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Whether jet skiing or windsurfing gets your heart racing on the water, we know the spots sure to offer only the best in water sport adventure.

Whether jet skiing or windsurfing gets your heart racing on the water, we know the spots sure to offer only the best in water sport adventure.

1. Water Skiing
Lake Pepin, Minnesota
Water skiing is probably one of the most popular water sports around. Anyone who grew up in proximity to a lake most likely spent at least one summer trying to learn how to balance on two wooden planks being tugged behind the boat. As widespread as water skiing is today, it's almost hard to imagine that it took the tireless efforts of one man to spread the word back in the early days of the sport. Luckily, Ralph Samuelson of Minnesota never gave up on bringing water skiing to the masses (numerous demonstrations and shows from 1922 on prove that), and countless Dads have spent their Saturdays circling the boat to retrieve fallen skiers ever since.

2. Windsurfing
Southern California
There is something of a debate as to when the marriage between surfing and sailing first occurred, with some claiming a 1958 genesis in England and others favoring a 1968 birth in Southern California. Regardless as to the inventor, most credit Hoyle and Diana Schweitzer of California with getting the word out about the new sport. And, even though windsurfing was added to the Olympic program in 1984, much like our beloved David Hasselhoff, today the sport is far more popular in Europe than it is in the United States.

3. Surfing
Hawaii
Surfing was a centuries-old means of recreation in Hawaii until European missionaries showed up in the 19th century and forbid the sport throughout the islands due to its co-ed nature. But, surfing has always captivated popular culture, whether it was the daddy-os of the 1950s in search of "the perfect wave," or the counterculture youth of the '60s and '70s, who'd had it with "excessive consumption" and wanted "soul-surfing" instead. Today, as long as there are waves, you'll find surfers on any number of beaches from Australia to California, still hoping for that perfect ride.

4. Freediving
Miami, Florida
Freediving, the sport of descending to great ocean depths without any kind of breathing apparatus or SCUBA equipment, is not for the faint of hear – or those without some significant lung capacity. And, while freediving is practiced all over the world, Miami is the city where Jacques Mayol, freedive pioneer and early world record setter, began to truly explore his love of and relationship to the sea. At the Seaquarium in Miami, while swimming with dolphins, Mayol began to ponder the capabilities that humans might have underwater. Freediving was one way Mayol explored these possibilities.

5. Spearfishing
French Riviera
Like many other items on this list, spear fishing was around long before becoming a sport. Many people across the globe spearfished to survive and feed themselves and their families long before swim fins, goggles and motorized spears even existed. Today, a variety of clubs and associations host events for those interested in competitive spearfishing, but it was along the shores of the French Riviera that people first began spearfishing for pure sport and competition.

6. Sea Kayaking
New Zealand
Kayaking has long existed as a means of travel and sport throughout the Arctic regions, especially in parts of Greenland, Canada and Alaska. But Paul Caffyn probably deserves the most credit for popularizing sea kayaking as a purely recreational sport. Since taking up the sport in earnest in the '70s, Caffyn has circumnavigated Great Britain, Japan, Australia and New Zealand by kayak – in addition to many other feats. In honor of Caffyn's accomplishments, we've chosen his native New Zealand as the quintessential spot for a sea kayaking adventure.

7. Jet Skiing
Arizona
For most, jet skis and other personal motor crafts represent the largest love/hate relationship in the world of water sports. Either you relish the speed, freedom and mobility of the jet ski or you detest having enthusiasts rock the boat and cut across your wake on the water. Love 'em or leave 'em, it was Clayton Jacobsen II who fist came up with the jet ski in 1973. It probably seems only natural to both jet ski allies and enemies that Arizona-dwelling Jacobsen was a "motorcross enthusiast" and thrill-seeker long before inventing the now infamous water craft.

It's 'Summer Fun Time' here at ReZoom. So, if you want to make the most of the season, check the Travel channel often for new stories on planning the perfect summer vacation. We'll have insight from experts in addition to great ideas for all of your own adventures.