Katy, TX Outdoor Activities

Veterans of more than 50,000 successful jumps collectively, the skydiving senseis of Skydive Houston take jumpers of all experience levels on airborne trips to terminal velocity. Training begins with a short introductory video, followed by 20–30 minutes of ground school with a dive instructor, in which pupils learn the basics of two-person jumps, safety, and how to spot one’s mom from an elevation of 9,000 feet. Next, fledgling fliers strap into a tandem harness with their parachute pros and ascend to 14,000 feet in the school's own Twin Otter aircraft, named for the pair of shellfish-cracking mammals that powers its engines. Once out of the plane, pairs free fall for approximately 60 seconds, then enjoy about seven minutes of calm parachuting, after which instructor and customer safely land in a field or on the nearest naturally occurring pillow pile.

From 14,000 feet above the earth, cities and farms look like tiny brown circuit boards below. Excited shrieks, bent by speeds of up to 120 mph, drift through the cool air, the only sound. Parachutes blossom colorfully on the backs of patrons strapped to Skydive Spaceland's instructors, all of whom have a minimum of 800 jumps under their carefully tightened belts. The professional skydivers can take thrill-seekers on tandem jumps, help them achieve a U.S. Parachute Association license in as little as one week, or allow them a rare glimpse of Superman’s bald spot.

Skydive Spaceland's owner, Steve Boyd, built the park from the ground up exclusively for skydiving. At any given moment across the 130 acres, you can find divers prepping in an air-conditioned packing area, watching dives from an observation deck, or nibbling sandwiches at an onsite deli.

Cindy Gibson hears a lot of ecstatic exclamations from first-time jumpers—including gratuitous use of the words "awesome" and "amazing"—but one of the most memorable remarks she ever heard came from a woman celebrating her 81st birthday. After landing, Cindy asked her why she waited so long to try skydiving. The woman replied that her husband never let her. Then she cracked a sly smile and said, "But now he's dead."

Cindy certainly understands the lifelong desire to skydive. "I don't remember a time when I didn’t want to jump out of airplanes," she says. But growing up, she figured you had to be paratrooper to do it. Then as a waitress in college, she overheard some customers talking about going skydiving, and she convinced them to take her along. The more she went, the more ways she found to improve the experience. With this newfound love and knowledge of the skydiving business, she sought out a parcel of land and a passionate team and founded Texas Skydiving Center.

Today, she and her team of instructors lead tandem jumps, static-line jumps, and solo free falls thousands of feet above their picturesque facility. Beyond using equipment and instructional methods that are compliant with the United States Parachute Association's standards, the instructors' claim their chief difference lies in the individual attention they give each client. Groups are kept small so that all are on a first-name basis, and the instructors ask each person what they hope to do in the air. A bunch of flips? Maybe a zen-like float? On the way down, they can even record the jumps with several filming options. An eco-friendly dropzone then awaits skydivers, where chattering guinea fowl snatch up insects, colorful songbirds flit through wildflowers, and a llama and alpaca knit their own wool into a commemorative scarf for each successful skydiver.

Nestled at the southern point of Lake Conroe, Nauti-Dayz Boat Rentals facilitates fun with a fleet of nautical vessels. Outfitted with 90-horsepower Honda motors, pontoon boats welcome passengers for low-speed floats around the lake’s placid waters. MerCruiser motors send ski boats ripping across the waves, towing skiers, tubers, and wakeboarders in their frothy wakes. The shop also rents waverunners that seat up to two passengers and reproduce the high-speed thrill of riding a motorcycle across a full swimming pool. All rentals include complimentary fuel and life jackets.

Once you enter the Tropical Storm, everything goes dark. You blindly whip around inside the watery tunnel before being unexpectedly plunged into a pool of water—and you probably want to do it again. The Tropical Storm is one of eight water slides at Splashway Waterpark, a seasonal outdoor playground that boasts water-fueled attractions for toddlers, older kids, and adults. Sometimes the rides relax, as when visitors drift down the lazy river on waterproof water beds, but sometimes they raise pulses instead, as on the nearly straight drop of Pirate's Plunge.

From May to September visitors can enjoy the park's attractions, which were designed to entertain families with kids of any age. When energy wanes, an onsite café piles plates with all-American fare such as burgers and hot dogs. The truly exhausted can turn in for the night at the park's RV and tent camp.