Skate parks

Looking to be the next Tony Hawk? (For you compulsive readers, he’s the guy who made skateboarding famous.) Hawk took skateboarding to new levels because he practiced. A lot. Indiana offers plenty of parks created just to skate, so grab your board and go.

Crown Point Skate Park 1313 E. North St., Crown Point, 219-662-3256

This inline and skateboard park is fully equipped with a 6-foot half pipe and two quarter pipes. One quarter pipe connects to a bank ramp, while the other to a channel that leads into the half pipe. New to the park is a 4-foot mini ramp. Rentals available for pads and helmets.

Blindside Sports 1700 W. Lusher, Elkhart, 219-293-0061

The park rules at this 16,000-square-foot indoor park include having fun. It boasts an 8-foot half pipe and 8-foot radius, along with big transfers, gaps and super wall rides. Street course sports a vertical wall and a 32-foot-wide, five-rail center box. Full pro shop at the front entrance and vending machines. Rentals for helmets are available.

Major Taylor Skate Park 3649 Cold Spring Road, 327-3547

Just 10 minutes from downtown Indy, this 15,300-square-foot concrete park features a half bowl and a street course with a five-sided transition pyramid, tons of bank, ledges, walls and a few rails. Bikes and inline skates are welcome, too. Helmets and pads are required, but you’ve got to bring your own. The park doesn’t offer rentals.

DK’s MainStreet Skate Park 1016 S. Main, Kokomo, 765-868-8090

At DK’s, you’ll find a two-story indoor park with a mini ramp on the first floor and a street course on the second. Adjustable-height grind bars on a flat bank, wedges, wall rides and more. Bikes, inline skates and even roller skates are welcome. Rentals for pads and helmets available.

Mantis Skate Park 100 Little League Drive, Warsaw, 219-372-9554

Skaters love the 150-by-150-foot asphalt surface here. Helmets are required when you take to the wood ramps, a 4-foot mini ramp, quarter pipes and a wall ride. So bring your own. Rentals aren’t available.

Skydiving

Who says jumping out of a plane to freefall to earth at speeds topping 100 miles per hour is crazy? Well, we do. But it can also be really fun, and if you want to do it, we’ve got you covered.

With Skyride (1-800-SKYRIDE), you can choose from a number of summertime thrills — all in the air over Greensburg — like hang gliding, skydiving or simply relaxing in a hot air balloon. Tandem skydive rides (tandem means you’ve got a trainer strapped to you while you’re pulling this crazy stunt) cost approximately $165 a person. Hang gliding pulls about $189 out of your wallet, and hot air balloon rides are approximately $159 per person ($329 for two).

Skydive Greensburg (812-663-3483) is another option, if you’re in the Greensburg area. Heading up about 2 miles into the sky then falling at 120 miles per hour will cost you around $169 per jump during the week and $199 for weekend jumps.

Jerry’s Skydiving Circus (812-988-4316) in Franklin is also plenty willing to take you up really high and drop you. First-time jumps run anywhere from $150 to $165, and experienced jumpers with their own gear can bail out for only around $15 a jump. By the way, wear shoes that fit. Otherwise, you’ll lose them.

“Blue skies.” That’s how they greet you when you call Skydive Fort Wayne (800-379-3340), and they’ll be just as friendly up in the air as they are down on the ground. Weather permitting, the Drop Zone (as they call it) has Cessna 182s flying for your fun. Prices range from $175 to $200 per person.