Princeton Meadows, NJ Outdoor Activities

For many, the waters off Atlantic City look like an average place to enjoy a day on the beach, but to the instructors of Extreme Windsurfing, it’s one of the best spots for windsurfing, kitesurfing, and standup paddleboarding along the Atlantic coast. Over an expanse of 300,000 acres of water, thermal winds skim over shallows that possess little current, sparse boat traffic, and no Moby Dicks. In this watery playground, Extreme Windsurfing’s instructors—all laying claim to teaching certifications in their areas of expertise—lead lessons that teach riders how to harness the power of the wind and the paddle. Back at the pro shop, gear rentals accommodate experienced sportsmen, and storage lockers give them places to stash valuables. Between outings, a 300-foot deck, snack bar, and beach let guests relax before they head back out.

The John Jack is a US Coast Guard–certified, 50-foot titan of the sea, operated by a friendly crew and knowledgeable captain. Two Caterpillar engines––each producing 800 horsepower––propel the red and white ship through the waves, staving off currents as passengers embark on chartered fishing and diving trips around the Point Pleasant Beach area. It can reach speeds of up to 25 knots and travel up to 350 miles between fuel stops, so it’s not uncommon to see the vessel docked in ports at Montauk, Cape May, Virginia, or Cape Hatteras. The interior is air conditioned, and houses a refrigerator, microwave, icemaker, and power outlets. Outside, quartz halogen lights illuminate the deck, creating a night atmosphere that still provides enough light for fishing, diving, or reading Magic 8-Ball responses.

The Jersey Shore famously bustles with Ferris wheels, roller coasters, boardwalk shops, and restaurants, but the action doesn't stop at the waterline. Propelled by twin diesel engines, the 75-foot Queen Mary trolls the waters in search of both entertainment and mammoth striped sea bass, Atlantic bonito, bluefish, and long-buried swim trunks. The crew specializes in teaching newbies-including kids-how to handle a fishing pole, and enclosed lounges and separate women's and men's restrooms keep less sea-weathered sailors comfortable.

For more than half a century, Harvey Cedars Marina has hoisted sails and sent adventurers skimming across the waves of the Barnegat and Manahawkin Bays. Today, the business’s aquatic experts have traded in the folded-newspaper sailboats of yore for modernized Hobie Wave catamarans and LaserPerformance Sunfish. It also maintains a fleet of standup paddleboards and Hobie kayaks that cruise to islands, where paddlers gaze on osprey and cormorants or cast their lines for fluke and bluefish. In addition to renting vessels and teaching how to maneuver them, the staff runs a shop to equip mariners with their own Hobie cats and kayaks or outfit them with water skis, wakeboards, and inflatable tubes to mail to annoying cousins who live in the desert.

The captains at Point Pleasant Parasail know the ins, outs, and ups of parasailing. As a team, they work from a base of more than 25 years of experience soaring above some of the world’s most beautiful locales including the Caribbean and Hawaii. Although the company specializes in parasailing adventures that propel riders 500 feet into the air, it also offers fireworks cruises, banana-boat rides, and dolphin speed-dating events.

Sportations connects amateur adrenaline jockeys to certified professional adventurers, drawing from a nationwide network of aeronauts and speed demons to introduce habitual pedestrians to the wonders of skydiving, ballooning, hang gliding, and stock-car racing. Thrill seekers can zipline across a forest canopy, hollering like Tarzan or taunting nearby birds until they agree to race. Helicopter tours ferry patrons skyward over landmarks and cityscapes, whereas paragliding adventures get up close and personal with blue skies and clouds. For most sports, Sportations accommodates groups of any size, from physics classes empirically proving gravity's existence to solo ballooning supervillains declaring dominion over all they see.