Mother Nature created the San Diego area so you'd go outside and play.

Regardless of your fitness level, or lack of one, San Diego and surrounding communities offer activities to suit everyone. The adventurous may explore shipwrecks off the coast or strap into a hang glider and launch themselves off a windswept cliff. Those who prefer the gentler side of nature may take a guided jeep tour into the hills or paddle gently through placid waters.

So before you head west, think about throwing hiking boots and a wet suit next to that cooler loaded with snacks. Here's a sampling of what the area boasts beyond beach blankets and theme parks.

For the adventurous

The early-morning fog has burned off and there is a promise of summer in the air. At a campsite just off the beach, surfing students duck behind the line of towels slung over a clothesline and struggle into wet suits before instructors hand each one a board and lead them toward the sand.

The scene plays out almost every day at the San Diego Surfing Academy at South Carlsbad State Beach, about 30 miles north of San Diego. Surf pro Pat Weber oversees a small team of instructors well-versed on the balance and coordination shortcomings of most surf rookies.

Lessons ($100 per person for a group lesson) start on the beach, where students are shown how to nimbly shift from prone to standing position, easy to do on land. Once students paddle out to catch their first wave, the moves become far more difficult. But within 15 minutes the more adept students are balancing atop their boards for several seconds before gravity and inertia combine to send them tumbling. (By the end of the hour, they are routinely riding 3- to 4-foot waves onto shore.) The paddling, standing and falling are exhausting.

Surfing is popular year-round in San Diego. The surfing academy is one of several schools; others include Surf Diva, Ocean Experience and WB Surfing. Those already comfortable on a board can hit one of San Diego's 33 public beaches, with Mission and Pacific the most popular with surfers. Also popular is Stone Steps Beach in Encinitas, a picturesque strip of sand in the shadow of a precipitous cliff.

The San Diego area is dotted with about 25 million boulders (yes, someone counted), offering challenges for pros and novices alike. The most popular area is Mission Gorge and its three areas: the Main Wall, with short walls and ledges; Limbo Area, with small isolated cliffs; and Middle Earth, consisting of small cliffs and canyons. Mission Gorge is in Mission Trails Regional Park.

Boat diving: Tour companies, including SeaStar Adventures and OEX Dive & Kayak, will take visitors to popular diving spots. One not far from Mission Beach is Wreck Alley, where divers may explore several sunken ships, including a 366-foot Canadian destroyer and a World War II P-38 bomber.