US Frontier Still Exists For Adventure

Tour Operators

Most Americans regard going abroad as a prerequisite for adventure tourism. Most adventure tour operators count on the exoticism, for their US and European customers, of the countries in which they base their operations. The US-based Adventure Travel Association defines an adventure tour vacation as any leisure travel that incorporates two of the following elements: a strenuous athletic activity, an up-close interaction with the natural environment, and an up-close interaction with a culture significantly different from the traveler's own.

That very same hunger after the exotic that makes Americans long for an adventure travel tour also make most of them dismissive of their own country. However, it is not only possible, but actually very easy, for an American to fulfill any of the three criteria outlined by the Adventure Travel Association.

Explore Different US Cultures With An Adventure Vacation Package

Coming into contact with a vastly different culture is the main component of adventure tourism that most Americans imagine would be difficult to find in their own country. However, America was, and always has been, a place where many different cultures came together. What's more, America is a relatively young country; its fast-changing history, itself, offers many opportunities for the kind of "culture shock" that is sought out by adventure travelers. One example of this kind of US-based adventure travel is the covered wagon tour.

New Nature, New Culture In One Adventure Tour Vacation

There are many adventure tour operators in this country who operate in states like Montana and Wyoming--states where substantial parts of the wilderness that once comprised the entire US frontier remain to this day. These unique tours allow adventurers to re-enter the culture of 19th century pioneers, who traversed the country with their family in covered wagons. The pioneers traversed thousands of miles of remote wilderness, not knowing what the next day would bring. Their culture is preserved only through diaries, letters, and novels written about that time. Now, it's possible for modern-day Americans to relive that culture by spending a week (or a month) living under the exact same circumstances.

At the same time, the covered wagon tour is a unique way to get into more direct contact with nature than most modern Americans are accustomed to. Most of these tours let travelers pull their own team of horses, and a wagon, along remote wilderness trails that have been abandoned since the 19th century, or longer.  Mountains and impenetrable forests loom on either side during the course of a journey that takes many days, and in which travelers must rely on only the most basic camping supplies.

River Adventure Tourism Combines Nature, Physical Thrills

Those who seek a physical thrill in a spectacular natural setting also have no need of going outside US borders. The US has its own share of spectacular natural sites, which its government has preserved for the enjoyment of the public. One of these is the Grand Canyon, at the bottom of the Colorado River churns and rages. Navigating the whitewater rapids of the Colorado River is an undertaken that has claimed the lives of many early explorers. Today's materials technology and knowledge of the river, however, makes the navigating frightening rapids an adventure that any reasonably fit person can undertake.