Palmetto Bay, FL Outdoor Activities

South Florida Trikke's three-wheeled vehicles enable riders to carve through the urban landscape while reaping the toning benefits of workouts that aim to engage every muscle group. The company's fleet includes all manner of the curious conveyance system, such as body-powered Trikkes, which require users to rhythmically shift their weight to gain momentum and keep moving forward. Alternatively, electrically charged Trikkes dash around at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour, and snow Skki models conjure high-speed rushes similar to riding mountain bikes or mechanical bulls down a mountain. To spread the good word, South Florida Trikke rents out the vehicles and teaches free introductory lessons.

X-treme Rock Climbing offers a vertical maze of more than 14,000 square feet of climbing. USA Climbing–certified route setters mark basic paths for beginners, along with challenging roofs and overhangs for more experienced scalers. The routes change often, lending a layer of surprise to each return visit. Skilled instructors also teach students to master indoor and outdoor rock-climbing techniques, which they can use to blaze new paths at parks or reach top-shelf cereal boxes in grocery stores. In addition to climbing, X-treme Rock Climbing helps patrons achieve physical-fitness goals with yoga classes, a fitness center, and an onsite pro shop.

In the 1950s, Bayside Marketplace’s Pier 5 was a hub of activity, bustling with fishermen, cooks, and gossiping locals. Nowadays, though, the pier is a hub for a more modern demographic: jet skiers. As the home base of Miami Jet Ski Rental, the pier hosts a fleet of 2009 Yamaha VX Deluxe jet skis and a team of CPR- and First Aid-certified staffers. Aboard their rental vessels, adventurers can zoom through Biscayne Bay or take to the Atlantic Ocean, catching glimpses of wildlife such as dolphins, manatees, and librarians.

Challenge Nation pioneered the urban-adventure race with a race season that includes visits to 35 cities across the country. Each scavenger hunt is personalized to the hosting city, exploring its many diverse neighborhoods with a series of clues that would test even the most skilled children's-book detective. The teams—comprised of at least two people—vie for a $300 first-place prize. The _Amazing Race_–style competition rewards quick wits and wise planning over physical fitness, so the best way to prepare is by doing logic puzzles while eating Funyuns and lounging in a La-Z-Boy. The top 25 teams qualify, the top five receiving free entry, to compete in the national championship, which rewards winning teams with a $5,000 cash prize.

Since 1986, Brian Lutz has taught a panoply of tennis players how to improve their game and savor the sport's social aspect. Over time, he honed his teaching techniques and eventually devised his own tennis curriculum. In 2003, that curriculum inspired him to launch TennisTip, a program where experienced instructors help adults and teens improve their tennis game through self-discovery and fundamental skills.

TennisTip instructors work to provide hands-off guidance and gentle inspiration, letting students discover their best game through strategic practice. Combined with tennis-specific cardio exercises and an emphasis on social bonding, the regimen seeks to form independent, effective, and affable players out of every student. Since first starting up in the Big Apple, TennisTip has expanded to a second location, where pros instill students with courtside skills amid the warm Miami sun and attentive pelican ball boys.

Even before you climb inside, the GoCar is clearly a car with a personality. The petite, three-wheeled two-seater has a hood that slightly resembles an eager-to-please smiley face, and an open top that seems custom-made for letting the breeze ruffle your hair. Then the real fun begins: built with the company's own software and a compassion for the voiceless robots of America, a talking GPS system guides two-seater GoCars through the city streets of San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon with cheerful, info-rich narration. Second only to having a knowledgeable local jog alongside your minivan, tours zip along at drivers' own pace and accommodate as many pit stops as time allows.