As summer approaches, we are in the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the weather being as good as it can get during the year, some people are wondering what they should do.

To begin with, my first pick in summer activities would be badminton. 

A fan favorite for many, easy to pick up rules, and can be casual tossing, or competitive scoring; pick your poison.

After that, my second pick would be hiking. With the beautiful Oregon state parks opening up, the summer weather makes it all the more appealing to get a park pass and walk around our forests and waterways. I heavily recommend visiting Wildwood Park off Highway 26. Check out Kaelin Collar’s article on the top 5 local hikes.

Thirdly, I would pick swimming. As the temperatures rise across the board, everyone wants to cool down, so why not take a swim under the open sky with the sun shining.

Fourth would be biking, another innovative way to cool down. With the air rushing past you going to bike trails or neighborhood sidewalks, it’s a fun activity for family and friends and a good exercise too.

My fifth activity would be tennis. A good sport to practice in the sun, and an exercise of the mind and body. Good for families of 2 and 4, and friend groups to gather around and play a few games with each other.

A sixth activity I would recommend is reading. With all the activities available, some want to go back to good ol’ reliable. Reading during school time is a risk versus reward, lose time for homework, or lose time for self-indulgence. In the summer, time management doesn’t matter.

In seventh place, I personally would choose basketball. Another family and group outdoor sport that is amazing outside. The atmosphere in an outdoor court is much better than inside. Of course, you can also play solo!

An eighth choice for me would be video games for the same reason as reading. It’s a fun activity when not wanting to go outside, especially on some of the hotter days in summer, it’s best to stay indoors and avoid all the health risks that come with intense heat.

In ninth place, TV show binge watching! This is more general, but binge watching movies or tv shows on Netflix or other streaming platforms is a great thing to do with all the free time people have during the summer. You can watch shows you missed out on during school or other time consuming activities.

Finally, the last activity I would recommend is outdoor house repair. If you live in a house, you probably notice some stuff, like damage to roof water catchers, or peeling paint. Summer time, it’s a great time to get out on a ladder and fix those things.
There are much more exciting and different activities that the summer-time allows us to do, so go try them! You have several months to waste, better waste it efficiently.