With its extended coastlines meeting the North Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean with their unique ecosystems, numerous lakes, including Great Lakes, and lengthy rivers, the United States is the ideal country for partaking in water sports. If you’re a water sports enthusiast, obviously, you’ve found an activity that suits your personality, budget, and exercise needs. But what if the desire to engage in water sports or try water activities has stricken you unexpectedly?

We’ve turned to experts from this outdoor store and asked them to write about the best water sports and activities for those on the fence. We hope this article will give you a general understanding of what each is all about, how to prepare, and which places provide the best experience.

Scuba Diving

If you love the underwater world and have always wanted to explore its beauty, scuba diving must be your first consideration. Though diving is a rather gear-intensive activity and requires serious preparation, in the end, the experience you get is worth all the effort and investment.

To begin your adventure in scuba diving, you need to get a scuba certification that confirms your training, skills, and knowledge. You’re allowed to rent scuba diving equipment, fill your air tank, and book scuba trips only after you’ve earned a scuba certification.

At some point, you may feel like buying your scuba gear instead of renting. The basic diving equipment includes a wetsuit, scuba tank, buoyancy control device, regulator, mask, snorkel, fins, weights, and dive computer. If you want to take photos underwater, you need an underwater camera and strobes. You may also take pictures using your regular camera, but it will require substantial investment into numerous accessories, like waterproof housing, lenses, ports, filters, etc.

In the US, the best scuba diving is in Hawaii and Florida. Some other hotspots are Monterey Bay, San Diego’s Wreck Alley, Channel Islands National Park in California, Puget Sound in Washington, Bonne Terre Mine in Missouri, and many more.

Snorkeling

If you’re not ready physically, mentally, or financially for scuba diving and don’t intend to pursue shipwrecks and marine life deeper than six feet, snorkeling may be your thing. Unlike diving, which requires breathing equipment, control devices, exposure protection, and a certificate, you only need a snorkel, mask, and fins to partake in snorkeling since it implies floating along the water surface.

The US is rich in the best snorkeling destinations. For example, Key West, Florida, boasts the world’s third-largest coral barrier reef system. There you can meet stingrays, loggerhead sea turtles, and numerous coral fish species. Another great place for snorkeling is Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Hanauma Bay coral reef is right near the beach and is home to many tropical fish species like triggerfish, yellow tang, parrot fish, angel fish, and many more. La Jolla, California, provides the best snorkeling as well. La Jolla Cove has seven caves, is home to sea lions and seals, and is often visited by cute leopard sharks.

Kayaking

If the idea of immersing yourself in the water makes you feel uncomfortable, then why not try kayaking? You won’t be able to check out the underwater life. But instead, you can travel long distances and reach places inaccessible from the land. Partaking in kayaking is not only great from the point of view of a mind-resetting experience. It’s good for your health and body strength as well.

The best way to start kayaking is to rent a kayak or borrow one from a friend. After that, you only need to buy a personal floatation device, paddle, and bilge pump. 

Fortunately, there are myriads of water bodies to paddle through in the US: Colorado River and Desert Lake in Arizona, peculiar for sandstone cliffs, Boundary Waters of Minnesota, the San Juan Islands in Washington, home to orca pods, sea lions, dolphins, otters, and seals, crystal clear Lake Tahoe in California, and tropical Juniper Run in Florida.

Surfboarding

If you’ve always wanted to combine extreme sports and the water element, surfing is one of the best water activities. It’s a great exercise that engages every part of your body and good mind training because you need to do something outside your comfort zone and conquer fears and self-distrust. In the end, you feel a huge personal achievement.

To start surfing, you may go to your local surfing school. That’s the fastest and most reliable way to learn surfing basics without developing bad habits. An expert will highlight your mistakes and show you how to correct them. You can learn to surf by yourself by reading books and watching videos, but your progress may be slower.

Once you feel confident enough to surf in wild waters, go to the beginner spots only. Thus, you won’t drive experts crazy by depriving them of waves (waves are actually limited).

The best beginner surf spots are Waikiki (Hawaii), San Onofre, County Line, La Jolla Shores (California), Cocoa Beach (Florida), Sea Isle (New Jersey), Galveston Beach (Texas), and Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area (Oregon).

Kite Surfing 

Want to engage in a water sport that uses a board and combines two elements - water and wind? Why not try kitesurfing, also known as kiteboarding? Though similar to surfboarding, these are two different sports. Basically, to engage in kitesurfing, you need a windy beach that will fuel your kite. Ideally, you want the wind blowing at a speed of 15-25 knots (17-29 miles per hour). On the other hand, the best surfboarding is at wind-free beaches because waves hold up longer in calm weather. Compared to surfing, kiteboarding also has a shorter learning curve.

Some of the best places for kitesurfing are the Outer Banks in North Carolina, Maui and Oahu in Hawaii, Florida Keys, Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, South Padre Island in Texas, and San Francisco in California. Check the time when the wind is the best.

Of course, our list isn’t comprehensive - we didn’t mention wakeboarding, windsurfing, jet skiing, white water rafting, water skiing, and many more. If you want to check what your location has to offer, search for water activities near me or water sports near me. Google will provide you with schools and courses where you can learn and connect with communities.