made pizza, and root beer floats.

While majestic chestnut stallions, brown and white pinto mares, and blond pony hunters roam Herring Brook Farm’s 28 acres of open ranch land, owner Mary Beth McGee lopes among them on a bronze steed, training juniors and adults hunter and jumper techniques for competitions and show. Spurred by a lifelong love of horses, she took up coaching more than 20 years ago, leading a number of her students to national finals while instilling the fundamentals of proper horse care in everyone she teaches. When not showing horses and their pet humans how to leap fences, brick walls, or Shaquille O'Neal, Mary Beth opens her farm to horse shows, where tenderfoot colts and wizened horses prance and pose in an indoor ring with a heated viewing room. She also raises horses for sale or lease and runs summer youth riding camps and dressage programs with the help of her capable staff.

A maze of megalithic chambers and hallways made by man more than 4,000 years ago nestles into the snow- or moss-covered woods at America’s Stonehenge. Guests meander along a trail, marveling at one of the oldest constructions in the United States, complete with inscriptions, eating areas, and evidence of prehistoric art classes. Explorers delve into Stonehenge's history, learning about its use as an accurately aligned astronomical calendar, its role in the Underground Railroad, and the theories about who actually built it. Nearby, eight fuzz balls graze in the alpaca habitat, offering up skeins of yarn spun from their fluffy locks. Winter months coat the site's 105 sprawling acres with crunchy layers of snow, perfect for adventurous snowshoe outings or piggybacking on a snowman.

The Motorsport Lab lets drivers tame and test a fleet of classic American muscle cars and exotic, foreign sportsters. Drivers receive instruction before sampling the speed and handling of vehicles such as the Shelby Cobra, Bentley GT, and Lotus Elise. Instructors can either compress racing experiences into 60-minute agility tests or prolong the rush by guiding drivers on three-day excursions to Vermont, the Berkshires, or the nearest no-contact demolition derby. The Motorsport Lab also offers a Phoenix thrill-ride experience that actualizes adrenaline junkies’ dreams as they pilot an Aston Martin or Ferrari along the 101.

On his way to work one day, Andre Boucher spotted a hot air balloon, and on a whim he decided to follow it. He met it where it landed, and the aircraft's pilot offered to take Andre up for a ride. Ever since he was young, Andre had been fascinated by aviation, but airsickness and a codependent relationship with gravity always prevented him from enjoying it firsthand. But as he felt the basket drifting with the wind instead of battling against it, Andre knew he had finally found a way to experience flight. He has since acquired more than 23 years of professional experience, even lending his expertise to an elaborate promotional flight for Pixar's balloon-based film Up.

Andre now captains A&A Balloon Rides, LLC, where colorful carriages lift patrons between 500 and 2,000 feet above the lakes, treetops, and fields of New Hampshire. Guests can arrange private or group flights, and they can set up flown or tethered rides for school events, company picnics, or aerial-photography sessions, the latter of which can finally prove that birds fly on hoverboards.