We spent a beautiful fall weekend in the mountains with friends and our featured activity was zip lining. My oldest son and I had been zip lining in the NC Mountains before at Hawksnest and found the experience slightly underwhelming. I was anxious to see if Sky Valley Zip Tours in Blowing Rock would be a more exciting adventure.
The quick answer is yes! It was great – much more scenic and exciting than Hawksnest. The zip lines were longer and faster, the scenery more dramatic, and the guides fantastic. Throw in two bonus adventures along the course and this made for a really fun afternoon.
We had a 3:00 tour time and were told to arrive 30 minutes early. After checking in and getting weighed, they fitted us for our gear which was already laid out and waiting for us. I was immediately impressed – the gear was all newer and in great condition. The gloves were probably the most worn but even they were in good shape. And nothing smelled bad! It’s always a letdown on activities like this when you are handed old gear that stinks and have to spend the rest of the afternoon smelling gross helmets or gloves.
There were 10 of us in the group – our family, our friends who are also a family of 4 and a couple who were on a kid-less vacation but somehow ended up stuck with our 4 teens. They were very friendly and were gracious and patient with the kids.
We had some fun before we even got started. In order to get to the top of the course, we got to ride in an ATV up the mountain. This was a real treat for the boys. They’d never been on one before and loved having the back seat as we jostled our way across a stream and up the windy trail.
First up was attending “Ground School”. Our guides Greg and JB went over all the safety info and trained us on the equipment, how to take off, the proper way to stop, and how to pull yourself hand over hand if you come up short of the platform. There was a short training line where we all took a test run just a few feet off the ground to make sure we had the technique down. After we all had a chance on the training line, we went on the first run. There is a warm up circuit which is basically a triangle of short, easy runs where you build your skills and confidence before heading across “Big Mama”, the longest and highest run (1600 feet long and 300 feet high) on the course.
I was really impressed with the runs on this course. I had been disappointed with Hawksnest, where it seemed like the runs were short, low to the ground, and not very scenic. Sky Valley was the opposite. “Big Mama” and “Little Diddy” felt more on par with the zip lining we had done through the jungles of Costa Rica. We were high in the trees (on an amazing fall weekend no less!) and the longest line runs across a gorgeous valley. It was incredible when we emerged from the trees into the open space across the valley (watch out for that wind though!) and saw the stunning views of the surrounding mountains.
Aside from the 10 zip line runs, they had two “surprises” along the course. The first was a cliff jump where we dropped from the landing platform of “Little Diddy” down the side of a rock. Facing backwards, we jumped (or just dropped if you were less adventurous) and rappelled down the rocky mountainside. We were warned to try to avoid a “butt drop” on our landing and most of us (present company excluded) were able to land on our feet. But just as Greg promised, landing on your butt was a gentle, slow-motion fall that only hurts your pride – especially when all the kids are chanting “butt drop” as you do it.
The second surprise was a 120-foot long hanging bridge, complete with a challenge to make it across in 90 seconds without touching the sides. You know the kids were all about the challenge, even though the reward was just unlimited high fives from the guides. And the youngest two actually did it! And you better believe they cashed in on those unlimited high fives for the rest of the tour. Those of us not focused on the challenge while we crossed were able to appreciate the pretty waterfall that was off to the side and the resulting stream that ran underneath the 50 foot high bridge.
Our guides were wonderful – they were hilarious and fun but knowledgeable and safety oriented at all times. They really made the day so fun for all of us. Our only disappointment was that all of the fun pictures that Greg took along the way were corrupted when he tried to download them to the computer so we couldn’t buy the photo package at the end.
From start to finish, Sky Valley is a quality operation and a great time. The staff is friendly, helpful, and fun. The equipment is clean and safe. The course offers runs of varying lengths and speeds. And the scenery (especially in the fall) is incredible. I highly recommend Sky Valley Zip Tours for a unique mountain adventure.
