What are you favorite semi-active outdoor activities?
July 11, 2013 9:04 AM   Subscribe

What are your favorite low-key but still active outdoor activities that two people could do together?

My fiance recently mentioned that he's spent much more time outdoors since we met and he really like it. I'm into outdoor sports but highly active sports aren't his thing. What can we do outside that's active but not strenuous?

Also, we have a dog that may be but not necessarily be included. We live in the midwest US near a small city and lots of parks.

So far we enjoy: walks, dog park, driving range, him biking/me running, exploring abandoned urban areas/ farms
posted by thewestinggame to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (24 answers total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
Geocaching?
posted by jquinby at 9:07 AM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]


Geocaching and Disc Golf come to mind. Maybe fishing or birding as well?
posted by jeffjon at 9:07 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Any lakes or gentle rivers nearby? Flatwater kayaking is great. Or canoeing!
posted by elsietheeel at 9:08 AM on July 11, 2013


Photography. Moss collecting. Nthing Geocaching. Kite Flying. Picnicing.
posted by jessamyn at 9:09 AM on July 11, 2013


Do you have a backyard? You could set up a dartboard or archery range.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:10 AM on July 11, 2013


Sporting clays.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 9:11 AM on July 11, 2013


Maybe this is too obvious, but there's something really pleasant about just taking a long stroll with pup on a regular basis. And it's good for everyone! Of course, you can ramp the intensity up by making it a hike. Or backpacking.
posted by chatongriffes at 9:13 AM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]


We really love taking our dog on park walks, particularly in more rugged hiking style parks and big leash free parks.
posted by bearwife at 9:15 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Take the dog swimming? This is my new favorite dog activity.
posted by lunasol at 9:16 AM on July 11, 2013


Gardening.
posted by yawper at 9:16 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Frisbee? Especially if the dog will fetch it.
posted by fancyoats at 9:17 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Birding.
posted by rtha at 9:20 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Badminton.
posted by seemoreglass at 9:22 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Along the disc golf and geocaching lines is also orienteering. Check for a local club, basicaly you run a race course off of the trails choosing your own route. They have courses color coded by difficulty and you can do them at your own pace. Given your location there may not be an active club too close by.
posted by rkt88edmo at 9:28 AM on July 11, 2013


Cross country skiing in the winter, Ice Skating.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:45 AM on July 11, 2013


Any type of foraging--mushrooms, fiddleheads, berries, ramps, etc. And you get to come home and eat what you found!
posted by HotToddy at 9:47 AM on July 11, 2013


Bocce Ball! Recommended accompaniment: gin and tonics.
posted by craven_morhead at 10:35 AM on July 11, 2013 [3 favorites]


Batting cage, croquet
posted by Jahaza at 10:55 AM on July 11, 2013


Easy Rollerblading: finding a nice, reasonably flat trail and just skating up and down it however many times you like.
posted by crLLC at 10:59 AM on July 11, 2013


Kite/Model Plane flying. Landscape painting.
posted by rongorongo at 11:03 AM on July 11, 2013


Competitive kite flying. The AKA has lots of information about sport kites. Start slow as individuals then team up. Pairs and Team flying is awesome. Kite competitions have much in common with figure skating, with competitors being judged on their performance in compulsory figures as well as a "ballet", which involves artistic interpretation of music. Performances are done as individuals, a pair of pilots. (from the Wiki).
posted by Gungho at 1:33 PM on July 11, 2013


Kite flying! I love doing this with my partner. It can be as low-key as just enjoying the simple pleasure of a couple pretty single-line kites floating in the sky, or if you want to challenge yourself a little more you can learn dual-line kites. You can spend as little or as much as you want to on this hobby--drugstore toy aisle kites are whimsical and fun, but if either of you are gear geeks you can easily get obsessed with Prism's variety of high-quality (and still colorful and fun!) single- and dual-line kites.

If you're near a large lake or river, stand-up paddleboarding is worth exploring, too. It's definitely physical--especially your first couple times, you use muscles you're not used to using and end up sore the next day--but it's not very strenuous, and it's slow-paced so you can easily talk to each other while you do it.
posted by rhiannonstone at 2:02 PM on July 11, 2013


Bocce!
posted by pompomtom at 4:31 PM on July 11, 2013


Mölkky!
posted by rongorongo at 8:04 AM on July 12, 2013


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