Summer means good friends, sun and adventure. Its long days and longer nights are the perfect environment for those more adventurous date ideas.

These types of dates are important for your relationship for two reasons. First, taking her on good dates is fundamental to keeping her interested. Second, women love adventure. They want the excitement and anticipation that comes with the adventure.

This post will give you seven adventurous date ideas that are perfectly suited for summertime.

Adventurous Date Ideas Designed for Summertime

1. Paddle Board

Paddle boarding is one of the most fun ways to spend a summer day.

The best part about this activity is that (almost) no matter where you are in the world, you can do it. Aside from a board and paddle, all you need is a body of water. If you’re both new to the sport, pick a relatively calm lake or river.

If you want this adventurous date to become a crazy date, find a river with some rapids or paddle surf in the ocean.

Wherever you chose to go, paddle boarding will be a lot of fun.

2. Little Tokyo, Little Lima, Little Ethiopia, Little Beirut

In most cities, there’s a section that’s dominated by one ethnic group.

One of the best examples of these ethnic sections is the numerous Chinatowns across the United States. Cities including Honolulu, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and New York all have their own Chinatown.

In the photo above you can see San Francisco’s Chinatown. The décor is Chinese, the restaurants are Chinese and even the writing on the facades and banners is in Mandarin.

Ethnic sections, like Chinatown, take you to that culture without having to leave your city. Being able to transport to a different culture is what makes this such a great adventurous date idea.

Stroll through the city, eat actual ethnic food and best of all go into the shops. In the shops you’ll find items you won’t find elsewhere in your city.

3.  Horseback Ride

Horseback riding is normally done with a guide. Because of this, you’ll have adventure in a relatively controlled environment. This makes it a great date if you want something a little less crazy.

The key to this date is picking the right location. In my youth, I took a girl horseback riding without doing any research on the location. My lack of planning secured us an hour and a half ride through a family park, full of children playing and families grilling.

I think it goes without saying that you’ll want to avoid this. To find the right location and stable, check out the reviews on Yelp.

4. Rooftop picnic

This is one of the more adventurous date ideas on the list.

The date is as its name suggests: find a high point in your city, climb to the top and enjoy the view with a picnic.

Now I’m saying to go and commit a B&E; a trip to jail doesn’t really constitute a “date”. Don’t open any locked doors or jump over any fences.

The trick to the date is finding a building with the right rooftop. Some good ones I’ve found in the past:

• Apartment complexes. If anyone asks you’re considering moving in.
• College buildings. This works best when a campus is spread out.
• Business towers. It’s easy to go unnoticed in these, but it’s often difficult to get onto the roof.

I’ll be the first to admit that this date is pretty crazy. For those who are a little less adventurous, you can substitute the building for any high point. Hike up a mountain or drive to the top of a hill.

If you do go for the rooftop, have a backstory in case you get into a jam.

5. Boulder

If you haven’t heard of bouldering, it’s basically a miniature version of rock climbing. Climbers ascend small rocks or boulders (name makes sense now, huh?) without any ropes or anchors.

Bouldering was the first idea on our post, “37 Adventurous Date Ideas,” because it combines to fundamental components of an adventurous date: seclusion and danger.

Seclusion

A day of bouldering usually starts with a hike. Sometimes this is a quick fifteen minute stroll other times it’s a strenuous hour trek into the wild. Either way, it’s likely that you won’t see too many people when you get to the boulder.

Danger

Scaling a rock without ropes, combined with the above seclusion, can make bouldering a dangerous activity. You can significantly reduce this danger by knowing your limits and climbing safely.

I’ll give you a quick overview of these two, but I recommend doing a little research on bouldering before you go.

Knowing your Limits

First and foremost, don’t climb a boulder higher than 10 feet. The higher you go, the more risk there is. Next, start off with easy route. The difficulty of the routes is ranked on a scale from V0 – V16. To start, stick with a V0 or a V0+. Limits aside, the easier the route the more fun the date will be.

Safety

The foundation of bouldering safely is bringing the right gear.

First, rent a crash pad from your local outdoors shop. Crash pads will save your ankles. Second, only climb where there’s cell reception. This is big. If something does happen, you be able to call for help and won’t be stranded.

To find good bouldering rock in your area, check out rockclimbing.com. Select your state, click ‘Boulder’ then hit search. On the next page scroll through to find your county and pick a few routes near you.

Do your due diligence and bouldering will be an awesome afternoon.

6. Archery or Shooting Range

There’s something about weapons and destruction that really brings couples together.

Avoid indoor ranges as they’ll take away a lot of the adventure. Find a range that is outside and more than twenty minutes from your house. If you don’t have your own bow or gun, call ahead to be sure that they rent the equipment.

Pack a lunch. A nice finish to this date of destruction is a calm lunch together in a spot overlooking the damage you did.

7. Swap Meet

Swap meets are one of the most underrated and underutilized adventurous dates.

Usually a city will have multiple small swap meets and one big one. There will be considerably more vendors at the bigger swap meet so, if possible, go to this one.

It’s best to get there a few hours after opening. If you go too early vendors will still be setting up. Conversely, if you go too late, all the good stuff will already be gone.

In Conclusion

These seven adventurous date ideas are all perfect for a warm summer day.

Break away from the standard dinner and a movie and do something a little different this summer. If you need more ideas, check out our post, “37 Adventurous Date Ideas,” here.

Photo Credit 2: Shubert Ciencia on Flickr