It’s only logical that the state where the Wright Brothers first flew is also where you can take to the skies and experience the NC Triad from above the treetops—all while remaining attached to a harness. With parks and attractions featuring zip lines, ropes courses, and suspended bridges, the Triad is the perfect place for visitors of every age to become acquainted with the Piedmont from the air.
Fasten Your Seat Belts!
The aviation-themed Kersey Valley Zip Line combines two bucket list items: flying and ziplining. Your preflight briefing will include training on how to suit up, take off, and land safely. Once you’ve earned your wings, you’ll suit up in a harness and helmet and prepare for zip lining.
The First Class route connects 17 sky decks across 14 zip lines and will have you flying through the air from 40 to 100 feet off the ground. After defying gravity, the Kersey Valley complex also offers opportunities for ax throwing, bowling, laser tag, escape rooms, and seasonal winter light shows.
Mountain High, Valley Low
The extraordinary terrain of the Triad makes it one of the best regions for zip lining in the continental United States. The whoosh of air you’ll feel over the two hours on 11 different zip lines near Pilot Mountain on the Carolina Ziplines Canopy Tour will bring you closer to understanding the steep terrain that shaped the NC Triad.
The Richland Creek Zipline Canopy Tour, covering over a mile and a half and featuring three sky bridge obstacles, will have you marveling at the pristine wilderness.
Challenging Climbs for Children of All Ages
In addition to its outstanding agricultural and animal exhibits, the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro offers guests of all ages the chance to challenge themselves on the Air Hike Ropes Course. This climbing obstacle course, suitable for kids and adults 60 inches and taller, will force you to walk tightropes, dodge swinging logs, navigate a balance beam, scramble across a rope web, and walk the plank. You’ll have an experienced guide with you, but that won’t be enough if you aren’t up to the challenge!
With 23 obstacles, the ropes course is a challenge you won’t soon forget while, for children still in training, the North Carolina Zoo also has the Treehouse Trek, a play area with easily navigable treehouses and rope bridges.
Social Climbing
At the Greensboro Science Center, you can see the world from the perspective of a hippopotamus, a penguin, or a red panda, but to get the bird’s eye view, you’ll want to take advantage of their SkyWild experience.
Designed to provide visitors with a change in perspective combined with a little perspiration, SkyWild is a treetop adventure course that forces visitors to test the same skills (and muscles) that the center’s animals use to flit, leap, and crawl their way through the canopy. Individually or through scheduled group outings, visitors to SkyWild leave with a better understanding of the challenges airborne species confront every day and a little more appreciation for living at ground level.
