What better way to enjoy nature than soaring from tree to tree like Tarzan or George of the Jungle? Zip lines allow visitors to experience a forest the way a flying squirrel might, along with a healthy rush of adrenaline.
The zip-line adventure is a recent phenomenon popping up in scenic outdoor destinations across the country. These courses are easy to use and cater to both nature lovers and thrill seekers.
On zip-line courses, knowledgeable guides deliver groups safely through the course with talks on the local ecosystems and instructions on how best to enjoy the heart-pounding rides.
Buffalo River Canopy Tours
Ponca, Ark.
Just opened in July, the Buffalo River Canopy Tour in the Buffalo Outdoor Center is the first zip-line canopy tour in Arkansas. The 12-zip-line course takes guests on a bird’s-eye view of the forested Ozark Mountains and Ponca Creek.
The half-mile-long course’s elevation ranges from 40 to 60 feet.
“That doesn’t sound all that high until you’re up there looking down. Then 40 feet hanging on a cable is pretty high,” said Mike Mills, owner of Buffalo Outdoor Center. “Then add the feeling of speed to it. When you have tree limbs whizzing by you, it’s pretty cool.”
While the tour moves through the treetops, guides interpret the surroundings along the way. Topics range from explaining the flora and fauna to the discovery of a hand-dug well during the construction of the zip line.
“The zip-line course is tested and operated by trained guides who have been doing this for about 18 years,” said Mills. “Once you’re hooked in, you’ll never be unhooked, even when changing from one zip to another.”
The Buffalo Outdoor Center is a lodge and canoe outfitter for the Buffalo National River. The area is known for its scenic bluffs, hiking trails, waterfalls, elk and remote wilderness location.
www.buffaloriver.com
Lost Canyon Zipline Adventure Tours
Salida, Colo.
In this tour, participants aren’t just walking off a tree. Their first step is to walk off a canyon. The third zip-line course constructed in the United States, the Lost Canyon Zipline Adventure Tours combine thrills of unbelievable heights with lessons in geology.
Panoramic views from this tour look over high desert landscape, 14,000-foot-high Rocky Mountain peaks and the Arkansas River some 500 feet below. Guides explain to groups how the 300-million-year-old cliffs, colorful boulders and ancient hot springs formations originally became a part of the landscape.
“Our cables use the Costa Rica-style zip-line technique, which is becoming rare these days,” said Monty Holmes, owner and operator of Lost Canyon Zipline Adventure Tours. “You have a gloved hand on the cable, which allows you to steer and brake. It makes it more extreme when you are in contact with the cable.”
Groups zip across six cables totaling 2,400 feet in length with speeds over 40 miles per hour. Opened in 2010, the newest 600-foot cable hangs 200 feet above the canyon floor.
“Our zip-line tour is like bowling or billiards,” said Holmes. “Anyone can do it. We like to ask, why should Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Connery have all the fun. We think a zip-line tour is a great adventure for the average person.”
While on this wild ride, visitors can scan the sweeping vista for a chance to see bighorn sheep, deer, hawks, bald eagles and bears from above.
Hocking Hills Canopy Tours
Rockbridge, Ohio
Gazing down from 70 feet, zip-line riders can fly over a visible cave, rock cliffs, the Hocking River and the flora and fauna that has made this corner of Ohio famous.
“Our location makes us very unique,” said Julieann Eckel, co-owner of the Hocking Hills Canopy Tours. “We are second only to the tropical rain forest as far as our diversity of plant life.”
The area boasts more than 160 tree species, such as hawthorn, mulberry, beech, sycamore and shagbark hickory. Guests sailing through the trees might also spy one of the area’s 30 bird species, including the bald eagle.
“A lot of zip-line tours have a platform in the middle of a field,” said Eckel. “We are a true canopy tour, because we are actually in the branches and the foliage of the trees.”
Guides help educate the participants on sustainability practices, local history and the area’s ecosystem and explain how glaciers once pushed down against the surrounding sandstone cliffs. While standing on tree platforms between jumps, guides also help riders keep an eye out for wildlife, as beavers live along the piece of the Hocking River the zip line follows.
For up to three hours, groups will cross 10 zip lines and five canopy bridges until rappeling to the ground. Those seeking more adventures can combine the tour with the SuperZip. The stand-alone ride launches people up to 50 miles per hour from a 75-foot-high tower over a rock cliff’s edge and down the middle of the Hocking River.
www.hockinghillscanopytours.com
Haleakala Skyline Tour
Maui, Hawaii
So massive it commands its own weather, the Haleakala volcano inspired a legend involving the demigod Maui lassoing the sun to its summit. The ancient volcano rises 10,000 feet above Maui, making it visible from almost anywhere on the Hawaiian island.
Now guests can combine the spectacular view of the largest dormant volcano on earth with a zip-line tour on the Haleakala Skyline Tour.
The first zip-line tour in the country, the course flies over gulches, eucalyptus trees and seasonal pools. The course on Haleakala’s slopes includes five zip lines, a forested hike, a swinging bridge and interpretive talks on the local environment.
Skyline Ecoadventures runs the tour, as well as another Maui canopy tour called the Ka’anapali Skyline Adventure. This course launches participants through the lush valleys of Mount Kahalawai amid stunning views, plunging cliffs and waterfalls.
One of the tour’s platforms allows participants to gaze across West Maui from a 1,000-foot overlook. Participants can also catch glimpses of the Pacific Ocean and four Hawaiian islands.
Cypress Valley Canopy Tours
Spicewood, Texas
Under the cover of thickly forested old-growth cypress trees, the Cypress Valley Canopy Tours take guests through a special ecosystem in the Texas Hill Country.
“We were one of the first zip-line courses to open in the continental U.S.,” said Amy King, manager of the Cypress Valley Canopy Tours. “We build the platforms in bald cypress trees. The guides make the experience fun and memorable by teaching the group about the area they are flying through.”
Platforms launch participants from 40 feet high in the trees, although cypress trees can reach more than 100 feet high. Three sky bridges and six zip lines send guests across a nearby creek ravine for stretches of up to 350 feet.
After the one-and-a-half-hour tour ends, groups can opt to try the Canopy Challenge, which is reserved for those who want more daring thrills. The course has longer and faster zip lines with a narrower sky bridge. After reaching the end of this section, participants can choose from three obstacle courses varying in difficulty.
On another more relaxed course, riders can stop to listen to the incredible bird species flying all around them. The Cypress Valley Sunrise Birding Tour sets out at dawn with a local wildlife biologist to point out different bird species participants can hear and see. Among the long list of birds spotted in the past are the yellow-billed cuckoo, the Western kingbird and the great horned owl.
www.cypressvalleycanopytours.com
Alpine Adventures Zipline Canopy Tours
Lincoln, N.H.
Groups can add a little competition to their tour on Alpine Adventure’s dual zip lines, racing down to a platform overlooking the White Mountains. Participants can choose from three zip-line challenges, including the original Treetop Canopy Tour, the Sky Rider Zipline Tour and the Thrillsville aerial park, which opened this summer.
The original canopy tour, opened in 2006, was the first zip-line tour in New England. This six-zip-line course weaves its way through pine, hemlock, oak and beech trees of a mountainous forest. Guests choosing this course zip across distances ranging from 80 to 900 feet with an Indiana Jones-style suspension bridge spanning the Barron Gorge.
Dual zip lines run on the 2008 Sky Rider Zipline course, which offers panoramic views, a 1,500-foot-long zip line and a final 80-foot drop with speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
“We take you to the top of the courses in an off-road vehicle,” said Allan Guilbeault, director of marketing for Alpine Adventures Outdoor Recreation. “That starts the fun, because the off-road vehicle is an adventure in itself. We do tours with the off-road vehicles by themselves. It goes over obstacles for a bumpy ride to the top.”
The zip lines on the new Thrillsville aerial park run in combination with other challenge course features, such as bridges, cargo nets, rope ladders and giant swings. The less formal course allows groups to stay in contact with each other through the entire tour instead of being divided into smaller units.
Thrillsville is often combined with another zip-line course to add even more kinds of fun challenges.
More zip line articles:
Zip lines zip it!
Safety comes first
WEB EXCLUSIVE! Five more zip lines
