The best adrenaline activities for thrill-seekers in Chicago

Travel time from Chicago: One hour and 30 minutes

If your friends tells you to jump off of a cliff, you should probably do it—as long as you’re attached to a professional paraglider with a parachute, that is. Paragliding is a sport where you can soar through the air with a parachute, after taking a running leap off of something, most often a cliff or large hill. But you don’t have to be an expert to participate—take a carefree tandem ride, where you’re attached to a professional who controls the flight. While there aren’t many tall cliffs to jump off of near Chicago, there are still opportunities to take to the skies at Chicago Paragliding, a company based outside of the city.

Chicago Paragliding is located in Cullom, Illinois, a 90-minute drive southwest of the city. You can take a course to become certified in paragliding ($6,600), which includes a glider, harness and reserve parachute, but beginners should opt for a tandem ride. The experience, with a photo package, costs $200 and includes a 30-minute ride through the sky.

34001 E 1900 North Rd, Cullom, IL

Travel time from Chicago: One hour and 15 minutes

There are few better ways to get an adrenaline rush than skydiving. Whether you’re afraid of heights or the concept of jumping out of an airplane that’s soaring thousands of feet up in the air,  there are plenty of reasons to be fearful—which makes it that much more thrilling to do. Miles of open space is needed to safely land after jumping out of a plane, so Chicagoland Skydiving Center is understandably located outside of the city in Rochelle, where there’s an abundance of open land that skydivers can touch down on.

The skydiving center offers tandem rides from three different heights, which result in different freefall times. A 30-second freefall from 9,000 feet up ($180), a 60-second freefall from 14,000 feet ($230) and a 90-second freefall from 18,000 feet ($380). If you fall in love with the activity, Chicagoland Skydiving Center also serves as a skydiving school where you can ultimately receive a license and hit the skies on your own.

1207 E Gurler Rd, Rochelle, IL 

Travel time from Chicago: 50 minutes

It’s not every day you can experience something that’s broken a world record, but you can when you visit Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. The theme park’s Goliath roller coaster is the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world, reaching a maximum speed of 72 miles per hour. But it’s not just its record-breaking coasters that are intense—the park’s home to 15 roller coasters and set to debut The Wrath of Rakshasa in 2025, which will be the world’s steepest and most inverted dive coaster when it opens. If you’re not up for a world record-holding roller coaster, or anything with a steep drop or super fast speeds, take on milder attractions like The Whizzer, one of the park’s original rides from its 1976 opening. The coaster has a maximum speed of 45 miles per hour, and no inversions. 

Another way to get a thrill at the park without even stepping foot on a ride? Visit during Fright Fest, which kicks off on September 14 and is held throughout the month of October. During the annual event, the theme park transforms into a Halloween-inspired experience, with haunted houses and scare zones.

1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee, IL

Travel time from Chicago: Four hours and 10 minutes

Between Lake Michigan and the Chicago River, there’s no lack of water sources in and around Chicago, but the city’s certainly not known for its whitewater rafting locations. To experience the rush of traveling down a whitewater river, head north into Wisconsin and go rafting along the Wolf River with Big Smokey Falls Rafting. The company is located near the river’s Big Smokey Falls, an approximately 20-foot rocky waterfall that makes for an exciting rafting adventure.

The native-owned rafting company is based in Keshena, WI., which is northwest of Green Bay. The census-designated place is located in the Menominee Indian Reservation, the largest reservation east of the Mississippi River, and held in trust by the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin. 

W2210 Co Rd M, Keshena, WI

Travel time from Chicago: One hour and 30 minutes

Activities don’t have to be terrifying to give a bit of an adrenaline rush. Sometimes they can be as simple as taking a walk, as long as that walk ends somewhere spectacular, like a waterfall. Some of the most magnificent waterfalls near the city can be found in Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, a 90-minute drive from Chicago. Wildcat Canyon is one of the park’s tallest waterfalls, at approximately 90 feet, and is located one mile away from the park’s visitor’s center. It’s not the park’s only waterfall, though. Nearly two miles away from the visitor’s center is Tonti Canyon Falls, a set of two majestic waterfalls.

For a closer but less dramatic viewing, stop by the North Park Village Nature Center, a 58-acre park on Chicago’s Far North Side, where there’s a shorter, more peaceful waterfall. 

Starved Rock State Park, Oglesby, IL

Travel time from Chicago: 35 minutes

If you’ve ever wanted to emulate a bird or any other animal that can race through the air, ziplining is a perfect activity—and it’s something that can be done near Chicago at The Forge: Lemont Quarries, a 300-acre scenic adventure park with climbing and ziplining courses in Lemont. The zipline spans more than 1,200 feet across the park and if visitors don’t feel like soaring to the end of the course, they can rappel back down to the ground at different areas.

On weekends, tickets for The Forge’s climbing and ziplining adventure cost $80 for adults (ages 14 and up), and $75 for children. Tickets are $75 for adults and $70 for children on weekdays. An ultimate adventure pass, which includes climbing, ziplining and more than a dozen other activities, like an archery range, axe throwing and laser tag, costs $99 per person.

227 Heritage Quarries Dr, Lemont, IL

Travel time from Chicago: Three hours

There are plenty of gyms that offer indoor rock climbing, but for adrenaline junkies who want the real deal, there’s also a wide array of locations near Chicago to go climbing, including Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin. While the main feature of the park may be its namesake lake, it’s surrounded by steep cliffs that are perfect for climbing.

Devil’s Lake Climbing Guides offers guided rock climbing trips for every skill level—and also teaches other skills, like rappelling and bouldering, where participants learn the ability to climb up massive boulders without having to use ropes. Trips take approximately seven hours and can accommodate up to six guests. The company doesn’t have a standard route that it takes groups on; instead, each trip is custom-tailored to the participants' goals, skill levels and what they want to see while at the state park.

S5975 Park Rd, Baraboo, WI

A lot of adrenaline rushes are the result of doing something at a high speed, and one of the most fun ways to go fast on the water is by jet ski. You don’t have to own a jet ski in order to get that rush on Lake Michigan. Instead, you can rent one at Chicago Water Sports Rentals. The company is located at 31st Street Harbor and also offers kayaks, boats, paddleboards and stand up paddleboards. 

Chicago Water Sports Rentals fleet of jet skis consists entirely of Yamaha Wave Runners, which can reach a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour, although beginners should go considerably slower. Jet skis can be rented for either 30 minutes ($89 on weekends/$59 on weekdays) or one hour ($178 on weekends/$119 on weekdays), and renters must be at least 21 years old.

3155 S DuSable Lake Shore Dr

You don’t have to travel to popular surfing destinations like Hawaii or California in order to catch a wave. Instead, learn how to surf on Lake Michigan with Wakesurf Chicago, a surf school based in the city. The company teaches participants how to wakesurf—surfing on the waves made by the wake behind a boat, rather than catching waves breaking near the shore. 

Surf students are towed behind the boat, once they’re able to stand up on the board, and taught to find the sweet spot on the wave. Surf lessons are priced by the hour for groups of up to six people ($350 per hour), and come with a captain and instructor.

2601 N Cannon Dr

One of the most accessible, and affordable, ways to get an adrenaline rush in the city is by hopping on a super fast boat that jets passengers across Lake Michigan. The Chicago Seadog Extreme Thrill Ride, which boasts two 1400 horsepower engines, is that vessel. 

A ride on the extremely speedy boat lasts 30 minutes, offering full views of the city’s skyline, and costs $32 per person. Cruises depart daily from Navy Pier and are also BYOB, as long as beverages aren’t in glass containers.