8 Wonderful Water Recreational Activities for Your Family’s Summer

Summer is here, and that means hot weather and cool water activities! Whether you’re looking to enjoy the summer locally or you’re planning a trip away, water-based recreational activities provide excellent opportunities for fun, exercise, and a chance to cool off.

We’ve talked before about simple ways to have a healthier lifestyle, and the good news is that many of these activities are very fitness-promoting, and all of them will get you outside and having adventures!

1). Swimming

This is one of the most obvious things you can do in the water, but that’s for good reason: swimming is fun, requires no advanced equipment, is extremely refreshing, and is potentially one of the most fitness-promoting activities you can engage in.

Whether you’re enjoying a pool, a lake, or the ocean, swimming is a wonderful way to escape the heat and promote fitness at the same time. It’s also an excellent activity for the whole family, although you’ll want to make sure everyone practices water safety (and no doubt it goes without saying, but young children should wear life preservers).

2). Boating

You don’t have to own a boat or know someone who does to enjoy the wonders of boating: there are many waterways, including oceans, lakes, and rivers, where you can go on professional boating trips.

In fact, there are a variety of ways to enjoy boating: you can charter or rent a boat – by the hour, day, or month – which you operate yourself, or, more realistically for most of us, you can sign up for a ferry, join a group excursion, even board a fishing boat.

Boating is wonderful for many reasons: the adventure, the opportunity to experience a variety of different bodies of water, and the other experiences you can have while you boat. There are boating opportunities for fishing, whale watching, boat racing – sailboat racing is particularly popular on some bodies of water – and simply taking in the surroundings and enjoying the scenic beauty.

3). Jet skiing

Jet skiing involves watercraft, but is different enough from boating to warrant its own entry. Jet skiing is a tremendous amount of fun if you enjoy fast, high-powered watercraft and adventurous sporting experiences. This might be an ideal bonding activity with adventurous teens.

4). Water skiing

Water skiing is, as the name suggests, skiing on water. The water skier is towed at high speeds behind a high-powered watercraft and uses either two skis or a single ski to glide on the water.

Although water skiing may look intimidating and challenging for children, in fact it is surprisingly kid-friendly. Even young children can learn how to water ski if you, or an instructor, are willing to teach them.

5). Water polo

Water polo is essentially handball, but played in the water. A team sport, water polo is played by teams trying to get the ball over the net while preventing the rival team from doing the same thing.

You and your family can play water polo as an intense, competitive sport if that’s the way you like to play, or as a fun and friendly game. Most likely, you’ll play in a swimming pool, but it is possible to play water polo in lakes and yes, even in the ocean.

6). Surfing

Seriously, where would this list be without surfing? It’s one of the more iconic beachside activities, not to mention the basis for a surfing subculture.

The basic idea behind surfing is simple: take a surfboard and use it to ride the forward face of a wave, which will primarily carry you toward the shore.

This sport may seem counter-intuitive for children, but in fact it can be a wonderful experience for them. Learning to surf with kid-appropriate waves can help children to develop strength and balance while enjoying the outdoors and learning values of patience and self-confidence.  

7). Skimboarding

Skimboarding may look a lot like surfing, but the idea is subtly different: instead of swimming out to catch the waves, skimboarders start at the beach and ride the outgoing waves away from beach. They then catch the next wave back to the beach.

Skimboarding also makes use of a smaller board than surfing, meaning the equipment is slightly different.

As the description suggests, skimboarding may be easier and more accessible for children, not least because it does not require an ocean- or sea-sized body of water. Skimboarding can easily be done in lakes and rivers.

8). Paddle boarding

We’ve saved arguably the best for last. Paddle boarding, or more precisely stand up paddle boarding (SUP), is done by riding a board in the standing position and using a paddle to row.

Unlike surfing, you don’t need waves – in fact, you’re probably better off without them, especially early on (to learn more, go to PaddleBoardDirect.com). This is because you’re supplying the power as you row.

Paddle boarding is a great workout, and probably even easier than surfing to start teaching to your children.

Conclusion

From swimming to boating to paddle boarding, there are a variety of wonderful water-based sports and recreational activities to help your family keep cool and have a blast this summer while staying safe. Enjoy the water!