Adventurous Hobbies to Try in 2023

For about as long as humans have had spare time away from hunting, growing, or gathering, they have had hobbies. Hobbies are a lot of fun, open new worlds to us, and provide us with an outlet for creativity.

Done right, hobbies let us explore our passions and make memories that last a lifetime.

If you are looking for a new hobby, here are a few suggestions that guarantee adventure while teaching you new skills you can use all year.

Fishing

All you need is a rod, reel, line, hook, bait, and a place to fish, and you have enough to get started. While experienced anglers might have thousands of dollars worth of sophisticated equipment, you should start with the basics and keep your equipment to a minimum until you know you like the sport, what type of fishing you prefer, and how to fish effectively.

Camping

Every state has state-run campgrounds, usually around a state or national forest or natural attraction. Plan a new trip every couple of weekends and explore what your state has to offer. Start an equipment list by researching online to see what you need for the area you will be camping.

Research your State Fish & Game or Natural Resources website for camping opportunities.

Hiking

Hiking can meld well with either fishing or camping, but even by itself, it is a worthy hobby. Refer to outdoor recreation websites to get ideas of where to go. Hiking trails are graded by their difficulty, so you can start with easy, short hikes and work your way up to overnight, challenging excursions.

Sources to locate hiking trails and equipment lists include the Appalachian Mountain Club, state natural resources websites, and local hiking clubs via social media.

Learn to Shoot

Whether you use a firearm or an air gun, learning how to shoot is fun. It takes practice, skill, and concentration to become truly proficient. Before you know it, you will have a collection of air rifles, laser sights, and other accessories to enhance your shooting skills. When starting, take a class to learn proper handling, safety, and shooting techniques.

Local firing ranges, gun clubs, and other shooting venues usually have an online presence, but you might have to search for them. Social media is also a great place to find out where other shooting enthusiasts visit.

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing can be a part of your hiking hobby or can be a separate hobby unto itself. Virtually every state has at least a few rock climbing natural attractions and private organizations that offer climbing walls that provide just as challenging environments but in a controlled, highly secure setting.

You should complete training on how to climb safely. While rock climbing is exhilarating, it also has a tiny margin for error.

Scuba Diving

Scuba diving is another highly entertaining and exciting hobby that requires significant training. You can find a scuba shop or instructors online. To get started, you must pay for lessons and equipment, which can get pricey. The adventure of scuba diving, especially if diving to a specific target, justifies the cost.

As with rock climbing, scuba diving is a zero-margin-of-error hobby, so you want to ensure you have the best equipment and take all recommended training.

Mountain Biking

Like hiking, most municipalities and states have trails earmarked for mountain biking. Some private organizations also have mountain bike trails that range from easy to challenging. Mountain biking can also be a fun way to explore wilderness areas but always stay on trails marked for mountain bikes.

The benefits of mountain biking include exercising just about every muscle in your body, improving your stamina and cardiovascular health. While finding a trail specifically for mountain bikes is run, the ruggedness of most mountain bikes lets you take your bike just about anywhere, including more urban bike trails and public roads.

Surfing

Surfing is an easy hobby to get started in and an incredibly challenging hobby to master. Taking lessons is recommended, but you can learn by doing. The trick is finding a challenging surfing environment that is not so challenging you spend most of your time getting thrown off your board.

Like fishing and hiking, surfing has a vibrant, active, and helpful social media community. You can find everything from recommended places to surf to used equipment for sale to organizations that offer training. The benefits of surfing include improving your ability, flexibility, overall strength, and balance.

Fitness

Fitness covers a wide range of activities, so many that treating each as a hobby would quadruple the size of this article, at least. Fitness hobbies include, but are not limited to:

• Crossfit
• HIIT workouts
• Weight lifting
• Kick-boxing
• A combo of all that

The sky's the limit. Anything that helps you build muscle, flexibility, and endurance and has health benefits like lowering blood pressure or losing weight.

Cooking

Some people will not associate cooking with “adventurous.” Those people have not tried a new dish out on family and friends. The benefits of cooking include knowing how to use common ingredients to create amazing dishes, and depending on your focus, how to create food that is delicious on virtually any budget.

Additionally, understanding how to cook lets you eat delicious and nutritious dishes that help prepare you for your other hobbies. Almost every high school and community college has an adult learning curriculum and those often offer cooking classes as part of their curriculum.

Adventuresome Hobbies Depend On You

The last bit of advice regarding hobbies is that you will get what you put into them. Nothing on this list will just happen. You must be committed, do some research, and work to make it work.

If you are or become committed to a hobby, though, you will have more than just a way to pass the time. You will have a lifelong interest you will enjoy every time you do it.