Zipline Nirvana - Zip Line Directory and Canopy Tour Directory

2 ½ hour tree top canopy tour includes exhilarating zips past a two-story tall waterfall and climbs as high as 80 feet

Eastern and Central North Carolina will soon earn bragging rights for one of the state’s coolest new eco-adventures.  ZipQuest, in north Fayetteville, is a 2 ½ hour treetop tour, thrilling participants with eight ziplines and three “Indiana Jones” canopy bridges.  The course covers remarkably steep and varied topography, including Carver’s Falls, a 20-foot tall waterfall that stretches 150 feet wide and is the largest waterfall in the central and eastern regions of the Carolinas.  Opening in July, the ZipQuest course provides zipline runs nearly 1,000 feet long and 80 feet high, over a 2 ½ hour tour during which one’s feet never touch the ground.  ZipQuest is easily accessed off I-95 and is well-located for day travelers from Raleigh/Durham, Chapel Hill, Wilmington, Greensboro and Myrtle Beach.  Reservations are available online at ZipQuest.com.  Previews of the course can be enjoyed on Facebook at facebook.com/zipquest  and YouTube at youtube.com/zipquestchannel. 

The course is designed for families with children and thrill seekers alike.  Riders are harnessed securely to the ziplines, which are made of galvanized cable.  Children as young as 10 and adults as old as 90 will enjoy soaring like a bird through the forest, as will more seasoned adventurers. 

ZipQuest’s design strives to delight and thrill its visitors from start to finish as a perfect marriage of eco-tourism and adventure.  Each landing offers a different approach or take-off, with a floating spiral staircase wrapping a tree, and periodic Indiana Jones-style suspension bridges (one is over 200 feet long) to change and slow down one’s pace, assuring each guest takes in the spectacular tree-top and waterfall views. 

The more than 50 acres that comprise ZipQuest have been privately owned and preserved by the Bryan family for nearly 50 years.  Current owners and brothers, Callan, Eason and Russ Bryan, recognized a tree top canopy tour as an ideal way to share their land in an environmentally sustainable manner.  “There’s virtually no foot traffic through the property, and the installation of all lines and platforms seeks to preserve our magnificent monument trees and pristine forest,” said Callan Bryan.  

Indeed, the elaborate engineering and elegant architectural designs of the course could likely compete with the breathtaking views and exciting rides.  “We are really proud of this course,” said Lead Designer Joel Hoffman of S.T.E.P.S., Inc., adding, “we’ve designed zipline canopy courses throughout the country and this one is more fun and has more unique tree structures than any other canopy tour I’ve been a part of.  It’s a beautiful property and this is a great way to enjoy it!” 

Executives with the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau are delighted with what ZipQuest offers as a new family-oriented attraction.  “We have so much early-American and military history here in Fayetteville, in addition to a variety of arts and cultural destinations.  ZipQuest is a terrific complement to Fayetteville’s overall tourism appeal,” said John Meroski, president and CEO of the CVB. 

The Bryan Brothers are planning to offer group tours, as well, with corporate adventures, youth travel and education tours anticipated.  Military discounts will also be available, given ZipQuest’s proximity to Fort Bragg and other North Carolina military installations.  For more information, visit www.ZipQuest.com  and  www.facebook.com/zipquest.

Hidden Worlds in Tulum, Mexico is scheduled to release the World's First Patented Vectored Zip Line in mid-April 2010.  The ride was invented by Eco Adventure Technologies and allows the rider to go up and down hills and around curves.  The version installed at Hidden Worlds ends by dropping the rider into a beautiful underground cenote. 

I both relish and abhor the growing popularity of zip lines and canopy tours.  I used to take great pleasure at the blank stares I received when people asked what I did and I had to explain the concept of a zip line or canopy tour... the freedom of flight... the opportunity to explore wild places... the chance to test one's reserves...  Always the storyteller, I loved observing as their imagination kicked in and, if even just for a brief second, my guest was transported to a place far away, dangerous, and often far more wild and adventurous than anything the real world could produce.  The growing popularity of zip lines in the media, however, has stolen this simple pleasure.  When I begin to explain the concept of a zip line or canopy tour these days, I am met with references to commercials selling cars, cruises, and cereal bars.  Like a good novel adapted for the big screen, the imagination that would be engaged through verse is lost to 30-second, dumbed-down trailers.  Rather than being transported to deep forests and wild places, the user is transported to a couch in front of their television with scenes crafted by Madison Avenue Ad Men. 

And it's not just the simple pleasure that has been stolen, but the true adventure.  When I conceived of this web site, I was excited to go out and explore the vast array of courses that were being installed across the U.S..  In part, I was seeking inspiration and hoping to renew some of the thrill I had experienced during my first flight.  But quite frankly, what I have found is not often adventure, but watered down experiences determined to turn a dollar and ride the wave of popularity rather than adventures designed to inspire. 

In reviewing a tour, I can often determine long before I arrive whether I will be wowed or robbed, inspired or disappointed, engaged or indifferent...  The following list is the culmination of thousands of descents over fifteen years.  In putting this list together, I hope to shed some light on the difference between a tour that is worth repeating and a ride that is completed once and not repeated.

The best tours…

• Employ dynamic and well-trained guides who can at once act as storyteller, coach, naturalist, technician, and tour guide.
• Craft an experience that tells a story about the land, the people, and the course.
• Engage the user in the experience through skill development, interaction, and imagination.
• Maintain a small group experience.
• Transports people through environments that are worth returning to again and again.
• Offer an experience beyond just the zip line.
• Sell adventure rather than zip lining.
• Understand that the experience begins before the client arrives and ends long after they depart.
• Offer clean facilities and cared for equipment.
• Understand that length and speed are not the principle factors in creating a great zip line experience.
• Are customer-service oriented
• Employ zip lines as a mode of transportation and not the end all be all of the experience.

The worst tours…

• Treat guests as cattle to be herded through the course.
• Engage clients by employing cheap thrills.
• Are generally constructed by first time builders and lack professional guide training.
• Sell amusement rather than adventure.
• Can generally be picked out prior to booking by reviewing the quality of their website, copy writing, marketing materials and customer service.
• Allow their guides to wrap their legs around clients when they tandem zip or for purpose of rescue.
• Allow more than one person to traverse a cable at a time as a general operating procedure.
• Lack radios, mechanical signals, or other communication tools to clearly signal that the zip line is clear.

If there is one thing that I am certain of it is this… with the growth of the market, all types of tours and rides will emerge.  It is my hope that through the use of rating tools on this site that zip line enthusiasts will help to provide feedback to tour operators and useful guidance to would-be riders regarding the experience and value.