With warm weather, blue skies and plenty of sunshine, there are no shortage of activities to do during the summer.
Truly the sky is the limit. You can go boating. You can go fishing. You go hiking. You can play yard games and grill out. You can swim in your backyard pool or head to the lake for a day on the water.
If you’re looking for some fun hobbies or activities to do during the summer, here are some suggestions to help you create a fun summer bucket list:
Go Hiking
On a bright and beautiful summer day, there’s nothing better than hitting the trail and going for a hike. Chances are good you live within reasonable driving distance of several beautiful hiking trails. But if you’re going to go hiking, there are some things you need to do before you head out.
For starters, you’re going to need hiking essentials if you don’t already have them. Your essentials might include:
- Sunglasses
- A hat
- A map of the trail you’re hiking (chances are good you’ll have no signal on your phone)
- A first-aid kit
- Weather-appropriate clothing—if rain is in the forecast, make sure you have a raincoat
- An all-in-one tool such as a Swiss Army Knife
- Food and water—nuts and dried fruit are perfect hiking food
Once you’ve got your essentials, it might be a good idea to find a group or hiking club to meet with. This is a great way to make friends, meet new people, and stay safe on your adventures.
It would also behoove you to get familiar with maps of the areas you hike, specifically topographical maps. This helps you learn about the terrain you’re traversing and locate your position on a map. Paired together with reading a compass, you’ll be able to be a lot more aware of your surroundings on the trail.
Whenever you go on a hike, remember to do a little research on the area. The most important thing to know is where the local emergency center is. You always want to be safe on the trails, but you never know when something might happen and you might have to visit a facility for medical assistance. Knowing exactly where it is beforehand will get treatment as soon as possible.
If you’re going to take up hiking as a hobby, it also wouldn’t hurt to learn some basic first aid. Learning things like how to apply a tourniquet and how to properly clean a wound are important in case an accident happens. You should also read up on poison ivy home remedies, such as oatmeal baths or using apple cider vinegar, since you’re sure to see some on your travels and may need to treat a poison ivy rash when you get home. You can also learn to treat other common hiking injuries at home, such as sunburns, blisters, and sore muscles.
Eat Healthy
There are many activities to do during the summer to stay active, but if you’re trying to lose weight and trying to get healthy, there’s never been a better time to start eating better.
If you’re going to eat healthily, you might consider going vegan. If you’ve heard the term, but you’re unfamiliar, a vegan is a person who abstains from eating animal products such as meat and dairy and eats various plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains.
If you’re wondering how you can follow a vegan-based meal plan, these tips can help. One big thing to keep in mind: focus on what you can eat, rather than what you can’t.
- Eat more vegetables: If you’re transitioning away from eating meat, you should know that vegetables are packed full of essential vitamins and minerals and will be the stars of your meals. They’ll also keep you more satisfied when you eat.
- Mix it up: The best vegan diets are those that include a lot of variety. That means you should mix up your veggies and grains to create some different and tasty meals. One good option is a grain bowl, which is packed full of rice or quinoa, beans and roasted vegetables.
- Don’t forget protein: Vegan diets may not include meat, but there are plenty of plant-based proteins to choose from. You can find protein in things like nuts, seeds, and beans; things you can easily add to the meals you’re already preparing.
- Be careful what you eat: Nowadays you can find just about anything food-wise with a vegan label, such as vegan cookies. Don’t let the labels fool you; vegan cookies aren’t any healthier than regular cookies. Vegan treats are good to indulge in every now and then, but play it safe and go for veggies with hummus or nuts and fruit if you’re craving a snack.
- Key up an eye on your vitamins: A vegan diet is a great way to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. You just need to load your plate with the right foods to get it. You can get Vitamin D from drinks like orange juice or almond milk; you can add iron from beans and leafy greens; you can also take supplements for vitamins like B-12 and Omega-3.
Exercise
Of all the fun activities to do during the summer, nothing gets you active faster than exercising. A Nielsen Global Consumer Exercise Trends Survey finds that 45% of millennials exercise regularly and summer is the perfect time to get into shape.
Part of what makes exercise fun is that no two people have to follow the same workout plan. If you’re not much of a gym-goer, you can do plenty of workouts at home, with little to no equipment at all. If you’re looking for a more leisurely way to stay active, you can do laps at a local school track or walk around your neighborhood.
Whether you’re trying to get in shape for beach season or you’re just looking to get healthier, the sky is the limit to how you workout and how much you workout. You can start your day with some morning yoga or a simple workout of sit-ups, push-ups, and crunches. It really just depends on what you’re comfortable with.
Go Boating
With more than 1,600 lake sites in the United States, Americans are never far from water. There are few better ways to enjoy the water than by going boating.
There are plenty of fun activities to do during the summer and you’ll get countless hours of enjoyment from boating. If you’re thinking about getting a boat, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Know what you want: There are a lot of boat types out there—pontoons, speedboats, sailboats, and fishing boats to name a few—and knowing what you want makes things easier.
- How will you buy it: Once you know what you want, you’ll need to figure out whether you want to buy new or used. If you buy used, do your research before you buy anything or agree to any deals.
- Get everything you need: Once you’ve got your boat, you need to make sure you’ve got everything you need to use it. Depending on what type of boat you get, you might need custom boat trailers, fishing gear, or a boat ladder. For any kind of boat, you’ll want to get a first aid kit and life jackets as well. Again, do your research and make a checklist to make sure you have all of the necessary equipment.
If you’re new to boating—and assuming you’ve taken a boater’s safety class—you might be better off visiting a small inland lake. You can really test out the capabilities of your new boat and get familiar with how it handles. You’re also likely to run into less traffic than you might on a big lake. Heck, you might even find yourself a few great fishing spots along the way.
Get a Dog
There are lots of fun activities to do during the summer, but one thing you can enjoy during every season is owning a dog. A furry friend can be the perfect companion on hikes or walks, but there are also plenty of other good reasons to get a dog.
Getting a puppy can be the perfect primer for parenthood if you’re wanting to have kids someday. Caring for a dog is a great way to get into a routine for taking care of another living creature. If you’re unsure of how to raise a dog, don’t worry. You can get a lot of puppy training tips from experts and even take them to obedience training.
With a puppy, you’ll learn all about the importance of responsibility: when and what to feed your dog, where to take them for a stay at a dog daycare, when to take them in for shots, and all other things that will keep them happy and healthy. You’ll also have an incredibly loyal friend, who will be there with you in good times and bad.
If you’re not sure what kind of dog to get, do some research first or talk to some friends who own dogs. Find out who’s selling puppies in your area or what shelters have dogs available for adoption. At the end of a hard day of work, there’s nothing better than coming home to a happy face and a wagging tail.
Volunteer
There’s no limit of fun activities to do during the summer, but one way to have fun and do some community service is to volunteer in the community. It’s a good bet that there are plenty of service organizations in your area and they’re always in need of volunteers. If you can find a group that supports a cause you’re passionate about, it will only increase your interest in volunteering.
If you’re looking for a way to volunteer, consider what skills or connections you might have to offer and what causes are important to you. If you have expertise in screen printing, for example, you might be able to work with experienced companies to make custom shirts for a fundraising event. You can also put your personal skills to good use. If you’re a good artist or have an eye for design, you can make creative foam board signs for a bake sale, a 5K, a book sale, or other community events where organizations are trying to get the word out.
If you’ve got kids, you know that finding fun activities to do during the summer is a must, especially when there’s no school. One way to get them out of the house is to volunteer as a family. It’s a good way to show your kids the importance of giving back to the community and helping others. As a shared family experience, you may just find your kids grow to love volunteering, whether it’s making signs or handing out pamphlets or helping out during a food drive.
Work On Vehicles
If you’re mechanically-inclined, one of the most fun activities to do during the summer is to work on cars and trucks. If you’re looking to give your ride a fresh look, you can do some auto detailing right in your garage or your driveway. If you’re car-savvy, you can save yourself a lot of money by doing simple maintenance such as changing your oil, changing a flat tire, changing your spark plugs, or even repairing broken headlights.
If you really have skill repairing cars and trucks, you can use that skill to make some extra money. You might, for example, purchase repairable salvage vans for sale and work on fixing them up in your spare time to get them running and available for different community groups to use. You can help your friends solve problems with their cars and trucks and, if you feel really daring, you can build your own car from scratch, visiting auto body shops and looking all over for all the parts you need. Either way, you’ll feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment by helping others through your expertise.
When the weather warms up, everyone is eager to get outside and make the most of their summer. If you’ve told yourself that you’re going to make this your best summer ever, there is no shortage of things you can do to make it memorable. There are endless amounts of activities to do during the summer and by choosing to eat a little healthier, catching up on some reading, going to the beach for a swim, working out a little more, going hiking or even taking a scenic drive, you can ensure that not one minute of your summer will go to waste and it will be your best summer yet.
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