Adventure Activities
The Poconos’ diverse and beautiful natural terrain offers a huge variety of options for those craving adventure. Here are a few ideas if you’re looking to challenge yourself, push your limits, and get your heart pumping!
Whitewater Rafting in the Poconos
The Pocono Mountains are nestled between the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers, creating lots of opportunities for river fun and adventure. The area has several companies that specialize in whitewater rafting, including Pocono Whitewater and Whitewater Rafting Adventures which both are both located on the Lehigh River near the quaint historic city of Jim Thorpe. Kittatiny Canoes, located in Milford, PA, serves gorgeous stretches of the Delaware River and offers rafting packages for newbies to more experienced rafters.
You should consider booking your whitewater rafting trip on a “dam release weekend”—times when extra water has been released into the rivers to keep them running smoothly. These weekends ramp up the excitement and challenge even more!
Poconos Adventure Parks
The Poconos’ lush greenery and abundant trees provide ample opportunity for ropes courses, ziplines, and other adventures! Camelback and Blue Mountain, the area’s two largest ski resorts, transform into outdoor adventure centers in the summer. Camelback has a fun mountain coaster, off-roading on UTVs, a ropes course with ziplines, and sunbowl tubing (the summertime equivalent of snowtubing). Blue Mountain offers an elaborate ropes course (with an option to climb at night!), disc golf, laser tag, archery, and more.
Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari, two of the Poconos’ indoor water parks, also offer their own versions of ropes/zipline courses.
Best Mountain Biking in the Poconos
There are tons of options for challenging mountain biking across the Poconos. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area has several trails, including the Hamilton Ridge—a moderate, wooded trail that offers lots of opportunity to see wildlife.
Experienced bikers love the Bike Train, run by Poconos Biking. Participants (and their bikes!) hop on the famous Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway and enjoy a relaxing 25-mile train ride through gorgeous scenery. Then bikers ride back down the Lehigh Gorge Trail to the lovely historic town of Jim Thorpe—a great place to grab a drink or meal after a long ride!
BMX bikers should definitely check out Blue Mountain’s Bike Park—the largest downhill mountain bike park in the state.
ATV and UTV Rentals in the Poconos
If want to add a little adrenaline to your scenic drive through the Poconos, definitely check out one of the area’s many ATV (all-terrain vehicle) and UTV (utility-terrain vehicle) parks. If you’re a NASCAR afficionado and planning to visit the Pocono Raceway on your trip, make time to stop by Pocono Outdoor Adventure Tours, which is on their property. They offer guided UTV tours along wooded trails with a great view of the race cars speeding by next door.
Another great option is Pocono ATVs at Memorytown. Hop on an ATV and explore their 200 wooded acres. Then grab dinner at Memorytown’s Tavern on the Lake. This is a great option if you have a large group and are looking for a private event!
Helicopter & Private Plane Rides in the Poconos
A helicopter or airplane tour is a fantastic way to see all the Pocono’s gorgeous scenery. Hi-Tech Helicopters offers tours over some of the Poconos’ biggest attractions, like the gorgeous Delaware Water Gap and exciting Pocono Raceway. Tours can vary from 20-60 minutes and serve 1-3 people.
Moyer Aviation offers private plane tours of the Poconos region—they offer popular flight plans or the opportunity to personalize your own sightseeing experience. This is a great choice if you’re trying to impress a special someone—Pocono Mountains Magazine rated a private flight with Moyer Aviation as its #1 romantic adventure!
Poconos Racecar Driving
The region is home to the Pocono Raceway, which is popular with both avid racing fans and newbies alike. You can visit the Raceway to experience the exhilaration of a NASCAR race, or you can choose to do the driving on your own! Xtreme Xperience offers the chance to drive an exotic car—think Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Porsches—around the raceway. This is your chance to say you’ve driven the Pocono Raceway’s famous Tricky Triangle all on your own!