Irvine Outdoor Activities

The instructors and professional staff at PADI five-star instructor center Beach Cities Scuba introduce students to the big blue with PADI-certified diving courses for divers of all levels. They certify newbies with basic open-water courses and teach advanced divers in specialty courses such as Deep Diver, Rescue Diver, and Shark Therapist. They operate out of five convenient locations and sling necessary gear in onsite stores, from wetsuits and facemasks to spear guns. Beach Cities Scuba also connects divers through its dive club and hosts exotic dive trips to locations such as Indonesia, Fiji, and Cozumel.

One way to get an exceptionally close look at picturesque Alamitos Bay is to ride atop its churning surf on one of Long Beach Hydrobikes's stable, pedal-powered water cycles. The company ensures that renters catch the bay's most noteworthy sights, providing them with a map detailing the location of a bird sanctuary as well as a cove where jellyfish delicately billow in certain months. Avid pedalers generally cruise at speeds of up to 7 miles per hour, exercising bodies with a workout that takes advantage of water resistance to jettison excess calories out to sea. As there is virtually no risk of capsizing, riders may wear anything from a bathing suit to a water-soluble prom dress. The hydrobikes come equipped with storage compartments, drink holders, and a wealth of extra space to invite pets along for the ride, free of charge.

Shawn Crawford has been climbing for more than 40 years, working with wilderness search and rescue at age 13 and later serving as a park ranger. Today, he’s the owner and head instructor at Rock City Climbing, where he puts his American Mountaineering and Guiding Association certification to use as he teaches climbers of all experience levels techniques of top-rope climbing, belaying, rappelling, and bouldering.

Inside a gym equipped with more than 10,000 feet of climbing walls, as well as top-rope and bouldering areas, students learn basic and advanced climbing techniques in a range of classes. As they climb, instructors introduce techniques such as hand and foot placement and what to do if gravity starts working in reverse. Visitors can leave the main floor to explore a tunnel maze behind the climbing walls, filled with trap doors, narrow passageways, and drops of up to 11 feet.

When not overseeing his gym, Shawn leads outdoor climbing excursions to challenging locales such as Joshua Tree, Riverside Quarry, and the Statue of Liberty. He also oversees a nearby ropes course, where staffers help groups and individuals navigate two ziplines, as well as more than 20 aerial challenges at heights of up to 60 feet.