Maricopa, AZ Outdoor Activities

Desert Skydiving Center carries people into the air in Cessna 182 and 206 planes and then sends them gleefully careening toward the ground. The center offers static parachuting, tandem jumping, and accelerated freefalls alongside experts. Participants can work with an instructor for 30-minutes to eight-hours, depending on the type of jump, before pulling on a parachute and jumping from two miles high. The ground grows rapidly as divers freefall with the wind whipping their faces before they pull the parachute cord and float to the ground or attempt to land on a passing goose.

The Arizona Fishing Guides’s experienced anglers scan the azure vistas of Arizona’s lakes for tiny splashes and darting glints of silver on fishing trips with groups of all ages and experience levels. The guides, each of whom averages more than 300 days on the water every year, share their expertise as they lead the way through the picturesque waterways of Oak Creek Canyon, Bartlett Lake, and the northern pike in Lake Mary. As soon as their boats arrive at the choicest fishing spots, groups can cast out lines in hopes of attracting aquatic creatures such as bass, carp, trout, and Kevin Costner.

Since 1969, the FAA-certified instructors at Arizona Soaring have placed their faith in powerful breezes instead of manmade engines. Their fleet of 15 single- and two-person sailplanes catch thermals¬—which are a daily occurrence at the fair-weather desert location—to soar over the sun-drenched Sierra Estrella among airborne hawks and bounce houses filled with helium. Teachers train new and experienced pilots in the art of gliding or launch crafts skyward with riders in tow. Demonstration rides treat thrill-seekers to mellow basic rides or aerobatic adventures that set hearts pounding like ocean waves before a thunderstorm or after a moon implosion.

For more than 25 years the Grimh family has served as gatekeeper to the secluded beauty of Canyon Lake, welcoming travelers onto their modernly appointed paddle steamboat. The air-conditioned vessel plots courses for guided cruises, each of which highlight the canyon's vistas at a different hour. Nature and lunch cruises seek out bighorn sheep drawing pistols under the bright desert sun, whereas twilight cruises combine ambient, evening light with a buffet dinner of prime rib or filet mignon. Dolly Steamboats also set off at night for an astronomy cruise that includes dinner and expert star reading from local television and radio personality, Dr. Sky. An expert crew pilots the Dolly and her wealth of passengers on each photogenic excursion, gliding past the Sonoran Desert, rock formations, and the Tonto National Forest.

Phoenix Area Skydiving’s professional staff specializes in training and instilling confidence in first-time skydivers. They accompany these novices into compact aircraft for up to 120-mile-per-hour tandem free falls over the expansive Arizona desert landscape. Once up in the air, they field visitors’ questions about flight mechanics and often let them control the parachute, granting a more effective hands-on skydiving experience than wrestling with a ceiling fan. They also prepare visitors for solo flights with an accelerated free-fall program, and safeguard each diver’s safety with a technique briefing and gear check before every flight.