Yes, paddling the Grand Canyon, skiing the Haute Route, and climbing Half Dome are all legendary missions. You should totally do those things and other notable听bucket-list adventures. But they鈥檙e outings that most people already know听about and may be crowded when you get there.听What are the less known epic trips that few听people ever do? We found a few.
Scuba Dive with a Navy SEAL in Oahu
Stephen Kaplan and James Beck are retired U.S. Navy SEALs听who were deployed overseas for years as top combat divers. Now听they鈥檙e teaching others skills, like jumping out of a helicopter into the ocean听and scuba diving among听deep-sea wrecks, through their outfitting business,听, based in the town of Kapolei on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Sign up for the听three-hour Navy SEAL dive (from $589), and you鈥檒l get a crash course in underwater travel from literal veterans in the field. No scuba experience is necessary, and all gear comes included.
E-Mountain Bike听Across the Swiss Alps
You can certainly ride a standard mountain bike in the Alps. But if you鈥檙e looking to really cover some ground, an e-mountain bike听could be just the ticket.听 is offering a new eight-day guided e-mountain-bike trip (from $3,988) across the mountains of听Switzerland starting this summer. You鈥檒l travel on听trains, gondolas, and trams to reach the trails and stop at classic mountain huts for midday meals and overnight stays. A highlight is riding the 25-mile听, designated Epic by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. If you鈥檙e not into e-bikes, you can听 of the Swiss Alps on a regular mountain bike, too.
Snowkite听the New Hampshire Backcountry
The听听in North Conway, New Hampshire, can teach you traditional skills听like avalanche education or听mountaineering as well as how to听. Its courses (from $150 an hour) are geared toward newbie snowkiters听and held on frozen lakes and fields in the White Mountains. Lessons include kite听and harness rentals; you鈥檒l need your own ski or snowboard gear. Once you鈥檝e got the skills, you can head out on your own when the wind is up. The school provides information for experienced snowkiters who want to plan a DIY expedition into the backcountry.
Camp in the Country鈥s Least-Visited听National Park
Let everyone else swarm the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, and head to听, one of the most remote national narks in the nation, located in听the middle of Lake Superior. This park gets fewer visitors per year than Yellowstone sees in a single day. Isle Royale is closed from November to mid-April, but come spring, you can access it via ferry or a chartered seaplane from nearby Houghton or Copper Harbor, Michigan. The backcountry camping here is desolate and beautiful鈥攊t鈥檒l just be you and some moose.
Cycle Idaho鈥檚 Route of the Hiawatha
Do this in a day: ride, hike, or run the , a 15-mile rail-to-trail route near the historic town of Wallace, Idaho, along the crest of the Bitterroot Mountains. You鈥檒l start near Lookout Pass Ski Area and pedal听over train trestles and through ten听tunnels, including the 1.6-mile-long Taft Tunnel, making for a dark and spooky passage (you鈥檒l need bike lights to illuminate the way). Kids will love it, especially because you can do the whole thing in one direction鈥攁nd all downhill鈥攖hen听hop the听shuttle back to your car. Camp in a nearby听 (from $45).
Heli-Paddleboard听in Whistler, B.C.
This summer,听 will begin offering a new backcountry stand-up-paddleboard half-day adventure (from $1,171). Here鈥檚 how it works: You and your inflatable Red Paddle Co. loaner board will be loaded onto a helicopter in Whistler听and whisked to an alpine lake unreachable听by hiking. There听you鈥檒l be treated to a catered picnic lunch and set free to paddle around a body of water that鈥檚 entirely your own (for a couple of hours anyway).
Climb a Sea Stack in Ireland
Off the coast of Donegal, you鈥檒l find over 100 craggy sea stacks, or rock towers, that rise hundreds of feet above the ocean. These are among the tallest sea cliffs in Europe. Book a day of guided climbing with local outfitter听, and it鈥檒l take you to the top of several听(from $250). You鈥檒l climb, then do a Tyrolean traverse on a rope over the open water, connecting you to neighboring sea stacks. No previous rock climbing experience is necessary. Stay in the 19th-century听 (from $215), now a five-star hotel, and staff will arrange the adventure for you.
Paddle听the Barrier Islands of听Virginia
You don鈥檛 need to be a seasoned sea kayaker to handle this scenic 70-mile stretch of the Virginia Seaside Water Trail, which connects the state鈥檚 barrier islands. You鈥檒l spend several days paddling from Chincoteague to Kiptopeke, the longest undeveloped shoreline on the eastern seaboard, stopping to collect oysters and crabs and staying at quaint, waterfront听bed-and-breakfasts.听 offers four-day trips (from $995), where you can stay a couple of nights in an updated 1920s-era fishing lodge called听, which opens for the season in March.