By Kevin Duvall
Want the best vantage point for taking in the wonders of the Mountain State? West Virginia is peppered with aerial adventures waiting to be had. Explore the scenery, learn about local wildlife and vegetation, capture one-of-a-kind pictures or race your friends to the bottom.
There’s a harness and a helmet with your name on it. What are you waiting for? It’s time to get a little wild in wonderful West Virginia!
ACE Adventure Resort
www.aceraft.com
ACE Adventure Resort offers two zip line tours where guests can explore the scenery along the New River Gorge. The Zip Line Canopy tour features nine zips and two aerial bridges through the gorge and the historical railroad town of Thurmond. The Night Sky Zip Line Tour features seven zips and one aerial bridge on a thrilling, sensory experience in the dark.
Adventure WV Outdoor Education Center
www.adventurechallenge.wvu.edu
Take a tour of West Virginia University’s Research Forest on four zip lines, an aerial bridge, an aerial ladder and a rappel station while learning about the forest and its plant and animal life from trained student guides.
Adventures on the Gorge
www.adventuresonthegorge.com
Adventures on the Gorge offers aerial experiences for a wide variety of zip liners. The Treetops Zip Line Canopy Tour passes through endangered, old-growth hemlock forests along the New River Gorge, the TimberTrek Aerial Adventure Park hosts a series of five zip line obstacle courses, and higher-intensity zip line activities, like Gravity Zip Lines, send guests to speeds up to 65 mph.
Burning Rock Outdoor Adventure Park
www.burningrockwv.com
The Burning Rock Express Racing Zip Line puts two zip liners head to head down a half-mile-long, 300-foot descent where they reach speeds up to 60 mph. It has reigned as the East Coast’s longest, fastest dual racing zip line since 2010.
Grand Vue Park
www.grandvuepark.com
Grand Vue Park’s Canopy Tour includes eight dual zip lines running through the treetops of Moundsville, along with three suspension bridges and the 2,100-foot Grand Veu Park Zip Line Ride. Grand Vue Park is also home to the Aerial Adventure Park, which consists of the Zip Line Ride, aerial ropes course, Mega Jump, Euro Trampoline, Giant Swing, climbing tower and rappelling wall.
NROCKS Outdoor Adventures
www.nrocks.com
The region’s longest zip line tour can be found at NROCKS. The North Fork Valley Canopy Tour runs three to four hours with 12 zip lines, three sky bridges and a 40-foot rappel. This is the longest, most scenic tour in the region, so don’t forget your camera.
River Expeditions
www.raftinginfo.com
The Ridges, one of the state’s newest zip lines, combines the thrills of zip lining with the peace of nature observation. The tour includes four zip lines, a cargo net, a sky bridge and a rappelling experience, along with views of native wildlife and plants.
River Riders Family Adventure Resort
www.harpersferryzipline.com
River Riders’ Harpers Ferry Zip Line Canopy Tour is an adventure along the Potomac River featuring eight zip lines, two suspension bridges, several belayed ladder climbs and a 25-foot free fall. Feeling brave? Race your friends on the 1,200-foot, all-steel, high-speed Mega Zip Line and reach up to 50 mph.
Snowshoe Mountain Resort
www.snowshoemtn.com
Experience Snowshoe Mountain Resort from a bird’s eye-view. The resort’s Hare Racer zip line allows two guests to race side-by-side through the resort’s historic village.
Summit Bechtel Reserve
www.summitbsa.org
The Zip at the Summit Bechtel Reserve is one of the longest zip line courses in North America. Five parallel zip lines total more than 3,000 feet in length and send riders to speeds up to 50 mph.
2 Comments
All of these adventures bring a tear to my eye. I love my home state. I want to try each and everyone of these.
I love seeing info and pictures from wonderful WV. I will always love the state.