3 Rainy Day Activities in Austin for Adventurous Souls

We all love cuddling up with a good book and a cup of coffee on a rainy Saturday morning, but after multiple stormy weekends, those of us with active souls tend to get restless. Check out these three ideas for indoor adventures in Austin.

1. Indoor Skydiving

Photo: Facebook/iFLY Austin

Indoor skydiving is the simulation of true freefall conditions in a vertical wind tunnel, according to iFLY Indoor Skydiving Austin. “When you come to iFLY get ready to be blown away – literally,” the website says. “It’s thrilling. It’s amazing. Experience the feeling of freefall as you float on a smooth cushion of air. There’s no parachute, no jumping, and nothing attaching you to planet Earth. It’s just you FLYING in the air. Super fun, super safe and super cool!” 

After visitors check in and sign a waiver, they can watch people flying from the flight deck viewing area. Everyone attends flight training where a certified flight instructor teaches proper body positioning for flying and explains hand signals the instructors will use while you’re in the air. “After flight training your instructor will take you to the gear up counter where you will receive your helmet, flight suit and goggles,” the website says. “our instructor will lead you to the flight chamber and will be with you during the entire flight experience, helping you enter the flight chamber (just lean in) and spotting you the entire time, to help you fly like a superhero.” Post flight, everybody gets a certificate, and pictures and videos from your flight are available for purchase. Flight package prices vary and start at about $70.

2. Escape Games

Photo: Facebook/The Escape Game Austin

Escape rooms are like interactive puzzles for people who don’t want to sit still. You’ll be addicted after you experience the feeling of solving your first clue and getting a step closer to unlocking the mystery, and the door. It’s also a great activity for couples, families, work groups, friends or people trying to get to know each other better. The Escape Game Austin has four rooms/scenarios to choose from. Each is designed for two to eight players. The rooms include “Gold Rush,” The Heist,” “Prison Break,” and “Classified.” 

The description of “Prison Break” says, “The year is 1955. You’ve been wrongfully accused of a crime, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Your new “home” is a cell that once belonged to an inmate who disappeared without a trace…or did he? Some claim he escaped. Others swear he was murdered by the infamously cruel warden. But no one actually knows…can you escape before you suffer the same fate?” The description of “Classified” says, “Your team, an international anti-terrorist organization, has been assigned to a critical covert mission. Your objective? Stop a major international terrorist threat by gathering details on the impending attack. In this thrilling high-stakes mission, it’s up to you to get inside the head of the masterminds and infiltrate their evil plan.”

3. Bouldering

Photo: Facebook/Austin Bouldering Project

Unlike traditional indoor rock climbing, you won’t be tied to a harness at a bouldering gym. Though the routes don’t go as high as a traditional rock wall, the curved shapes keep things challenging and interesting (and extremely cushioned floors keep things safe). Austin Bouldering Project offers free climbing shoe rentals to first-time visitors, and you can even take a 45 minute introductory/bouldering basics class on Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. for free with a day pass. “We made a ton of boulders. Surrounded by a ton of foam. Because we love climbing,” the Austin Bouldering Project website says. “We have a yoga studio, a fitness studio, huge spaces for fitness training and cardio, and a climbing training area inside of a boulder (it’s a big boulder). Our locker rooms have saunas. There’s a party room, a huge social lounge on the mezzanine, a kids and family climbing area, and comfortable places to crack open the laptop, or the newspaper.”