Watching Formula 1 race cars speed down Las Vegas Boulevard was a unique kind of excitement. Same goes for seeing U2 perform inside Sphere for the first time—if you managed to get access to these big-ticket events.

The Las Vegas experience is becoming more eye-popping and breathtaking all the time, but you don’t need to score a ticket to the latest and greatest to get the blood pumping. This city’s growing list of sensational thrills remains accessible and tactile; whether you’re actually taking the ride or engaging in a simulation, the thrill is real. You can tell from the tingles.

Let’s start the new year with a good old-fashioned adrenaline rush. Vegas offers lots of opportunities to turn excitement into pure exhilaration.

Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Want to experience the thrill of freefall without jumping out of a plane? Vegas Indoor Skydiving’s exhilarating vertical wind tunnel will have you defying gravity without leaving the ground. Vegasindoorskydiving.com.

Sky Combat Ace

Elevate your adventuring with this gravity-defying experience. Sky Combat Ace offers the thrill of flying with a professional pilot in an Extra 330 acrobatic plane—and you can even take the controls yourself. Once you land, your idea of fun will forever be redefined. Skycombatace.com.

FlyLinq

Ziplines are an obvious good time. We love the unique thrills of SlotZilla, which flies you above the revelry of Downtown’s Fremont Street Experience. But the Strip location of Linq Promenade’s FlyLinq is something else. FlyLinq launches you from a 12-story tower on the Strip, at speeds up to 35 MPH, toward the iconic High Roller Observation Wheel—a thrilling attraction in its own right—for a total airborne distance of 1,121 feet. Take the trip Superman-style or from a sitting harnessed position and take note of all the tourists looking up in awe. It feels like Vegas is completely yours during this flight, which is an entirely different kind of excitement. Caesars.com/linq.

Sin City Smash Rage Room

Awaken your inner wrecking ball at Sin City Smash. This adrenalized destination will have you rediscovering peace through destruction—but if smash-and-thrash isn’t your thing, check out the splatter paint room.Sincitysmash.com.

Vegas Hot Air Balloon Rides

If you’re seeking a tranquil adventure, it’s tough to beat a early-morning balloon flight over the desert. And the social media bragging rights are matchless. Vegasballoonrides.com.

El Loco at Adventuredome

With its stomach-knotting barrel rolls, gravity-defying drops and a maximum speed of 45 MPH, Circus Circus’ El Loco rollercoaster is 72 seconds of pure insanity—and we love it. Circuscircus.com.

Las Vegas ATV Tours

Ramble up and down rugged trails and scenic sand dunes on your own personal vehicle, an intoxicating outdoor activity that might also provide a newfound respect and admiration for the desert landscape. And LV ATV now offers utility task vehicle (UTV) rentals, meaning you can ride with a friend or a few friends in the more maneuverable and powerful Cam Am Maverick 1000. Lvatvtours.com.

Maverick Helicopters tours

A view of the Strip or Red Rock Canyon from above is bound to take your breath away and get your heart racing. What’s more, Maverick has the “newest and largest” fleet of Eco-Star helicopters outfitted with individual leather seats and wraparound glass for your viewing pleasure. Maverickhelicopter.com.

Skydive the Strip

Anyone with a window seat can score a bird’s-eye view of the Las Vegas Strip, but when’s the last time you plunged out of the plane? Skydive the Strip takes sightseeing to new heights with an after-sunset skydiving experience that’ll blow a daredevil’s hair back. Infrequent flyers will be paired up with a tandem skydiving instructor, who will walk them through their epic leap, freefalling at speeds of up to 120 MPH over the glittering Strip skyline. Skydivethestrip.com.

Big Shot at the Strat

So you think you’re a tough guy? You call yourself a big shot? Put your money where your mouth is and brave this thrill ride, which starts at 921 feet above ground and shoots you 160 feet higher in the air. Thestrat.com.

Flyover Las Vegas

There’s something about being suspended right in the middle of a 52.5-foot wide spherical screen that is awe-inspiring. Guests have the option to select where they’ll be transported—the Canadian Rockies, Iceland or the American West. Seats are designed to swoop, dip and turn, giving the feeling of flight. If that’s not immersive enough for you, wind and mists can be felt, and you can even smell the natural splendor below. Flyoverlasvegas.com.

Flyboard at Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas is best known as a serene spot to get away from the rush of the Strip, but you can take a different approach with a 30-minute blast-off on this Jet Ski-powered apparatus. It’s attached to a 55-foot hose that will have you flying, superhero-style, thanks to water propulsion. Lakelasvegaswatersports.com.

Dueling Axes at Area15

As you probably suspect, an axe is among the most gratifying objects to hurl against the wall with all your might. Dueling Axes ensures you do it safely. Duelingaxeslasvegas.com.

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