McMinnville, TN Outdoor Activities

Launching into the Ocoee River, Sunburst Adventures' rafts of whitewater adventurers bump and glide over currents with gradients up to 50 feet per mile. An experienced guide mans the helm, offering instruction and zany anecdotes, as rafters navigate past bushes and trees and around three risky undercuts for a challenging, yet safe, excursion. Sunburst's carefully selected team of enthusiastic rafters has been taming the rapids of the Ocoee and sharing their love for the sport and the great outdoors since 1976. Groups of experienced and novice boaters quickly become familiar with a good soaking as they tackle roaring rapids such as Hell's Hole and Godzilla attempting to bend their boats in two as they jostle their way down the river's 10-mile stretch. For a more leisurely way to enjoy the natural splendor and warm waters of the river, aquatic types can tube the Lower Ocoee, which is known for expressing much calmer waters ever since it kicked its pot-of-coffee-a-day habit.

Launched in 2000 as a humble 20'x20' shop, Frontier Firearms has grown into an 11,000-square-foot facility that encompasses two 25-yard, five-bay indoor shooting ranges. Each gallery enhances visitors' comfort with technological touches, such as sound dampening and granulated-rubber-bullet traps that capture rounds mostly intact, thus minimizing particle dispersion into the air. By removing these potential distractions, the ranges let marksmen focus on following the Mancom Touch Plus Active Target Shooting system. Used by law-enforcement agencies such as the FBI, this computerized system can make targets turn, rush toward, and flee from the shooter. Frontier Firearm's team includes instructors who claim NRA and state certifications, which they apply to supervising the ranges and leading handgun classes that range from a ladies-only course to advanced defensive tactics and how to look tough in a saloon.

At Benton Sporting Clays, marksmen take aim at airborne clay pigeons from 14 fully automated shooting stations and a tournament-grade clays tower. A fully covered five-stand shooting station protects shooters from wind, rain, and real pigeons avenging their clay cousins. Between sessions, shooters traverse the expansive grounds to try different stations in one of the facility's comfortable carts. Members enjoy benefits such as year-round shooting, waived cart-rental fees, and discounted clay pigeons at the range’s fully stocked pro shop.

The certified instructors at Creek Bend Stables have groomed world-champion horses and riders. With their expert guidance, beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders can polish their technique and avoid common blunders such as mounting the horse by climbing up its face. Lessons progress in length and depth of instruction as students age and develop skills.

At Blue Point Stables, a team led by Master Riding Instructor and 25-year industry veteran Brandy McDonnell offers equine services that range from lessons for people to training for horses. Brandy and company engender a safe and fun environment through positive reinforcement as they teach students the basics of English or Western riding.

Upon arriving for lessons, riders typically get fitted for a helmet and receive some basic instruction on safety before meeting and grooming their equine friend. Next, they’ll hop aboard a noble steed while an instructor coaches proper technique in such aspects as mounting and dismounting, riding aids, and communication with the horse through vocal orders, physical cues, and handwritten post-it notes dangled from a fishing pole.