Heat stroke, dehydration, and incessant sweating — sweltering dog days can zap the motivation of even the most hardcore outdoor enthusiast. But some enterprising adventure-seekers pressed on and came up with nighttime alternatives to their favorite activities. So peel yourself off the couch in your air-conditioned room and check out these 10 late-night adventures worth embracing your inner insomniac for.
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With more than 6,000 recorded caves, Missouri rightly earned its “Cave State” nickname. In Leasburg, Missouri, the Onondaga Friends Association hosts nighttime flashlight-only tours of the Cathedral Cave at the Onondaga Cave State Park. After a short ⅓-mile hike in the dark down the Deer Run Trail, you’ll enter the Cathedral Cave entrance located along the Meramec River. Hollowed in ancient Gasconade dolomite, the 15,639-feet-long cave has multiple side passages, slump pits, and a natural bridge. Bats, salamanders, spiders, and frogs hide in the nooks and crannies of imposing stalagmites, dramatic stalactites, striking draperies, and impressive flowstones. The cave’s cool 57-degree climate is a welcome respite to Missouri’s humid summers.
Soar 80 feet above pine and cypress trees and the cascading Carver’s Falls at ZipQuest in Fayetteville. During your airborne adventure at dusk, you’ll breathe in the crisp night air as you traverse through eight courses, zipping from tower to tower at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. In between routes, you’ll cross three canopy sky bridges and climb spiral stairways mounted on centuries-old trees — a stomach-churning exercise when the pathway is barely visible in the twilight.
The Midnight Sun Adventure ATV tour starts at around 10:15 p.m., while the Denali National Park is still aglow in sunshine. An hour or so into the 10-mile journey through backcountry and old coal mining trails and rocky creek beds, and you might finally get to witness Alaska’s late-night multi-hued sunset. Don’t forget your GoPro: the trip will have you driving a single- or side-by-side ATV to various lookout points that showcase spectacular views of the Alaska Range, Otto Lake, and the Healy Valley.
Even after sundown, the water in Newport Beach stays a comfortable 70 degrees. From June through September, Pirate Coast Paddle Company offers SUP Glow Night weekend tours where an experienced guide takes a group of up to 20 standup paddleboarders through calm surf at Newport Beach Back Bay, a nature preserve that’s home to 80-plus species of fish. The waterproof LED lights that illuminate from beneath the boards are said to attract marine life, so you might catch a glimpse of an eel or a bat ray as you glide through the silvery waters.
Summers in rugged Joshua Tree National Park in California can heat up to triple digits, which might put a damper on climbing enthusiasts who congregate here for its more than 400 formations and 8,000 climbing routes. Twilight offers a more optimal climbing condition: Climbing shoes work best in cooler temperature (better friction), and less sweaty hands mean a firmer grip. So strap on a headlamp and ascent a colossal Rosetta Stone boulder or scale the craggy Rattlesnake Canyon in the dark. Joshua Tree Climbing Life Guides is your best bet for tailored rock climbing experiences, including special requests such as night climbing (with commensurate experience).
At the Big Island in Hawaii, scuba divers submerged 35 feet below the ocean surface might witness an otherworldly view of shadowy manta rays whirling elegantly above. The black-and-white manta rays are gentle giants that feed on plankton, microorganisms that are attracted to light. During night dives, several tour operators set up underwater beams to entice the plankton, which then draw the manta rays. (Manta Ray Dives of Hawaii, one of the more reputable companies, lets you book their nighttime scuba dive or snorkeling eco-adventures directly online here.)
There are two main manta ray viewing sites: to the north of Kailua Kona is Manta Heaven, located near the Kona International Airport; and to the south is Manta Village in Keauhou Bay. To pick the best months to see mantas, the Manta Ray Advocates Hawaii, a conservation organization, has a handy statistical breakdown of manta ray sightings between 2009 and 2014. Not a certified diver? A variety of the popular touring companies have snorkeling options.
Humans and fish alike prefer to hide from the heatwave. During the day, largemouth and striped bass tend to take shelter to avoid the hot weather and dodge predators, and they move to shallower waters to feed at night. In historic Clarksville, fishermen can cast their line from the Highway 58 Business Bridge poised over the John H. Kerr Reservoir (also known as Buggs Island Lake), the largest lake in Virginia. At night, the bridge is lit up with 76 fluorescent lights, half of which are underwater. The green glow beckon feeder fish, which then lure the game fish. Fishing and pontoon boats are available for rent from outlets like Clarksville Marina.
Pacific Tree Climbing Institute’s overnight tree climbing excursion is no child’s play. As the sun sets, you’ll make the vertical climb up the 600-year-old Douglas fir tree named “Sophia.” Utilizing the Texas-style climbing technique, guests inch their way up on a single rope with ascenders. Hovering 200-plus feet above, you can take in the awe-inspiring views of the lush rain forest below at HJ Andrews Experimental Forest in the western Cascade Range of Oregon. Settle in on a sturdy canvas hammock, made with a two-inch-thick air mattress, and doze off to the sounds of rustling pine needles.
th rocky terrains littered with fallen logs and steep climbs, the trails at the Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland present an already challenging workout. In the dark, even experienced riders will appreciate the precarious feat of speeding down switchbacks, hurtling through raised roots, and crossing slippery streams. Mountain bikers can power through the popular 2.2-mile Cascade Falls Trail that takes riders past waterfalls and streams. First, fill out a liability waiver. During fall, winter, and spring, Patapsco After Dark hosts weekly rides.
Unless you’re an advanced professional willing to put your life on the line, you’ll want to take a spectator seat for this one: at Boise’s Perrine Bridge, daredevil BASE jumpers plunge 500 feet into darkness off of the highest bridge in Idaho. During the day, visitors will be thunderstruck by the vast Snake River Canyon, site of Evel Knievel’s failed 1974 stunt. At night, jumpers throw caution to the wind and plummet down the bridge at the speed of about 100 miles per hour. The 1,500-foot Perrine Bridge on Route 93 is the only location open to BASE jumpers year-round. After landing, you’ll have to climb the canyon wall or hike along the river to a turnaround point in the point — in pitch darkness.
