Saint Charles, MD Outdoor Activities

The pilots at DC Skydiving Center fly to heights of up to 2 miles before divers of all skill levels hurl themselves from the plane's side door. Before they ever leave the ground, though, students receive a safety briefing and thorough explanation of the jump process. The center’s instructors specialize in calming the jitters of newbie divers by strapping in with them on tandem dives, but they also regularly shed single tears as more experienced adrenaline junkies pull out their own parachute at the culminating point of accelerated free-fall programs. Once in the air, the small aircraft's large, panoramic windows grant breathtaking views of the capitol skyline and Blue Ridge Mountains, all of which are captured on RVT video by instructors on the descent.

Designed by famed course architect P.B. Dye, The Gauntlet Golf Club's 18-hole course is cleaved between dense woodlands and the lake at Curtis Memorial Park for 6,857 yards of challenging golf. Across the par-72 layout, golfers dig their spikes into zoysia fairways and steer balls over smooth, bentgrass greens while lecturing wedges about effective lawn-care techniques. The course’s signature hole—the par-4 fourth—begins with a forced carry over marshland and precise approach shots onto a three-tiered green, showcasing a number of memorable shot-making opportunities.

The verdant grounds also feature a 20-stall driving range, practice bunker, and chipping area. Three instructors are also on hand ready to spread their golf wisdom in lessons, clinics, and heart-warming memoirs about how they overcame the yips.

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by P.B. Dye
• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Zoysia fairways, bentgrass greens
• Length of 6,857 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 73.4 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 139 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Scorecard

The adventure-seeking staff members of ThrillZOWN organize outdoors adventures at more than 100 locations nationwide, letting customers experience the waters, air, and land of America’s diverse regions. Seasoned guides lead adventurers on whitewater-rafting trips on inland rivers, and instructors conduct lessons in surfing and filling out life guards' paperwork at coastal beaches. Other guides help guests plunge to earth safely in tandem-skydiving and tandem-paragliding flights, while aeronauts sweep them through scenic country vistas during hot-air-balloon flights. On dry land, equestrians teach customers to think like a centaur on horseback trail rides, and professional stock-car drivers guide them in laps around a racetrack.

Teams of recreational combatants assemble in tactical formations across the fields at Southern Maryland Paintball, using obstacles and fortifications to their advantage as they engage enemies in fast-paced matches. Six fields with three distinct styles present diverse battlegrounds—from the wooden partitions that dot the open space at the Castle field to the menagerie of inflated obstacles and out-of-work parade floats that populate the Airball field. Players that excel in stealthy maneuvers will thrive at the Village field, where tiny huts obscure ambushers approaching from multiple angles. Each match is regulated by an experienced referee who shouts down those who shirk the rules. Southern Maryland Paintball keeps its fields mired in a barrage of colorful ballistics year-round, and also offers nighttime play on lighted fields on the weekends.

Away from the frenetic pace of organized matches, guests can soothe itchy trigger fingers and practice their marksmanship at the paintball-shooting range. Southern Maryland Paintball also encompasses a mini-golf course for those who prefer to compete in a game where their only enemies are subtle slopes and territorial windmills.