Leisure City, FL Outdoor Activities

Crouched behind a stack of tires, a player feels the incoming paintballs smack against the rubber as he plots his next move. Such a sight is common at Bigshot Paintball Field's outdoor field, a collage of upturned pallets, cable spools, and dirt mounds where combatants outmaneuver each other to find the best firing positions. Bigshot's staff acquaints every player, from beginners to those who have been living off field grass since 2005, with the rules of play and equipment operation before allowing them to enter the thick of battle. Between bouts, the staff also dispenses bottled water and soft drinks and can recommend nearby pizza joints that deliver. Barbecue grills are allowed as well, if there's room available. As a not-for-profit organization, Bigshot Paintball Fields donates a portion of its proceeds to the Police Officer Assistance Trust, a support organization for the law-enforcement community of Miami–Dade County.

As you stroll across Fruit & Spice Park's grassy fields, an occasional piece of fruit falls from a neighboring tree. But it's not an apple or a berry you can easily find in a local supermarket—rather, it may be a specimen native to the Caribbean or South America, its shape foreign to your teeth, which want so badly to bite into its juicy flesh but aren't sure how. At Fruit & Spice Park, seasoned gardeners grow abundant specimens from tropical areas around the world, including 70 kinds of bamboo, 15 types of jackfruit trees, and edibles such as Fiji longan and jaboticaba across 39 acres.

Visitors meander freely through banana groves and African baobab trees, and they can also follow a guide during tours to learn more about plant species and which fruit seeds bear an uncanny likeness to Abraham Lincoln's silhouette. Throughout strolls, guests may help themselves to any of Mother Nature's home cooking that has naturally fallen to the ground, including mangoes, dragon fruit, and papayas, or venture to the tasting table at the entryway to sample the season's bounty.

Park staffers also gather visitors for a range of events such as stargazing, outdoor festivals, and plant-use tutorials, where they divulge helpful information such as which plants are medicinal and how to play dead during tree attacks. During regular park hours, chefs at the Mango Café pile plates with casual fare, often using the park's own fruit and vegetables, and the gift shop lets guests bring home harvest jams and aromatic teas.

Miami Gliders’ crackerjack aviators bring a wealth of experience to an air-tripping array of glider rides in addition to other airborne adventures. During 40- to 50-sky-spanning minutes, gliders traverse a lush panorama of Florida’s scenic vistas as they gently descend from an Icarus-melting height of 5,280 feet. Guided by a skilled pilot who melds an airy blend of telekinesis and earthly physics to keep afloat, passengers indulge peepers with VIP views of the Everglades, Redlands, and Biscayne National Park. Bring your own camera or take advantage of the aircraft's recording device, which grants guests striking snapshots from the outside of the glider, capturing the area’s picturesque landscapes and Dadaist crop signs.