Wake Forest, NC Outdoor Activities

One hundred acres of scenic meadows and forested trails wind around the perimeter of Wildwynn Stables, which features a 5,184-square-foot boarding barn, a 220'x180' arena of jumps and obstacles, a 60-foot wooden ring, and a 100'x80' paneled training pen. Owned by a family boasting three decades of experience with equines, the stables board steeds in comfy 12'x12' stalls. Cynthia Cooke, East Coast Open Show Circuit's 2010 Trainer of the Year, lays the foundation for showmanship competitions in private and group lessons. At weeklong summer camps, Cynthia demonstrates her expertise during daily riding sessions and wrangles kids as they learn riding safety and how to care for their own steed, which covers grooming and braiding carrots into their manes for later.

Dead Broke Farm's name derives not only from the cost of owning horses, but also from the terminology for teaching a horse to wear a saddle—known in the industry as “breaking a horse to ride.” Trainers stable “dead broke,” or thoroughly saddle-trained, horses, alongside more spirited animals on the 110-acre farm. They also house steeds saved through their horse-rescue program, with more than 70 of their mounts avoiding fates in slaughterhouses and other undesirable ends since 2004.

Horses show off their trotting chops during farm trail rides, carrying riders on explorations of the rolling hills and whispering creeks scattered across more than 10 miles of bridle trails cut through woods populated by deer, cranes, and other wildlife. Private rides allow for more personalized routes and can incorporate stops at scenic ponds for proposals or more challenging terrain for advanced riders. Instructors also schedule horseback-riding lessons, teaching balance through rides over undulating terrain rather than through exercises such as riding a horse that is riding a seesaw.

In Paintsburgh City, warriors use a rundown embassy and unoccupied police station for cover as they dodge opposing armies. Friendships have been put aside for the day as teams stealthily move about the 20,000-square-foot ghost town, aiming their CO2-powered paintball guns to hit targets and score bragging rights. The elaborate city is one of several scenario fields that make Xtreme Kombat's paintball and training facility a draw for both recreational players and professional law-enforcement and military personnel seeking challenging training environs. In addition to Paintsburgh's watchtowers and wrecked vehicles, the other themed fields—with names like Fort Massacre and Death Valley POW Hills—combine imaginative storylines with wooded landscapes, obstacles, and freelancing ghosts. The complex's fields are also illuminated for after-dark play.

As the super-otter aircraft climbs through the clouds, the energy in the plane is palpable. First-time skydivers and veterans of the sport, all giddy for the oncoming rush of wind and velocity, ready themselves for their leap into the vast blue yonder waiting just outside the plane’s door. For the skilled staff of Triangle Skydiving Center, that feeling is the reason they come to work every morning. Whether they're plunging themselves and a harnessed patron through midair at 13,500 feet or selling high-quality parachute equipment in the gear store, they're dedicated to helping customers find that thrill that previously was only attained by shrinking the kids and living vicariously through them as they spelunk from picnic tables.